Chu Chi Tunnels and the Brutality of War
We walked the tunnels of the Viet Cong, and saw their horrific man traps
10.03.2010 - 10.03.2010
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While we were in Ho Chi Minh City we took a trip to visit the Chu Chi tunnels, which is a place where you can see first hand the improvised traps of the southern Vietnamese army.
On our way to the tunnels we stopped off at a huge workshop, where the staff were made up entirely of handicapped people who had been affected in some way by the chemical weapons used during the war. We were fortunate enough to see them working on decorating some stunning pieces delicately using shards of egg shell. The skill of the workers, and their craftsmanship was impressive.
On arrival at the tunnels we spent some time learning about (and witnessing first hand) the brutal weapons used by Viet Cong soldiers to deter, trap and ultimately defeat the invading American troops. All I can say is that whoever was responsible for developing these weapons, must have had no remorse. However, it is difficult not to marvel at the ingenious ways everyday objects were turned in to vicious killing instruments. They even found a way of creating land mines out of unexploded American bombs! If that isn't resourceful I don't know what is.
During our tour we were given the opportunity to try getting in to one of the tiny rectangular hides that are positioned throughout the forest floor, completely covered by leaves. A couple of scrawny American guys took up the challenge and jumped right in, no problem. Then I rocked up with my broad shoulders. There were a few chuckles from our tour group, as no-body expected me to fit into the tiny space, but I somehow did it! It was quite claustrophobic down there, but an ingenious hideout.
If you're brave enough, there was also the opportunity to crawl through the actual tunnels that were used by Vietnamese troops (although they have supposedly been widened to 3 times there size) while they hid from the invading army's. The task was extremely uncomfortable and even more claustrophobic than getting into the hide. We could only be impressed by the fact that some of these tunnels actually stretched for miles, all the way back to Ho Chi Minh City!
Ant knee
Posted by howlett 28.03.2010 01:22 Archived in Vietnam Tagged tourist_sites
