Seeing the sights above and below

We’ve had an Australian join us. Leah is from Brisbane and had a great sense of humor, so we were glad to have her. The five of us spent most of today traveling to, walking around, and returning from Cu Chi. The village sits north and west of Saigon, about two hours by car. Cu Chi was the location of an American base, during the Vietnam War; however, the Viet Cong’s (VC) headquarters where close by for a period of time. The attraction is an enormous network of tunnels that the VC used, during the war. After arriving, the guide took us into the jungle to learn more about the tunnels. There were many false entrances, which had booby traps, so each were pointed out to us. The traps were gnarly; not meant to kill but meant to severely wound a soldier. Once a soldier was injured, another soldier or two would need to take him out of combat, which meant fewer enemy troops to fight for the VC. The construction of the tunnels was complex. Faux termite hills were used to cover air vents, and the tunnels also had access to fresh water. Although the VC could stay underground for days, if necessary, the conditions were difficult. The passageways are very small, making it almost impossible for the average size American soldier to get through the tunnels. I crawled down into a couple of areas and would have been forced to wiggle on my stomach to get through the hole. I didn’t.

The US tried to eradicate the tunnel dwellers by dropping agent orange into the holes, flooding the entrances, and bombing the heck out of the area (explosion craters are still quite obvious). Despite the efforts, the VC continued to use the tunnel network. Overall, there is about 75 miles worth of tunnel. Our guide took us to the area, where you can enter one of the tunnels and travel (crawl, shuffle) about 100 meters. There are openings about every 15 meters, so those who are claustrophobic or tired can come back up. We started with a group of five. Russ came up at the first 15 meters because he has bad knees and transiting the tunneling requires ducking low and shuffling through a narrow space. At the next 15 meter mark, Carolyn went up to join Russ. They walked along the path above ground, while we climbed through the tunnel. Near the end, we were reduced to crawling, in order to get through a narrow passage, but the three of us made it the complete 100 meters. It was definitely taxing on my quads. Not only was I amazed at how the VC moved around in the tunnels, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live in such dark quarters for long periods of time. The experience of being in the jungle and visiting the tunnels was solemn. It really gave me a different view of the war.

Following the tunnels, we returned to HCMC for a quick tour of the city. One of the stops was the old post office, which is a great example of French architecture. It sits just across the street from Saigon’s “Norte Dame” Cathedral. Our guide pointed a dilapidated building in the near distance. He then took a picture out of his pocket and I knew instantly what it was. Or had been. You’ve seen the the picture. It’s a black and white photo taken as the last helicopter is loading south Vietnamese from the roof of this building. It is a harrowing picture, as the line of families desperately stand on the rooftop, hoping to get on the last helicopter to take them to the awaiting American naval ships, but you know that all of them are not going to make it. It made me think of our friend Anhgus, whose Vietnamese mother worked for the American embassy at the time. She was lucky, as she was tipped off to the fall of Saigon and able to get the family out. Although they had very little, they were able to make it to America, and Anhgus is now a successful American women, who we are privileged to know.

We finished the day at the Royal Palace. It was the president’s quarters and office prior to the end of the war. It is a beautiful building and serves as a museum now. Once we wrapped up the city tour, we were deposited at the airport for our flight to Hanoi. Tomorrow we will do another city tour, but we’ve heard that Hanoi is a city much different than HCMC.Read more