I booked the tour to Cu Chi the previous day at the Sinh Tour Service Office on De Tham Street. The 2-hour bus ride was only $4.00, plus an additional $5.00 to enter the tunnels themselves.
The ride through the countryside was beautiful, especially since the large tourist bus was air-conditioned. My A/C vent kept slamming shut every time we hit a bump, so I tore a piece of cardboard off my notepad and wedged it into the opening. It worked great, and cool air flowed continuously for the rest of the trip to Cu Chi.
The tunnels are within a few kilometers of the border with Kampuchea, and were used as a major infiltration and supply route by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the "American War".
The day was very
warm, and there was no appreciable breeze to keep us cool. We worked up
a sweat very quickly as our tour guide showed us several booby traps,
including a tiger trap used to kill and maim American and South Vietnamese
troops.
We were shown very
small tunnel openings used as lookout holes. A few of the tourists wiggled
their bodies into the tiny openings. Camouflaged with brush, these openings
were nearly impossible to detect.
We were invited to enjoy the rifle range and test our skills as marksmen,
using M-16s, AK-47s and other military rifles that were left over from
the war. There were thousands of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition
abandoned by the fleeing South Vietnamese troops in 1975. The weapons
were in deplorable condition and the sights were badly out of alignment.
Nonetheless, I managed to hit the target 2 times out of 10 rounds fired,
winning the approval of my communist hosts and a small medal, compliments
of the Cu Chi Rifle Range.
We were then escorted
to the tunnel openings. The main tunnel, almost 100 meters long, was enlarged
somewhat to accomodate tourists.
There were several
levels, and the tunnels were connected by ladders and small stairways.
Of course, 15 feet underground, there is no breeze. The air became stale
very quickly with 20 tourists duck-walking through these tiny tunnels.
I could only imagine how thousands of people could live here for months
on end. After emerging from the main tunnel, our guide invited us to go
into the "difficult" tunnel. It was only about 30 meters long, but half
the height and width of the main tunnel. Having sweated about 2 gallons
of sweat in the main tunnel, I respectfully declined.
We stopped for refreshments in the mess hall, an above ground kitchen
and dining area. In reality, these facilities were located entirely underground
to avoid detection. But, we tourists were lightweights and needed the
fresh air. Our guide explained how the smoke from the cooking fires was
routed through horizontal chimneys up to 100 meters long and dissipated
through layers of leaves and debris so as to be virtually undetectable.
I posed with a couple of mannequins dressed in Viet Cong uniforms, and
imagined thousands of these little people scurrying in and out of these
magnificent tunnels in the 20 years it took to win the war of independence.
