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17 June: Saigon

Up early for a change, we are led through the narrow streets of Saigon by our guest house owner who takes us to TM Brothers Tour Agency. We are off to see the Cu Chi Tunnels built by the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists). First we make a stop at a factory where people, disabled as a result of the war, according to our guide, produce pieces of art made from wood lade in with egg shells or mother of pearl. We watch as they take the blocks of wood, covering them with cloth, after which a black coat of paint is applied as an adhesive. The egg shells or mother of pearl which is painstakingly applied are then lined to ensure that all spaces are filled. This is done twice, before it is polished and displayed in the shop to attract would be buyers. The prices were about 10 times more than one would have paid in the market, we had been tipped off by a friend and decided to leave it for later, but there is no questioning the beauty of the things made there.

Off again, we now faced severe traffic congestion. The official estimate of citizens in HCMC is 6 million, but unofficially according to our guide the figure is closer to 9 million, with at least 3 million motorcyclists. The roads were packed, everywhere motorcyclists swerved in and constant hooting was the order of the day. After about 1 hour we reached the Cu Chi Tunnels, we bought our tickets. Whereafter we were taken to a reed hut, where we were shown a very anti American propaganda movie from the Viet Cong's perspective.

Our guide continued giving us a history lesson dating back to Chinese invasion, French and later the American occupation of Southern Vietnam. The president of Southern Vietnam had not wanted the Americans in the country even though the North communist region wanted to invade it. The CIA with the help of South Vietnam Army generals planned a military coup leading to the president being assassinated. After this the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred in 1964, where an American battleship strayed to close to the North Vietnamese coast and was shot at. The Americans then declared war and proceeded to send its troops into South Vietnam. Unbelievably in excess of 350 000 soldiers were deployed within the first 2 years and at the height of the war more than half a million! In 1973 the Americans started to withdraw, mostly due to their inability to defeat the VC's and the corruption of the South Vietnamese soldiers. In the 9 years of war America dropped 14 million tons of bombs on Vietnam and in excess of 1 million tons of chemicals (Agent Orange to defoliate the forests). If a comparison is made with the second world war the costs were $ 350 billion (WW2) compared to $ 750 billion for the Vietnam war.

Southern Vietnam had been a French colony since the 18 hundreds, but during WW2 the Japanese annexed the country. After the twin atomic bombs fell and Japan surrendered, Vietnam declared its independence. It took the French 3 months to establish their colonial status once more after which a struggle for independence continued for almost 10 years. The construction of the Cu Chi Tunnels started during this period and continued until 1964 when Vietnam over through their colonial masters. America had during these years provided the French with weapons and supplies, but after their defeat became directly involved in the war.

In total the maze of tunnels combined are longer than 250 km! They consist of 3 levels, the first is the observation, meeting room, kitchen and dining room. Below this is the resting bunkers and hospital and the third level could be made up of weapons storage, resting rooms or just an extension of the tunnels. The first level is usually 3m underground, followed by the second 6m and the third 10m!

Heading outside we were shown an exit hole where one would climb in or out of. Its no more 50cm by 33cm, amazingly both of us could descend and ascend arms above our heads through the little hole in the ground. We were shown larger openings where the tunnels led into two directions, allowing the VC to flee into separate directions ensuring that the tunnels not become congested when the B52 bombers came to bomb them. Next was a crater left by a bomb from a B52, it was almost 4m deep with a diameter of 10m, these bombs would often collapse the first and second levels of the tunnels when directly hit. Next was the booby traps made by the VC, everything from bamboo spikes in the ground to balls with spikes swinging from trees and so forth. They would be covered with either snake venom or left in a mixture of buffalo manure and urine for 10 days, ensuring that once contact was made the victim would get tetanus and die.

Next we moved to the shooting range, my anticipation and excitement levels were peaking. I had yet to have the opportunity to fire and AK47 or Kalashnikov. We had 3 options, the American M60 machine rifle, the M16 which I greatly admire, but the Kalashnikov had a bit more appeal. I once read that the Kalashnikov had been created by the Russian M.T Kalashnikov in 1919, he later shot himself after discovering that his creation had found a strong holding with terrorists and paramilitary.

We decided not to shoot all 10 bullets, but rather to share them. Leanne and I had 5 between us while a Canadian had the other 5. He was first and it didn't take long to dispense of his number, my 4 were a little slower seeing as I wanted to take my time aiming at the cow and chicken target a 100m away. The gun jammed twice on me, a characteristic feature of it. Leanne was next with her shot, grinning all the way. Just before we left an American arrived with 20 bullets for the M60 machine gun, it shoots over 100 rounds a minute and it didn't take long to clear his load, the roar was a little too much and we made our way back in a hurry to the others, ears echoing.

Our guide led us through the forest to another opening of the VC tunnels, these had been enlarged to allow westerners to enter the tunnels but still so narrow, it's hard to believe that in actual fact they were much smaller! This one was only 100m long with exits every 20m for those feeling a little claustrophobic. The tunnels led down for the first 20m before one had to climb down to another level, presumably level 2, 6m deep. These tunnels did leave one feeling a little insecure and wanting to escape to the top. Its unbelievable to think that the VC stayed in the tunnels anything from 3 to 10 days, after which they needed to get to the surface otherwise they were prone to get sick. In total I don't think we spent 10 minutes crawling underground for the total 100m length, I don't think there's any chance that I would have been able to do a 7km trip, let alone stay there for 10 days. The tunnels ended at a small room which was used as a hospital where our trip ended. From here we made our way to the bus and headed back to HCMC.

With the tour we had taken we had the option of being dropped off at the War Remnants Museum, displaying mainly photos of war atrocities and the stories behind them, not at all a pro American approach. We finished up and headed back towards the hotel, deciding along the way to rather head directly for the market square. Along the way buying a pineapple for added energy to recover from our losses of the day.

The market is filled with tourist attractions, such as wood, paintings, souvenirs, shoes, clothing, pots and pans, fruits and flowers. After schematically doing the rounds through the market with a general idea of the prices, we started out search for the egg shell painting of two Vietnamese girls and mother of pearl coasters set in wood carvings. It took some time to find what we were looking for at a price we were willing to pay, but in the end we had it exactly at a fraction of the cost.

It was time for some western food, we had seen the equivalent of McDonalds/ KFC along our city strolls. They were offering 2 burgers, 2 chicken thighs, 1 French fries and 2 cokes for only $5. Probably the best western deal we had seen, but on second thoughts we would have gotten double for our money had we gone Vietnamese. (But it's nice to have the comfy home feeling once in a while - or in actual fact just to be certain of exactly what you are eating!!) The evening ended with searches on the internet and researching our next move. Just before bed we purchased tickets from the guest house owner for a two day Mekong Delta tour in the south of Saigon.