Friday 29 Jun
We're currently in Ho Chi Minh city (alias Saigon). It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the Vietnam war in honour of the Vietnamese Stalinist Revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, who fought for the unification of a communist Vietnam, Although he died in 1969, others continued his fight for a unified communist Vietnam. This was achieved when the North Vietnamese won the Vietnam war. Anyone reading this blog who is of my generation (or older, and possibly younger) will remember the daily news coverage of this war; because Reg and I remember it, finding out more about the war while we are in Vietnam, is of special interest to us. American involvement peaked in 1968, and the war finished in 1975.
We've booked a half-day tour (on a coach with many other Western tourists) to vist the Cu Chi Tunnel.
I think it's called tunnel rather than tunnels because only one tunnel remains open for tourists to see now; but during the Vietnamese war (and possibly before this, during the war with the French) the Cu Chi tunnel was a huge labyrinth of tunnels connecting whole villages. The Vietcong guerrillas built the tunnels many metres underground, and used them to hide in when fighting the Americans. The tunnels were also used as an air raid shelter for the local villagers during American bombing campaigns, and had an underground hospital for wounded Vietcong guerrillas; cooking could be done underground, as special airholes were created for the smoke to evaporate, and a way of dispersing the smoke when it reached ground level was divised, so that the smoke disappeared really quickly under coverings of leaves.
Having visited the Cu Chi tunnel, and learned how clever the Vietcong were at camoflaging and booby trapping the entrances and other ground areas nearby (with lethal bamboo and later metal spikes underground, concealed in drop-holes which the American ground soldier would fall into - don't even think about it) we have a greater understanding of how impossible it was for the Americans to win the war. The Americans may have had better technology, expensive weapons, aircraft and bombs; but the Vietcong Guerillas knew this territory like the back of their hands, knew where the booby traps were, and knew how to cover their tracks. Even if a tunnel entrance was discovered by the Americarns, and they destroyed it, the Vietcong just dug another entrance elsewhere. At one stage the Americans used dogs to sniff out the tunnels; but the Vietcong started putting pepper and chilli powder down, which made the dogs sneeze and disguised the scent of the Vietcong which the dogs had been trained to follow.
The Vietcong guerrilla fighters were small and slim, carried a minimum of "kit" with them, and wore light clothing and sandals; the Americans were hampered by their uniforms, boots, heavy kit and their size. The tunnels were low and narrow, very difficult for the normally larger American soldier to even get into.
There were huge casualties on both sides during the Vietnam war; we learn that 10% of American soldiers died through the Vietcong lethally spiked booby traps.
When we arrive at the Cu Chi tunnels, which are about 60 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, we are first of all shown a very old propaganda film about the Vietnam War, and the Cu Chi tunnels, produced by the Vietnamese Communist Government.
Our brilliant English-speaking Vietnamese guide, who was a teenager at the time of the Vietnamese war, but didn't have to fight because he was studying, shows us one of the extremely narrow entrance drop-shutes to the tunnels. This is now a special display shaft for tourists to see, He lifts the trap door and invites us tourists to volunteer to go down the drop shute. To my astonishment Reg is the first to volunteer! I'm thinking, Reg, I know you've lost a lot of weight on this trip, but that shaft is extremely narrow, and you have to haul yourself back out afterwards.
Reg drops into the shaft. which is about 4 ft (1.4 metres) deep, fairly easily. He reaches up for the trapdoor, which he has covered with leaves for camoflage, coupees down into the hole, and pulls the trapdoor over his head. He lifts the lid back up - will he now be able to get out of the hole? It's so narrow!! After a minor struggle he wriggles out, without doing himself an injury, much to my relief. I tell him off, but really I'm proud of him,
After that lots of the younger lads in the group have a go and many photos are taken, When it comes to crawling through the low tunnel itself ( the entrance to this has been modified for less able tourists like me) both Reg and I struggle a bit. The tunnel has been made a lot wider and higher since the Vietnam war, to accommodate Western tourists wanting to go down it, but it's still extremely small. Bent double, I struggle because of my non-agile knees; but at least I don't actually have to get down on my knees and crawl like Reg, because of his exceptional 6' 3" (1.93 metres) height. Luckily , although the tunnel is 60 metres long, there's an option to exit it after 20 metres, which both Reg and I take.
We find our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnel fascinating and informative, not least because our excellent guide tries to provide us with an unbiased background to and account of the Vietnam war. We leave the Cu Chi tunnels in sombre mood. We think about the loss of life in this war, and about the thousands of people on both sides who were maimed and injjured. We cosider the ripple effect these deaths and injuries had on Vietnamese and American families. We think too of the disabilities suffered by the current younger generation following the Asian Orange chemical, a defoliant to used by the Americans during the Vietnam war to clear the forest areas, and of the loss of livelihood suffered by the South Vietnamese farming communities.
Now Vietnam is a communist country where some are very rich, and some are enterprising and living a reasonable life; but a large proportion of the population are living in non-hygenic conditions, in extreme poverty. But ask me if most of us in the Western world, with our quest for money and possessions and stressful lives are happier than them - and I would answer, probably not. The ready smiles of most of the Vietnamese population, and their cheerful, friendly dispositions, are a joy to behold.
r a
We're currently in Ho Chi Minh city (alias Saigon). It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the Vietnam war in honour of the Vietnamese Stalinist Revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, who fought for the unification of a communist Vietnam, Although he died in 1969, others continued his fight for a unified communist Vietnam. This was achieved when the North Vietnamese won the Vietnam war. Anyone reading this blog who is of my generation (or older, and possibly younger) will remember the daily news coverage of this war; because Reg and I remember it, finding out more about the war while we are in Vietnam, is of special interest to us. American involvement peaked in 1968, and the war finished in 1975.
We've booked a half-day tour (on a coach with many other Western tourists) to vist the Cu Chi Tunnel.
I think it's called tunnel rather than tunnels because only one tunnel remains open for tourists to see now; but during the Vietnamese war (and possibly before this, during the war with the French) the Cu Chi tunnel was a huge labyrinth of tunnels connecting whole villages. The Vietcong guerrillas built the tunnels many metres underground, and used them to hide in when fighting the Americans. The tunnels were also used as an air raid shelter for the local villagers during American bombing campaigns, and had an underground hospital for wounded Vietcong guerrillas; cooking could be done underground, as special airholes were created for the smoke to evaporate, and a way of dispersing the smoke when it reached ground level was divised, so that the smoke disappeared really quickly under coverings of leaves.
Having visited the Cu Chi tunnel, and learned how clever the Vietcong were at camoflaging and booby trapping the entrances and other ground areas nearby (with lethal bamboo and later metal spikes underground, concealed in drop-holes which the American ground soldier would fall into - don't even think about it) we have a greater understanding of how impossible it was for the Americans to win the war. The Americans may have had better technology, expensive weapons, aircraft and bombs; but the Vietcong Guerillas knew this territory like the back of their hands, knew where the booby traps were, and knew how to cover their tracks. Even if a tunnel entrance was discovered by the Americarns, and they destroyed it, the Vietcong just dug another entrance elsewhere. At one stage the Americans used dogs to sniff out the tunnels; but the Vietcong started putting pepper and chilli powder down, which made the dogs sneeze and disguised the scent of the Vietcong which the dogs had been trained to follow.
The Vietcong guerrilla fighters were small and slim, carried a minimum of "kit" with them, and wore light clothing and sandals; the Americans were hampered by their uniforms, boots, heavy kit and their size. The tunnels were low and narrow, very difficult for the normally larger American soldier to even get into.
There were huge casualties on both sides during the Vietnam war; we learn that 10% of American soldiers died through the Vietcong lethally spiked booby traps.
When we arrive at the Cu Chi tunnels, which are about 60 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, we are first of all shown a very old propaganda film about the Vietnam War, and the Cu Chi tunnels, produced by the Vietnamese Communist Government.
Our brilliant English-speaking Vietnamese guide, who was a teenager at the time of the Vietnamese war, but didn't have to fight because he was studying, shows us one of the extremely narrow entrance drop-shutes to the tunnels. This is now a special display shaft for tourists to see, He lifts the trap door and invites us tourists to volunteer to go down the drop shute. To my astonishment Reg is the first to volunteer! I'm thinking, Reg, I know you've lost a lot of weight on this trip, but that shaft is extremely narrow, and you have to haul yourself back out afterwards.
Reg drops into the shaft. which is about 4 ft (1.4 metres) deep, fairly easily. He reaches up for the trapdoor, which he has covered with leaves for camoflage, coupees down into the hole, and pulls the trapdoor over his head. He lifts the lid back up - will he now be able to get out of the hole? It's so narrow!! After a minor struggle he wriggles out, without doing himself an injury, much to my relief. I tell him off, but really I'm proud of him,
After that lots of the younger lads in the group have a go and many photos are taken, When it comes to crawling through the low tunnel itself ( the entrance to this has been modified for less able tourists like me) both Reg and I struggle a bit. The tunnel has been made a lot wider and higher since the Vietnam war, to accommodate Western tourists wanting to go down it, but it's still extremely small. Bent double, I struggle because of my non-agile knees; but at least I don't actually have to get down on my knees and crawl like Reg, because of his exceptional 6' 3" (1.93 metres) height. Luckily , although the tunnel is 60 metres long, there's an option to exit it after 20 metres, which both Reg and I take.
We find our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnel fascinating and informative, not least because our excellent guide tries to provide us with an unbiased background to and account of the Vietnam war. We leave the Cu Chi tunnels in sombre mood. We think about the loss of life in this war, and about the thousands of people on both sides who were maimed and injjured. We cosider the ripple effect these deaths and injuries had on Vietnamese and American families. We think too of the disabilities suffered by the current younger generation following the Asian Orange chemical, a defoliant to used by the Americans during the Vietnam war to clear the forest areas, and of the loss of livelihood suffered by the South Vietnamese farming communities.
Now Vietnam is a communist country where some are very rich, and some are enterprising and living a reasonable life; but a large proportion of the population are living in non-hygenic conditions, in extreme poverty. But ask me if most of us in the Western world, with our quest for money and possessions and stressful lives are happier than them - and I would answer, probably not. The ready smiles of most of the Vietnamese population, and their cheerful, friendly dispositions, are a joy to behold.
r a
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