“A rifle in one hand and a plow in the other.” “They fight during the day, and farm at night.” Those were some of the realities of war. For someone who has lived in relative peace time for all her life, my grasp on life in a war zone is limited to the books I’ve read, the movies I’ve watched, and the news clips on TV and online. When I was visiting Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, there was heaviness in my heart. When I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels…. s**t just started to get even more real.
It appears that a trip to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam will not be complete if you do not visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. Unless you’re there for some shopping, of course, then you’d probably stick to the city itself. But we weren’t, so we went.
(Watch the short video at the end of this post, with clips of our visit to Cu Chi Tunnels.)
After leaving Cao Dai Temple, we had a pit stop somewhere for a quick lunch, then we continued on to where Cu Chi Tunnels are located.
By the way, for those who are wondering, the day trip to Cu Chi Tunnels (including the stop at Cao Dai Temple) cost 540,000 VND for the three of us. That’s, like, USD8.00 or Php400.00 per person which, for me, was already quite cheap, considering that it covers the transportation cost and the guide fee.
Of course, when we arrived at the Tunnels, we had to shoulder the entrance fee, which was 110,000 VND per person. That’s almost USD5.00 and around Php250.00 per person. Your guide will also be the one to take us on a tour around the complex.
So, shall we begin?
(I cannot, for the life of me, remember the name of our guide, but my friends and I remember it along the lines of Dan, so let’s use that, shall we?)
Not reading up on anything prior to the trip, I (once again) did not know what to expect. Oh, I just knew that this is a place that played a significant part in the Vietnam War, and I saw some blogs and vlogs that showed some tourists getting into the tunnels and pits to see what it was like.
After paying for the admission ticket, we followed our guide through another entrance where uniformed personnel inspected our tickets and the stuff we’re bringing in, stamped some stickers on our clothes (instead of an ID with “VISITOR” in block letters glaring from it, I suppose), then waved us through a narrow passageway which, oddly enough, felt like a tunnel. A sign of things to come?
Personally, the nature-lover in me relished the idea of walking somewhere far away from the city crowds and whistles and bells.
The Cu Chi Tunnels is basically a vast network of underground tunnels. Well, there are underground tunnels all over the country that connect to each other in some way, but this one is probably the most popular and oft-visited.
The biggest role that the tunnels of Cu Chi played during the Vietnam War was as a hiding spot during combat for the Viet Cong’s soldiers and since there is a complex maze of connecting tunnels to other parts of the country, it served as a route for supplies for the soldiers. A short film viewing later on, as well as an illustrative map shown to us, revealed that living quarters were also dug several levels underground for the soldiers to stay at when they are not on the surface fighting off the Americans.
So it was through a forested area that we walked around in, with a trail specifically created for visitors, and signs appropriately placed for guidance. There were several staff members, mostly cleaners, who were nondescript as they worked in the background to keep the place clean.
Early on, we were regaled with the ingenuity of the Viet Cong in utilizing what they have – their land and nature – in order to keep the resistance alive. They did not have enough resources; most of them were just farmers, and they did not have the training that the US soldiers had, much less that tools.
So they resorted to what they knew best, and that involved using their land. Or what’s under it.
We were shown several traps devised by the soldiers back then in order to, well, entrap their enemies. This was one of the first ones we were shown.
I suppose one of the most talked about attractions when you visit the Cu Chi Tunnels is seeing the entrances to the tunnels or just the holes where the soldiers hid. There were several holes situated in the area, with a staff on standby to aid in the demonstration.
We were led to one, and at first we had trouble figuring out where the hole is. It was cleverly covered or camouflaged in dried leaves. This worked in fooling the American soldiers into thinking there was no enemy around, then the Viet Cong soldier who was in hiding in the hole can just sneak out for a sneak attack.
Then the staff, who was not exactly a tiny guy, but lean and lanky – your typical Asian farmer body build – came forward to demonstrate how to enter the hole and cover it.
So he hopped inside, and it was chest-high, so he’d have to bend inside and duck later on. He grabbed the hole cover in front of him, arranged some dried leaves over it, raised it above his head carefully so as not to dislodge the leaves, then bent down inside the hole, covering it neatly.
A member of our touring party is actually a former US soldier, and he was the one with the most questions.
Some guys in our group volunteered to do it, and they were tall Americans. Which meant getting into the hole was a challenge, ducking inside a difficult task, and staying inside for more than a few seconds almost a Herculean task.
As Dan pointed out, these holes were dug as small as possible, just enough to accommodate the small frame of a Viet Cong soldier, SO THAT THE LARGE AND TALL AMERICAN SOLDIERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THEM INTO THE HOLE AND TRACK THEM THROUGH THE TUNNELS.
Makes a lotta sense, really.
As our guide pointed out and admitted with a straight face, the Vietnamese soldiers cannot afford to face the American soldiers. They’re bigger, and they had more guns – the bigger guns, really. So they had to resort to other ways and… improvise.
Here’s a better representation of one of the booby traps. It’s a large hole dug into the ground, then planted with sharp pointed wooden sticks sticking upwards. Then they placed a wooden cover, covered with grass. Many American soldiers unwittingly walked over what looked like a grassy ground, then fell to their deaths.
And I bet it wasn’t a pretty sight, either.
Imagine staying huddled in a spot like this for hours on end, tensely waiting for the enemy to come. Better yet, imagine crawling into that small hole so you can get to another part of the complex.
Claustrophobic yet?
There were several setups and installations that portray how life was lived aboveground during the war. Tents set up where the soldiers would stand guard. It’s like your normal day-to-day life-in-the-country scene, except they are wielding guns and are ready to spring up to fight at any second.
And yes, even women and children took active part during the war. They just didn’t have any choice.
In fact, women were definitely active, since they are of smaller frame, and would fit in the tunnels even better than the men.
Dan showed us what looked like small hills or protrusions on the ground, with tiny holes that resembled those where moles burrow into. They looked like they were part of the scenery, which was precisely what the soldiers back then were going for.
Apparently, those holes were air passages. It is where oxygen will enter so that the people inside can breathe.
When the American soldiers figured out what these were for, their tactic was to block it so oxygen can’t go in. Of course, provided that they are able to spot or find them first.
During wartime, and especially if they remained holed up for days and days on end, there is a risk that they would lose track of time. In order to avoid that, they used the trees to send messages as well as put some indicators on the passage of time.
Some relics of the war were kept in the area. Like this tank which was seized by the Viet Cong soldiers and the local residents of the area from the American soldiers.
This particular tank was destroyed in 1970 in a surprise attack when the Viet Cong soldiers used a delay mine.
There is more than one way to skin a fish and, for the soldiers during that time, more than one way to design a trap for their enemies. We were shown several of the other types of deadly traps used by the soldiers, and it was clear that they meant business.
Like this one. This is called a “STICKING TRAP”. Anyone who walks into it will slip down, feet first, and those iron will be stuck into him on four sides.
This is the CLIPPING ARMPIT TRAP. Need I say how it works? It does look painful though. *grabs own pits*
It looks similar to the ROLLING TRAP. The only difference is that this one rolls, which is actually even more painful now that I imagine it.
The FOLDING CHAIR TRAP resembles a chair, but when you sit on it, it’s not going to be comfy. I kinda forgot how the SWINGING TRAP works, but I’m pretty sure it’s not less painful.
This is a SEE-SAW TRAP, and it’s definitely not the kind of fun see-sawing we are used to.
In fact, it seesaws real fast, I doubt anyone trapped in it will still be alive to laugh about the experience afterwards.
Here’s our guide, diligently explaining and demonstrating how everything works.
I kinda wondered how these guides feel explaining things to Americans. I mean…. wow, right? It reminded me that time I joined a tour in Intramuros – the walled city during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines – and there were a couple of Spanish tourists in the group.
This is the DOOR TRAP. Pretty self-explanatory, eh?
Look at them stabbing things, tho….. *shudders*
Interestingly enough, the Americans were able to come up with a map of the Cu Chi tunnel network, and this is how it looked like.
Needless to say, it was just a rough representation, and does not get the whole picture of the network. They had a hard time figuring out how the tunnel network looked like, which is the reason why this tunnel was a major pain in their arses.
The soldiers and the townspeople, due to lack of supplies and weapons, had to use their creativity and imagination to make their own. So everyone pitched in. They stole from the enemy, and even the supplies trashed or thrown away by their enemies were picked up and remade into something that they can actually use in fighting.
All that took place in this Military Workshop.
By the way, there is a firing range close by, and for a fee, you can practice firing a gun. That was why there were gunshots to be heard as you’re walking around, which kinda added to the feel of being in a warzone.
If you notice, the structures are one level from the ground, so they looked like mere roofs from afar. That’s one way to keep things on the down low, methinks.
At the Military Uniform and Garment House, you’ll find the various garb worn by the soldiers during that time. Yes, most of them were also farmers, so their outfits were double-purpose. They are soldiers, but they don’t want to give that away when they are aboveground and pretending to be mere farmers.
See the sandals below? They are actually made from tires stolen from the vehicles of the US soldiers.
When I realized that, I was, like, dayummmmmm~
This is a fighting bunker. And it was through this that we entered the tunnels.
It was our choice whether to go in or not. Obviously, those with claustrophobia or trouble in enclosed spaces are not advised to go in. Our guide did not go in, saying he’s done it before already.
I did not really have to think twice about going in or not. Size, I thought, should not be a problem, since I am a tiny Asian (LOL). And other ladies in our tour group were going for it, so why not?
IT. WAS. A TIGHT FIT.
I had no problem with the low ceilings. My problem was with how there were high drops in some places, you’d have to jump down from a crouch. Or how you’d have to clamber up some ledges. Crawling through that space…. propz to the soldiers at the time. WOW.
Going through the tunnel took less than 4 or 5 minutes. When we came up on the other side, my respect for the resistance grew even more. Especially those who actually dug these tunnels.
The planning of these tunnels must have taken place a lot of times in one of these meeting rooms.
We were able to taste tapioca, or cassava, which was a staple food in the area. Apparently, it was one of the crops farmed during the war in this area, and a main food for the soldiers.
There’s an area for a film viewing, where the history of the place can be watched, including a partial map of the tunnels. We didn’t get to see the entire video, however, since it was close to 6pm and the place was already closing down.
War and fighting is often viewed by many people as simply something that happens. It comes and goes, and the best you can do is pray it does not happen where you live. But it’s one of those events that change not only the lives of one or a few people, in the here and now. It definitely changes the lives of an entire nation. Or two. And affects the generations after.
Farmers turning into fighting soldiers? That’s simply one of the many things that war can do. And is still doing. And that fact is preserved as a reminder in the Cu Chi Tunnels.
Did I enjoy the visit?
Yes. And not because I was able to see how they were able to hold their own and fight back. No, that’s not it.
I think what I really appreciated about this is the peek I got at the strength of the human spirit, and how it refuses to back down just because the forces are against them. Lack of resources, absence of technical training and facilities? The people in the area did not let these shortcomings stop them from fighting for their lives, families and property.
That, I think, is worth celebrating.
I leave you with this short clip compilation of our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels.
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