Most of our Saturday was spent in the Cu Chi
District. Cu Chi is located on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. Here, the
Viet Cong built tunnels to shelter themselves from the American soldiers as well as for launching
surprise attacks. We were allowed to crawl through some of the tunnels. They
were dark and scary and the tight passageways made me feel claustrophobic. We
ate on a dock with amazing views of the river. On the way back to the Victory
Hotel, we stopped at the Viet Cong cemetery where over ten-thousand soldiers
were buried.
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Journal
Most of our Saturday was spent in the Cu Chi
District. Cu Chi is located on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City and the bus
ride was an hour in a half. On the way, I saw expansive fields, buffalo, and
sugar cane. It was a pleasant contrast to the hustle and bustle of the inner
city. After driving through a wooded area, we came upon a large temple with a
stone terrace. From here we walked on a dirt path through the woods. I saw
empty bomb shell displays and manikins in Viet Cong uniforms. We stopped at a
shelter where we watched footage of Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. This was
a site of years of fighting, bombings, and gassings. Vietnam’s perspective of
the war was noticeable in the tone of the documentary’s narration. A mural at
Cu Chi showed American soldiers falling into booby traps and helicopters
exploding. The tour guide explained the strategic location of the Cu Chi
tunnels. They were located near the Ho Chi Minh trail to receive supplies.
Amazingly, American bases were literally build on top of areas with tunnels. He
showed a diagram of the tunnels and explained that they contained kitchens,
hospitals, and artilleries. In case one level was breeched, two more were built
even deeper underground. The entry ways were also almost impossible to detect.
After the presentation, we were allowed to crawl through some of the tunnels.
They were dark and murky and it soon became hard to breath. I immerged from the
longest tunnel gasping for air and thankful that I was alive! Along the trail,
we were shown examples of booby traps. A popular set-up included a trap door
with bamboo spikes, smeared with excrement to cause infection, at the bottom of
a pit. I got some souvenirs and then followed the group to lunch. We ate on a
dock with amazing views of the river. A Vietnamese student at my table sang us
a song. The rest of us were too embarrassed to sing one! We drove to the Viet
Cong cemetery were over ten-thousand soldiers were buried. The most ornate
graves were designed for war generals and heroes. The layout of the white grave
stones was reminiscent of the layout of the cemetery at Normandy beach were our
soldiers landed during World War 2. On the way back to the Victory Hotel, it
rained for the first time. By the end of the excursion, we were all exhausted.
I skipped dinner to rest in my hotel room.
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