A trip that can be taken from Saigon is a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive network of tunnels dug underground by the Viet Cong before the Vietnam War. The experience at this site was more than a bit unnerving especially with the guides dressed in Viet Cong uniforms and a shooting range nearby, so shots ring out as you wander the tunnel system.
The first thing we did at the Cu Chi Tunnels was to watch a major propaganda piece on the evil US and the heroic VC. We were actually called “crazy devils” in this movie, which was bit unsettling.
Following the video, they took us to a hidden entrance into the VC tunnel network. The tunnel entrance was a wooden board camoflauged by leaves so the US troops wouldn’t find it, but even if they did find this entrance it would have been difficult for them to enter because the tunnels were so small. The tunnels were built for Vietnamese people and I fit in, but it was a tight squeeze.
I went all the way down into the tunnel, but it was so small in there I immediately popped back out. I felt quite claustrophobic to be in such a small, confined space underground.
Next we saw the awful homemade non explosive booby traps made by the Viet Cong. These made many of us feel queasy as they demonstrated how they worked. One of the traps was a window trap where troops would fall onto bamboo spikes laced with poison. An interesting “fact” told to us by our guide was that US dropped cobras (snakes) from planes onto the Vitnamese, but the VC were happy about this because they caught the snakes, used their venom, and then ate them for food.
All over the Cu Chi Tunnel grounds were these horrible mannequins depicting the Viet Cong. They were quite scary especially because some of them moved and when we all went down into a bunker they turned them on and scared us all.
Eventually everyone has the opportunity to climb through the tunnels, which have been enlarged to fit our giant western bodies. These tunnels are actually 2 times the size of the VC ones and after being down in them I cannot even imagine crawling through a tiny VC tunnel. As it was, I had to be doubled over to be able to manuever through the tunnel.
Overall, the experience was unsettling, hot, and dirty.
Following the tunnels, we headed off to the war remnants museum to see the Vietnam slant on the war. The museum is home to many relics left over from the war and some quite interesting propaganda.
Firstly though, there was a truly incredible exhibit honoring war photographers, many of whom also lost their lives over there. It was a quite moving exhibit with incredible photos capturing the horror that was the war.
The next section was the “War Crimes” section, which contained a lot of anti-american sentiment and propaganda. Apparently, the museum actually used to be called the War Crimes Museum, but the name has since changed.
At the end of the museum was a section on all the protests that happened all over the world against the war.
There were also leftover planes and tanks sitting on the grounds.
Overall, the museum was a bit over the top with the evil slants toward the US placed on the war photos, but the war photographers exhibit was really well done. Also, the museum did end in a more positive light with a letter about how Vietnam is glad to have ‘good’ relations with the US once again. Whether that is true or false I am not able to discern.
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