Transit to Cu Chi: The van from the tour company picked me up at 8:10 at the hotel. We drove to a couple other hotels, picking up tourists. At the second hotel, we transferred to the tour bus and began the ride to Cu Chi. Cu Chi lies about 60 kilometers outside Ho Chi Minh City and the ride took about an hour and a half to complete. Once there, we all exited the bus ready to begin our tour of Ben Dinh Tunnel. There were about 20 tourists in all.
Cu Chi Tunnels: The entire area contains of a vast network of interconnected tunnels dug primarily by farmers in the area over many decades of resistance to French and American forces. They were used not only to stealthily move from place to place to engage the foreign forces, but also as hiding places when the enemy approached the area. Some entrances to the tunnels were very well comouflaged and difficult to detect. Still others were located behind dirt mounds or in ditches, giving the fighters protection and making it difficult for vehicles to traverse the area. The first level of tunnels were 3 meters down. In places, there were second and even third levels, being 6 meters and 10 meters deep, respectively. If the top tunnel was compromised, the people would still be safe as it was very difficult to find the hidden entrances to the lower levels. The tunnels themselves were also booby trapped in places, making searching the tunnels that much more dangerous.
Air was supplied to the lower tunnels through the use of long bamboo poles extending from the lower levels up to ground level. Water wells were dug on the lower levels and all waste was collected and disposed of when it was safe to emerge above ground. The dirt removed from the construction of the tunnels was thinly scattered over the surrounding areas or transported up to 2 km away to keep the location of new tunnels hidden and safe from aerial bombardment.
Ben Dinh Tunnel: The Ben Dinh tunnel, the particular tunnel we toured, was used as a command center for the resistance fighters in the area. The buildings were dug out of the ground, with only the roofs above ground level. The roof was designed to reverberate when enemy aircraft approached and consructed with fire resistant materials.
Many of the simple booby traps make of bamboo or metal spikes were also displayed on the tour. A bombed out American tank was on display as well, sitting in the same place where it was disabled by a land mine. The area is now thickly forested, but was clear of all vegetation through the use of defoliants during the war. Other armaments used by the resistance fighters were constructed from unexploded ordinance recovered from the enemy forces. During the tour, we were given the opportunity to shoot guns used by both the American and Vietnamese armies. The cost averaged $1.50 per round, with half the money going to victims of the war.
There was a small section of upgraded tunnels open to tourists. The tunnels were very small and wove back and forth. In all, the tunnel system was very effective in both hidding the fighters as well as protecting them from aerial spotting and attack. The Americans eventually started using larger bombs dropped from B-52s, which were big enough to collapse the tunnels, but the end of the war was near and the new strategy was started too late to be very effective. At the end of the tour, we were treated to tapioca root, a staple food for the fighters living in the Cu Chi tunnels.
Headed Back: We spent about 2 hours touring the Ben Dinh tunnel before getting back on the bus for the trip back to Ho Chi Minh City. I waited for Peep at the hotel and we went to dinner together, Phout joining the Lao delegation for dinner.