With my heart still pounding, arms shaking and ears ringing from the shooting range, the tour moved swiftly on to the main attraction, a section of Viet Cong tunnel. Specially widened to allow tourist access, this section of tunnels is entered through a bunker. Dropping to around 3 metres we then crawled through a short twisty section of these historical war remains. As you squat crawl through the tunnels, legs starting to burn and your body temperature rising rapidly in the intensely humid environment, it is impossible to comprehend how Viet Cong soldiers lived down there for months at a time, let alone fought a war!

The Cu Chi Tunnel network 55km north west of Saigon is the biggest tourist attraction in the area. The roads leading to the Cu Chi area itself is hardly the dense jungle you would expect after seeing classic Vietnam war films such as 'Platoon'. However the rows and rows of perfectly lined tree plantations are evidence that the moon landscape the American bombing created is slowly recovering! The tunnels were built by the farmers of the Cu Chi area initially as simple shelters from the enemy. After all of the local households had built a bunker, they built tunnels to connect them in order to pass news and keep in touch. Eventually the network comprised over 200km of underground tunnels across the Cu Chi area and as far as the Cambodian border. The US Military, unaware of the extent of this network and the guerrilla army it housed were thwarted in their war effort in Cu Chi, which contributed to their withdrawal in 1973.

In addition to the fascinating insight into VC life in the tunnel network, there are many boobie traps on display. These stomach churning & highly sinister yet imaginative contraptions were designed primarily to wound rather than kill enemy soldiers, as it would take an additional 2-4 soldiers out of action in assisting each wounded comrade on the battlefield. Our guide, suggested it was because Vietnamese are passive and not violent people who would rather not kill enemy soldiers if at all possible! I am not convinced many US soldiers would agree!

The opportunity to fire live rounds with the Russian built AK47 used by the Vietnamese or US M16 assault rifles or M6 machine guns doesn't come around too often and at less than £10 for 10 rounds is another 'must do'. As usual, in liberating fashion, the Asian health and safety is non existent. After buying the bullets you follow a man down to the range where the deafening gun shots ring out all around. The man loads a gun that is secured to the range and off you go. No eye glasses, no further instruction other than pull this trigger and aim (I had already worked that bit out!). Somehow I feel, in the UK, there would have been at least an hours briefing and a few forms to sign before being let anywhere near such a loaded weapon. The force of the first shot kicks the butt of the rifle back into your shoulder and you can feel the power instantly. The empty bullet casing sprays upwards randomly sometimes bouncing off you on the way down but where the bullet actually went is a different matter...it certainly didn't hit the target some 50 metres in front!

Another 'must see' attraction in Saigon is the War Remnants Museum, which is a short walk from the city centre. The museum is graphically powerful and the kind of place that you won't forget very easily...but would actually quite like to! Every detail on how VC soldiers were detained and interrogated in South Vietnamese camps is not for the faint hearted and it is hard to believe how one human being can treat another with such barbaric savagery. If this isn't enough, the section devoted to the effects of 'Agent Orange' is actually a little too much and something I wasn't able to put myself through in it's entirety. I can only liken it to another intensely powerful museum I once visited in 'Hiroshima' such is the detail. Agent Orange was a chemical that the US military aircraft sprayed over vast areas of jungle canopy to clear foliage, enabling them to be able to target the enemy below. I would like to think they were not aware of the side effects of such a chemical or that to anyone exposed the effects would last for generations...sickeningly graphic pictures and people manning the exhibition evidence of how deformities have continued to occur for decades since the war. In addition unexploded bombs and mines still litter this beautiful country and will I'm sure for many years to come in the more remote areas. Horrific images of victims of these devices from the last few years also adorn the walls.

The museum and the Cu Chi tunnels both paint a very one sided picture of the war and as they phrase them, 'US Atrocities'. They also provide contradictory stories, a number based on US troops killing farmers and young children, yet at the Cu Chi tunnels they show footage of child girl VC soldiers who were given medals for 'killing Americans'. They also remark on how the VC soldiers were farmers by day and soldiers by night and are said to have had a plough in one hand and a gun in the other. All of this clever propaganda made it impossible for the US to justify their presence, and ultimately lead to their withdrawal! The anti American slant on the war stories, pictures etc is actually too over the top and therefore quite comical, but as an American visitor I can imagine you must feel a little ashamed!

Having already taken this tour 6 yrs ago it is interesting to make comparisons....Tourism has clearly increased significantly here as both attractions are increasingly developed and significantly busier. Encouragingly though the price has remained the same with the Cu Chi Tunnel tour costing just $5 and the War Museum $1. The most noticeable difference on the tunnel tour is the interestingly named 'Handicapped Handicrafts' workshop and shop en route. This is hardly a local sight as it didn't exist 6 yrs ago and is yet another sign of the Asian need to grab every tourist dollar possible! However on the positive note the shed like remnants museum of 6 yrs ago has now transformed into a new 4 storey exhibition hall although strangely lacking air conditioning!!

Both of these museums are incredibly interesting, particularly as they provide an opportunity to see the Vietnam war from a non Hollywood perspective. Both sides will have done things in the name of war that they are not proud of but you can only respect the resilience and determination of this tiny, under equipped army, against the might of the United States Military machine. Although the actual 'cost' of the war isn't quantifiable, the economy has certainly been aided by the tourism generated by the very same war that put this magnificent country on the World map!