Cu Chi Tunnels

SAIGON DAY TRIPS

The digging of the Cu Chi Tunnels started way back in 1948.

They were started by the Viet Minh to provide a safe area where they could hide from French air and ground forces in the area.

Originally each village in the area would build its own tunnel, and over time the tunnels were eventually connected so that by 1965 there was over 200 kilometers of interconnected underground tunnels.

Cu Chi Tunnels - Saigon

The tunneling was so extensive that at its peak, the Cu Chi Tunnel systems stretched all the way from Saigon to the Cambodian border.

During the Vietnam War the Cu Chi tunnels were used by the Viet Cong as a staging area.

Several stories deep, the Cu Chi Tunnels provided Viet Cong Guerillas with hiding areas during combat, as well as serving as living quarters, food and weapons storage locations and communication and supply routes.

Located about an hour's drive from Saigon, there are still two locations where you can visit the Cu Chi tunnel systems today.

The first of these is at Ben Duoc.

Ben Duoc tends to be visited more by Vietnamese holiday makers rather than foreigners.

The reason is that most of the tours companies that cater to foreigners don't really go there, and because of this the English ability of the guides at Ben Duoc is often not that good.

Tunnel Entrance - Cu Chi Tunnel

But if you are a bit more adventurous and want to visit, the tour companies can organize a tour for you if you ask.

The other site is at Ben Dinh.

At Binh Dinh you cannot go into the original Cu Chi Tunnels, which were not large enough for a western size body, but you can go into a tunnel that has been built to accommodate the larger western physique.

Having said that, crawling through these larger tunnels on hands and knees is still a claustrophobic and pitch black experience, and does give you some idea of how absolutely terrible it would have been to have had to have slept, cooked, schooled and treated wounded in these underground labyrinths.

Not a very pleasant thought given that not only were the people living in the Cu Chi Tunnels carpet bombed by B-52 bombers while living in these tunnels, but they also had to deal with the fact that the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, spiders and mosquitoes.

Consequently it is a sad truth that of the 16, 000 Vietnamese who fought in the Cu Chi Tunnels, only about 6,000 survived the war.

Besides crawling through the tunnels though, there are also a number of displays and other attractions at the Cu Chi Tunnels to see and visit.

Booby Trap with Punji Spikes - Cu Chi Tunnel

Of these displays, the one display that always unnerves me the most is the display on booby traps that were used by the Vietnamese.

Often designed to maim rather than to kill; the design of these booby traps with their metal spikes and claws was often not only to impale the person, but also to make it difficult for the injured person to be taken to the hospital without taking the whole booby trap with them.

In this way the booby traps were able to further hinder and delay the American soldiers.

While walking around the booby traps and displays at the Cu Chi Tunnels you may also hear what sounds like gun fire.

Not to worry though, this is not long lost hard-core Viet Cong guerrillas taking pot-shots at unwary foreign tourists.

No, the Cu Chi Tunnels actually has a functioning firing range, where you can fire a whole variety of guns ranging from those guns used by the American forces like the M16 or M60 Machine Gun, to those used by the Vietnamese like the AK-47.

I fired the M60 machine gun on my first visit.

I fired off about 20 rounds in a valiant attempt to destroy the ferocious cardboard cutout tiger at the other end of the rifle range.

American Tank - Cu Chi Tunnels

And while I did not actually hit the cardboard tiger, I certainly taught the dirt around the tiger a lesson it won't forget in a hurry!

Not being an expert in guns though, I was surprised by how deafening military weapons are, and the ear muffs that the guides provide are a definite must wear.

I would hate to know the level of noise that would erupt in a real firefight with numerous military weapons and explosives going off all at once.

Putting all this together, the booby traps, the firing range and the tunnels themselves make a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and interesting and at time sobering trip.

Walking around the Cu Chi Tunnels you can only admire the fortitude and endurance of the locals who built and had to live in the tunnels every day for years, and the bravery and mental strength of the American soldiers who had to deal with booby traps and an enemy they seldom saw.

Any tour shop can easily help you book a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels.