Cu Chi Tunnel,Vietnam Trip

Cu Chi is the name of a district lying Northwest of Saigon. During the Vietnam War, the local found the necessity of having to hide themselves underground to get rid of their enemies, also to store their weapons, food, and almost everything needed for a prolonged war against the American (etc school, hospital…included). At its height, this system of underground tunnels dug by the local reached over 200 km

In its structure, the tunnel system (over 200km) had three separated underground levels. The first level was of some 3 meters below, capable of sustaining shells attack and weight of tanks.

The second level was of 6 meters, capable of sustaining avarage bombs. The deepest level was of 12m, totally safe under any weapons rained above.
Some of the tunnels were dug very deep into the ground and large command centres were built deep in the earth. They were able to live for long periods and had developed a system to filter out the smells and the smoke while they were cooking. There was an underground hospital and operating theatre, big kitchens and dining rooms, dormitories for sleeping and even at one stage a cinema. The tunnels twist and turn however it was very claustrophobic to live down there all the time.

Most Vietnamese are very thin people and therefore the tunnels are very narrow. Most Westerners would not fit into the tunnels and part of the Chu Chi Tunnels have actually been widened to fit the tourists’ sizes. By looking at the size of tunnel, I thought I couldn’t be able to fit in.

We were then led onto an area where some of the tunnels had been widened to fit in tourists. We all crawled down onto our hands and knees to crawl along the tunnels. That is the first and the shortest tunnel, it is about 30m in distance. It is sandy, with small yellow bulbs along it to light up the path as it is extremely dark, hot, and stuffy inside. A visit through the tunnels is an unforgettable experience. I only managed to go about half of the distance when I had an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and fortunately I managed to crawl through it.

I had a chance to shoot at their range for $1 per bullet. I bought 10 bullets to share with my family and I used an AK47. Too bad, I couldn’t bring back the used bullets as souvenirs.

I’m glad that the war has been over and that these tunnels have now turned into a popular site for tourists. You must go if you're around, especially if you're curious about why and how the US Army suffered in this battle, a battle expected to be victorious, but on that turned out to be a nightmare.The Cu Chi Tunnels represents the undaunted will, revolutionary heroism, and intelligence of the people who created it. A visit to the tunnels will definitely cause tourists to realize and understand the arduous struggle of the Vietnamese people during those times of war.