On this remembrance day it is fitting that we made our way to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside of Saigon. This is where some of the longest and brutal battles ensued to take over the area and reach Saigon, however the people of Cu Chi - men, women and children fought to maintain their land and freedom. They built an intricate tunnel system in the jungle. The first level had chambers to store weapons, complete with sniper holes to shoot the enemy so that they wouldn't know where it was coming from. The tunnels are extremely narrow and there were booby traps along the hundreds of passage ways. The tunnel access points were hidden beneath the jungle floor and the tunnels so deep that bombs could not penetrate and destroy them. The Viet Cong created a venting system for the smoke from their fires so that the smoke would travel far from the site of the tunnels and come out as a trickly of smoke instead of the billows that the military was looking for to blast.
Air holes - they look like termite nests
We entered the first tunnel - one without a booby trap thankfully. The tunnels have actually been widened for westerners so we can fit through! Legs first and then arms up to slip into the depths of the hard earhen tunnel. Damp leaves and bats inhabit the tunnel and it is pitch black. Our instructions was to take the first left and then the next 2 rights. However, in the pitch black it is easy to feel your throat tighten and the walls- that are so close already - start to close in a little more. I blindly followed the orange light of the camera of the girl ahead of me as bats squealed around me. At one point I lost her light and felt around only to find that there were tunnels all around me, I had to call to her to get my bearings. Crawling on my hands and knees the 7 meters felt like a mile.
Can you see the handles for the secret tunnel?
The second cave had some lighting in it and we walked through a chamber before duck walking through the 120 meter tunnel system that sloped up and down. At points we had to slide down and lower ourselves down holes. It felt like an eternity and the heat was stiffling, even though this was the air conditioned tunnel. We were literally dripping sweat when we surfaced. This was just the first level of the 3 tiered tunnels as they have closed the other levels due to the drops and climbs, booby traps and danger to tourists.
Having little support and even fewer weapons they constructed some horrible weapons of war - booby traps - pits with swing doors and dagger sharp spears, previous animal traps converted to maim and kill humans, bomb shells converted to become explosives for tanks and humans.
The entire experience was told from the Vietnamese viewpoint, so there was definately some bias, but the experience was heart breaking and thought provoking. On our way we stopped at this factory set up to enable the innocent victims of war to survive the aftermath and become self sufficient. It was humbling to watch as the evidence of chemical warfare has left a permanent reminder with each of the workers. Missing, dysfunctional and mis-sized limbs were just a few of the ramifications of the poison, yet the artwork that is produced from eggs shells and poa shels all cut and glued incredibly to create works of art is incredible.
I am not sure how to completely explain the emotion that was evoked by the whole experience. It was a pensive day as remembrance day should be, and it really struck home the sacrifices that were made by all involved, military, civilians, innocent bystanders caught in the middle of the horror of war. All the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted on a daily basis are a result of so much sacrifice and loss. Sadly, we are travelling through so many countries that do not enjoy these freedoms and luxuries and who constrantly fear for their safety or cannot even fathom a future beyond today.
Let us remember, let us not forget.
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