Cu Chi Tunnels

One never fails to visit this popular place on the list of must visit sites in Vietnam. Since nothing much could be seen and done during the vietnam Tet holidays, it's a big relief that the hotel was able to arrange a trip to Cu Chi. If not, we felt that our vietnam trip wasn't worhwhile. Rugi tambang kapal terbang sahaja.
For more information, read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BB%A7_Chi_tunnels.

We started the the 45 minutes journey at around 9.30 in the morning after taking our breakfast. We hired a van with a driver who could speak a little English and luckily our Cu Chi tunnels guide who happened to be a university student had a very good command of English.

 The tunnels run 250 km and the Cu Chi people had lived their life, and died in them during the war. The tunnels were protected by various deadly traps you can imagine. The Viet Congs were very creative and practical. Somehow the Americans got to know about these tunnels and set out to destroy them inland and from the air. There are craters showing us where the bombs were dropped.

This is an underground room where we watched a documentary film on the tunnels and Vietnam-American war. This war followed the war fought between the Communist North and Anti Communist  South Vietnam in 1958. The American government supported the South Vietnam government by sending its forces but the condition deteriorated. Finally, the war ended when the American troops pulled out in 1973 after about five years trying to end it through diplomacy. 

The small hole which fits the small sized local, leads to the underground tunnel. 

The camouflaged trap door

The see-saw trap

Entering the tunnel system

On our hands and feet for about 20 meters. A VC soldier could crawled 40 km under 3 hours, that was from here to Saigon. Truly a special breed army.

Vendors selling souveniers like hats, badges, etc

 We were served boiled tapioca sticks to eat with brown sugar. This was what the Vietcong fighters ate during the war. This was our food too during the war with the japanese.

Rice paper making workshop

Paper rice is the key ingredient in vietnamese cuisines

Have to write something, no?

Passing through a rubber plantation. Vietnam's tropical climate is suitable for this crop.

We went back to HCMC at around 2 p.m and the van sent us straight to VN restaurant near the Ben Tanh market for our lunch. The next day, we went on a Saigon River Cruise in a  pathetic looking boat which we paid rm100 per trip.