Another early start for the tour to the Cu Chi tunnels this morning.

Our tour guide this time was awesome. John was very knowledgeable, funny and we actually got to find out all the amazing facts on how this underdog nation of tiny people put the Americans on the back foot.

A few impressive facts:

- Viet Cong (communist party) dug tunnel systems all over the country and this particular system was over 250km long.
- To hide the excavated dirt they put it in rivers, filled bomb craters, made artificial termite mounds and created farms. This made it hard for the USA to find out where and when they were digging.
- They ambushed at night and spent the days underground.
- The tunnel entrance hatches were hidden under foliage but marked by specific plants native to the area.
- The tunnels were ventilated using bamboo hidden inside the artificial termite mounds.
- The tunnels were upto 15m underground.
- The Vietnamese incorporated the tunnels into the river systems with tunnels specifically made to carry away water when the USA tried to flood them.
- They used the socks of USA soldiers over the ventilation bamboo to deter the sniffer dogs.
- Vicious traps were laid in the jungle to disable the USA soldiers (see pics)
- Viet Cong kept the battle in the jungle as the USA were not used to this environment.
- The Vietnamese wore sandals with backs soles so the tracks they left would trick the USA making them go the other way.
- Underground kitchens were made with extensive chimney systems to disperse the smoke. They even burnt material with light colored smoke that didn't rises into the sky but moved along the floor.

American moves:

- USA used napalm to scorched the jungle.
- USA used bulldozers to flatten the jungle.
- USA used the chemical 'Agent Orange'. The most toxic chemical ever discovered. It kills forests and people. The spraying of the chemical still causes problems in the water supply to this day and causes babies to be born with deformities. Its clear to see the effects just walking down the street.
- The extensive bombing by the USA saw 7 million tons of bombs dropped. Some still causing injuries today.

We then got to taste the diet that the soldiers were living off. Tapioca with peanuts which was pretty tasty but we bet the 45kg soldiers didn't need that much food. The next stop was the gun range. You could fire any of the rifles used in the war but due to the noise and lack of ear protection we decided against it. And there was only one rifle shooting at a time, we could not imagine what it sounded like during the war. At the end of the trip we got to go down into the tunnels and experience the dark, hot, claustrophobic conditions that the Viet Cong had to endure for days and weeks at a time. We were not filled with confidence before entering the tunnel as John told us that himself and the security guy would go first as cobras do use these as their home. We often forget that we are actually in the jungle. The tunnel was 100m long and 5m deep at most points. We lasted 60m before it became unbearable and we had to use one of the emergency exits (we were not the only ones, not many made it to the end.) We feel that we did pretty well due to how small and hot these tunnels were. It didn't really help when people were stopping to take photos - 'Just keep moving!' was heard many times.

This evening we walked around the city parks where we witnessed outdoor fitness and gyms, local sports, martial arts and talked to students that were desperate to practice their English. The walk gave us chance to improve at crossing the roads. 10 million people live in Ho Chi Minh and there are 7 million mopeds just in the city. Just look ahead, move slowly and whatever you do don't stop or back track are our words of wisdom when crossing the roads in Asia. We were able to sort the money issues out and found an Australian commonwealth ATM which seemed to be common and it let us draw a weeks budget out with little charge. The room stank of smoke as the ventilation was faulty but when we asked the hostel owner why, she said "Oh yes, we decorate upstairs!" Not the answer we wanted but funny.

M & C xxxx