We continued our journey south, this time opting to fly from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh (formerly known as Saigon). Here we took in the sights of the city - the Independence Palace, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Saigon Skydeck, and most notably the War Remnants Museum.
We were sure to also check out the Cu Chi tunnels. Cu Chi is a northern district of Ho Chi Minh. Here the Viet Cong had a base on the southern side of the DMZ. The 250km of tunnels housed the Northern Vietnamese soldiers and their artillery. The Viet Cong would hide and wait during the day and emerge during the night to fight the American forces. They used their local knowledge of the dense jungle and their cunning to defeat the better equipped, capitalist Americans.
They set up booby traps using sharpened bamboo spikes. When the American soldiers would fall into the traps the Vietnamese would strip them of their supplies - weapons, torches, rations - remove the bodies and start again the next night. The Americans knew they were hiding but could never find the tunnel entrances. Even if they were discovered the entrances were so small that the much larger Americans wouldn't have been able to fit in.
Walking around the junlge I had a sense of pity for the Americans. In the movies the soldiers are the victims of this war, which some might disagree with. But for the individuals involved, they were air dropped into the middle of no where and told to fight an enemy which they couldn't find. They were ambushed, killed, or suffered from infections from the booby traps which would result in limb amputation.
What I don't understand about the Americans is that if they knew the Vietnamese were down in the tunnels why they didn't get a JCB in and dig them out. You don't need to look for the entrances if you can make your own.
We had a go in the tunnels, and they were pretty tight!
The Vietnamese lived down in those tunnels for 20 years and we struggled to do 20 metres!
At the end of the tour they took us to a shooting range. As Wes pointed out it was a little in poor taste considering how many people had lost their lives on that very spot only a few decades ago.
We finished the day at the street food market where we had the best Vietnamese food in the entire country.
And that rounded off Vietnam for us. The next day we departed for Cambodia. Vietnam was fun, crazy, exhausting and hot.
Strangely, Britain didn't participate in this war and as a result I have very little knowledge of it. The museum was eye-opening. It highlights the mass bombing, terrible atrocities, imprisonment and torture, first hand accounts, and many moving images from the 19-and-a-half years of war.
We were sure to also check out the Cu Chi tunnels. Cu Chi is a northern district of Ho Chi Minh. Here the Viet Cong had a base on the southern side of the DMZ. The 250km of tunnels housed the Northern Vietnamese soldiers and their artillery. The Viet Cong would hide and wait during the day and emerge during the night to fight the American forces. They used their local knowledge of the dense jungle and their cunning to defeat the better equipped, capitalist Americans.
They set up booby traps using sharpened bamboo spikes. When the American soldiers would fall into the traps the Vietnamese would strip them of their supplies - weapons, torches, rations - remove the bodies and start again the next night. The Americans knew they were hiding but could never find the tunnel entrances. Even if they were discovered the entrances were so small that the much larger Americans wouldn't have been able to fit in.
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| The very funny tour guide described this entrance as King Kong sized. The real ones were much smaller. |
What I don't understand about the Americans is that if they knew the Vietnamese were down in the tunnels why they didn't get a JCB in and dig them out. You don't need to look for the entrances if you can make your own.
We had a go in the tunnels, and they were pretty tight!
 |
| It was a little easier for me down there compared to Wes. |
At the end of the tour they took us to a shooting range. As Wes pointed out it was a little in poor taste considering how many people had lost their lives on that very spot only a few decades ago.
We finished the day at the street food market where we had the best Vietnamese food in the entire country.
And that rounded off Vietnam for us. The next day we departed for Cambodia. Vietnam was fun, crazy, exhausting and hot.
