4/12/2009

Day 60 - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Viet Cong Tunnels

Another early start this morning followed by a two-hour bus ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Cong guerillas lived underground in the Vietnam War and used the tunnels for their guerilla warfare against the Americans.
The tunnels dug in extremely hard clay and were only 60cm in diameter. All of the entrances were camouflaged so that the US soldiers couldn't find them. The tunnels were built into a really intricate system the most fascinating was the air ventilation system. These were so well hidden that the American's needed to use sniffer dogs to find them. The Viet Cong outsmarted the Americans by putting chili powder around the holes as the dogs did not like it. However, the Americans learnt that when the dog's sneezed and ran away that there was an air vent nearby. When the Americans found an air vent they would put gas, smoke and water down it to flush out the Viet Cong. Finally, the Viet Cong used the clothes of the Americans to fool the sniffer dogs.

The Viet Cong also built many camouflaged traps for the Americans these were so well hidden that they looked just like the grass or leafy floor of the jungle. When a soldier stepped on one he would be impaled by spikes made from bamboo or the recycled metal from the American bombs. The area was heavily bombed by the US during the 17 year war. The tunnel system had three levels - the bottom level was for hiding from the bombs and American soldiers, the middle level was for living in and the top level was for fighting.

Dad, Sura and I went for a 'walk' in one of the tunnels even though it had been expanded for tourists Dad still had to duck walk through the tunnel. I don't think I would have liked living underground like the Viet Cong as it was very dark and the air was stale down there. Uncle Cam went for 100m underground and even crawled through some of the original tunnel. Our tour guide though that three people were lost! However there was another guide in the tunnels showing them the way.

When we were walking through the jungle we heard a really loud bang that gave poor Aunty Andy a big fright! It was a shooting range where you could fire guns that were used in the war. Dad shot 10 bullets from an M16 rifle and Uncle Cam shot 10 bullets from an AK47 and also an M30. Dad said it was so loud it made his ears ring for 5 minutes afterwards.

After lunch we visited another temple this one was of a new religion called Coa Dai which combines Buddhism, Taoism and Confuciusism and Catholicism. Even though it is a new religion it has already been around for 100 years and it's the third biggest religion in Vietnam. We watched a service from the balcony where many people preyed and chanted. The temple architecture used a combination of the religions and was a little childlike in its design like something that you might find in Disneyland!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped a lacquer factory where the workers were all disabled. There were three main decorative techniques that were used - painting, eggshell mosaic and mother of pearl carving. The work was so intricate and beautiful that everyone succumbed and bought a piece.
After dinner we got dropped off at the Rex Rooftop Bar to listen to some live music. We headed to bed at about 10pm as we had to get up early (5am!!) the next morning.