Vacation in Vietnam-Cu Chi Tunnels

We were welcomed to Ho Chi Minh City by the sunshine after a 1 1/2 hour flight and grateful to be away from the rain in central Vietnam. Our local guide, Mr. Tao met us at the airport and we headed right to the Cu Chi Tunnels about an hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. Did you know they are one in the same? The name of the city was changed after the Vietnam War by the government in honor of Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the North Vietnamese. Our guide who was born in South Vietnam still calls it Saigon. As we drove out to tour the tunnels, he told us his 'story'. His father lived in America for 6 years and was a trained military pilot. After the war was over because he was from the south, he was imprisoned for 10 years until his death. Before the war, Mr. Tao and his family lived a privileged life, they had a nice home with a pool, status...when the south lost, his family was forced to sign over their home to the new government and his father was imprisoned. His mother and three sisters fled to the jungle to survive. He was 6 years old at the time, two times his mother sacrificed much to try to smuggle Mr. Tao on a coconut boat to the Philippians and both times their boat was detected by authorities. He put himself through university in his late 20's and has learned English, thus he can have the much desired job of tour guide where he makes about $300/month without tips. He feels much affection for Americans and much animosity to the current government, he has talked several times of the political corruption, the mistreatment of the poor, poor health care...

Before touring a small part of the over 150 miles of tunnel systems used by the Viet Con during the war, we were forced to watch a video filled with propaganda, praising many "War Heroes" with the number of American soldiers they killed. Then we were allowed to tour portions of the amazing tunnels dug under the Vietnam jungle. The tunnels are in three levels, the third level is as deep as 10 meters. You'll see from the pictures how small some of the tunnels are and how ingenious. Nathan and I could only stand to crawl through one 30 meter section of the tunnel system. Mark, Dustin and Ethan crawled through 3 separate tunnels, one being 100 meters long, at one point Mark said he had to squeeze through flat on his stomach and remember it's pitch black-oh so confining and eerie. I can't imagine fighting an enemy in that environment. We saw bombed tanks, bomb craters, lots of different kinds of booby traps-just validating how horrific war really can be. I was most amazed with the kitchens that were in the tunnels, they had so smartly placed the cooking fire vents many feet from the actual underground tunnel. The air vents were placed in termite mounds and very difficult to detect.

The boys had the opportunity to shoot a M-60 mounted machine gun, Ethan opted out but Dustin and Nathan took part in the loud activity. On the return into the city we stopped at a rubber tree farm. The trees have to be cut daily to allow the 'rubber' sap to seep into attached bowls, the sap is collected daily for rubber production and this is all done by manual labor, we saw thousands of trees. What a great experience to learn so many new things.