Cu Chi tunnels
Anyone who has looked at my Shelfari page will know I am a fan of the American detective writer Michael Connelly. Connelly’s main detective character Harry Bosch, often refers to his days as a “tunnel rat” during the Vietnam (or as it is known here as the American War). I therefore took the chance to visit the tunnels on my spare day in Ho Chi Minh City.
The tunnels are located close to the Cambodian border which is about 3 hours by a rickety bus (which in places was down to less than 40kph because the roads are so bad). The district of Củ Chi is located 70 kilometers to the northwest of Saigon near the so-called “Iron Triangle”. Both the Saigon River and Route 1 pass through the region which served as major supply routes in and out of Saigon during the war. This area was also the termination of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Because of this, the Củ Chi and the nearby Ben Cat districts had immense strategic value for the NLF (National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam).
The Cu Chi tunnels, which were more than 250 km long and three levels deep, were important for the Viet Cong victory over the Americans as they allowed the Viet Cong to control a large rural area around Saigon. The area supported the South Vietnamese and the Americans, however there were a large number of Cu Chi guerillas who worked for the VietCong and supported the push for communism.
Whilst the U.S. forces relied on artillery support from fixed “Fire Bases,” the Vietnamese used their tunnel system to move their artillery around, making it difficult for the U.S. troops to locate them. In one tunnel complex in Cu Chi the U.S. found two 105 field pieces in perfect working condition. They would be stripped down outside, taken into the tunnels and assembled during the day for maintenance, stripped again, and then taken back through the tunnels to be reassembled in a new location outside and used the next night.
The South Vietnamese and Americans worked hard to demolish the tunnels, and as a result the district of Cu Chi was the most bombed, shelled, gassed, defoliated, and generally devastated area in the history of warfare. It was declared a “free fire zone” which meant that artillery fire fell on it at night, and that bomber pilots were encouraged to drop unused explosives and napalm on the area before returning to base.
Now it is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, run by the local military- as a result the adage “the winner writes the history” is very true. You start with a short video in black and white, about the brave and fearless Cu Chi guerillas. “Cu Chi, the land of many gardens, peaceful all year round under shady trees … Then mercilessly American bombers have ruthlessly decided to kill this gentle piece of countryside … Like a crazy bunch of devils they fired into women and children … The Americans wanted to turn Chu Chi into a dead land, but Cu Chi will never die.”
The extremely disturbing range of booby traps on display are not seen as weapons of torture, rather they are demonstrated as examples of the ingenuity of the people. It was an amazing set up and I was brave (or stupid) enough to go in one tunnel- I lasted 100 metres and that was MORE than enough. Twists and turns and you were bend over double or sometimes on your hands and knees. It was very hot down there and quite dark although they has lights occasionally. I had a nice Singaporean teacher who encouraged me to do it and he went in front and encouraged me which is good as felt like stopping and screaming at one point!
Ironically if you hand over American dollars (that ubiquitous of currencies) you can have a go and fire various rifles and things so the forest echoed with gun fire which was quite eerie- even though you knew they were not firing at you.
Found this video on Youtube- which is a good summary of the tunnels and what you cna experince there-
