Tunnel Rat

Hi all,

Went to the Cu Chi tunnels this morning. After the body clock woke me with a start at 6 AM (damn that Jodi and her evil ways) I slogged downstairs to receive my free breakfast once again. The staff are so nice at the hotel and are always smiling, almost scary...not used to this.

Anyway on my way to the tour office I stopped on the street to buy water and a rickshaw driver came up behind me to offer his trade and startled me. In the process my billfold of money went scattering all over the place. I look horrified at the bills as they simply went everywhere. Acting fast before the hungry Vietnamese did, I pounced on everything just throwing fistfuls of Dong into my pocket but the rickshaw guy managed to get some first.

Thinking that he was about to hightail it I just gave him a look of "Take my money and you are a dead man" and he handed it over. However this just started into a daylong cat and mouse game. While waiting for my tour bus this same guy figured that since he picked up some of my money that I should now go with him for a city tour (something that I have already done). I explained to him that I was going to Cu Chi and that I had already done the city tour. The reply I got was "Ok.. Cu Chi...you back at 2 then we go". "Yeah whatever" I said, thinking that was that.

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I stole this next bit off the Internet so I wouldn't have to rehash it.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are located approximately 30 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City in Cu Chi district. This district is known nationwide as the base where the Vietnamese mounted their operations of the Tet Offensive in 1968.

The Cu Chi Tunnels consist of more than 200 km of underground tunnels. This main axis system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters, and entrances to other tunnels. The tunnels are between 0.5 to 1 m wide, just enough space for a person to walk along by bending or dragging. However, parts of the tunnels have been modified to accommodate visitors.

The upper soil layer is between 3 to 4 m thick and can support the weight of a 50-ton tank and the damage of light cannons and bombs. The underground network provided sleeping quarters, meeting rooms, hospitals, and other social rooms. Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels provides a better understanding of the prolonged resistance war of the Vietnamese people and also of the persistent and clever character of the Vietnamese nation.

For a place that's physically invisible, the Cu Chi Tunnels, have sure carved themselves a celebrated niche in the history of guerrilla warfare. Its celebrated and unseen geography straddles around 350sq.km - all of it underground - something that the Americans eventually found as much to their embarrassment as to their detriment. They were dug, before the American War, in the late 1940s, as a peasant-army response to a more mobile and ruthless French occupation. The plan was simple: take the resistance briefly to the enemy and then, literally, vanish.

First the French, then the Americans were baffled as to where they melted to, presuming, that it was somewhere under cover of the night in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. But the answer lay in the sprawling city under their feet - miles and miles of tunnels. In the gap between French occupation and the arrival of the Americans the tunnels fell largely into disrepair, but the area's thick natural earth kept them intact and maintained by nature.

It became, against the Americans and under their noses, a resistance base and the headquarters of the southern Viet Nam Liberation Forces, and it was only 70km from Sai Gon. The linked threat from the Viet Cong - the armed forces of the National Liberation Front of South Viet Nam - against the southern city forced the unwitting Americans to select Cu Chi as the best site for a massive supply base - smack on top of the then 25-year old tunnel network. Even sporadic, and American's grudgingly had to later admit, daring attacks on the new base, failed for months to indicate where the attackers were coming from - and, importantly, where they were retreating to. It was only when captives and defectors talked that it became slightly more clear. But still the entries, exits, and even the sheer scale of the tunnels weren't even guessed at. Chemicals, smoke-outs, razing by fire, and bulldozing of whole areas, pinpointed only a few of the well-hidden tunnels and their entrances. The emergence of the Tunnel Rats, a detachment of southern Vietnamese working with Americans small enough to fit in the tunnels, could only guess at the sheer scale of Cu Chi. By the time peace had come, little of the complex, and its infrastructure of schools, dormitories, hospitals, and miles of tunnels, had been uncovered.

Now, in peace, only some of it is uncovered - as a much-visited part of the southern tourist trail. Many of the tunnels are expanded replicas, to avoid any claustrophobia they would induce in tourists. The wells that provided the vital drinking water are still active, producing clear and clean water to the three-tiered system of tunnels that sustained life. A detailed map is almost impossible, for security reasons if nothing else: an innate sense of direction guided the tunnellers and those who lived in them, sometimes for months on end.

Some routes linked to local rivers, including the Sai Gon River, their top soil firm enough to take construction and the movement of heavy machinery by American tanks, the middle tier from mortar attacks, and the lower, 8-10m down was impregnable. A series of hidden, and sometimes booby-trapped, doors connected the routes, down through a system of narrow, often unlit and unvented tunnels. At one point American troops brought in a well-trained squad of 3000 sniffer dogs, but the German Shepherds were too bulky to navigate the courses. One legend has it that the dogs were deterred by Vietnamese using American soap to throw them off their scent, but more usually pepper and chili spray was laid at entrances, often hidden in mounds disguised as molehills, to throw them off. But the Americans were never passive about the tunnels, despite being unaware of their sheer complexity. Large-scale raiding operations used tanks, artillery and air raids, water was pumped through known tunnels, and engineers laid toxic gas.

Today the halls that showed propaganda films, that housed educational meetings and schooled Vietnamese in warfare are largely intact. So too are the kitchens where visitors can dine on steamed manioc, pressed rice with sesame and salt, a popular meal during the war, as they are assailed with true stories of how life went on as near-normal, much of the time. Ancestors were worshipped there, teaching was well timetabled, poultry was raised - and even couples trysted, fell in love, were wed, and honeymooned there.

But visitors have it easier: those re-constructed tunnels give the flavour of the tunnels but not the claustrophobia and the sacrifice of the estimated 18,000 who served their silent and unseen war there with only around one-third surviving, the rest casualties of American assaults, snakes, rats and insects.

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The complex today that is open to visitors starts with a Vietnamese propaganda film. At certain parts guerrilla heroes are portrayed showing they won their title and distinction of "American Killer Hero". I found this be to very interesting since some of the visitor's were American. The guy would came into the room after the short movie was done, came in screaming. Well not literally, he was rather loud though. He started outlining the area we were in and the things we would see but all with a tone that I found rather offensive coming from a tour guide. "The enemy this and the enemy that, American this and American that". "OK pal I got the picture you hate Americans, we all do but don't you think you are overdoing it a little!" I thought.

Anyway our real guide thankfully was waiting outside to show us around. The first thing you notice is that the whole area is bomb scarred with B-52 bombshell holes. Rather deep, but rather useful to the VC. Whenever there was a nearby crater the VC used it to empty dirt into when digging a fresh tunnel. When the hole was filled they had dispersed of a rather large amount of tunnel dirt would normally have caused alarm to the Americans. Brilliant thinking I thought. Soon though there was way too many bomb craters and thus I got to see many of those today.

Along a path our guide stopped and said that we were standing right next to an original tunnel entrance. The others couldn't believe it. In the middle of nowhere without any markings and in a sea of leaves the guide said we were right next to an entrance. He even outlined an area about 3 Meters Square and dared us to find it.

Seeing no one stepping up to the challenge, I walked right over and brushed the leaves away to the secret entrance. The guide and the group all looked at me with awe. What can I say; I found it and saw it straight away. That skill and 25 cents might get me a cup of coffee somewhere. I don't think I would be able to repeat it though.

The guide continuing on with the tour opened up the hatch and crawled in. This guy was a skinny runt and even it was tight for him. Only one person small enough in the group hopped into the tunnel to have a look and everyone else passed. I wanted in, but was denied because of my farm boy features.

We toured kitchen facilities, underground ordnance depots, shoe making huts and the lot before we came upon the firing range. I had heard from Jodi that they had a firing range and that you could shoot weapons there...one USD a shot. A little high I thought, but after coming over to the area and seeing that I could shoot an M-60, I knew then I had just blew 10 bucks. Ten USD was the minimum that you had to pay for the automatic rifles and I was produced a small belt of ammo.

The firing range officer took it from me and loaded the weapon. As I leaned into the M-60 he took my photo. I let out three small bursts and then belt was gone. Fastest ten bucks I ever spent, but what a rush. Worth every nickel.

We toured more of the facility, which included entering the "tourist tunnels". The tunnels were enlarged for the tourist trade but are still from the same network that ran through here int he 60s. We were told that if we got claustrophobic we could emerge at thirty metre intervals. I did the distance of 100 meters though. The last bit was the tightest and I actually had to squeeze my shoulders through at one point. Only four of the 15 people did the whole thing.

We left shortly thereafter but before returning back to Saigon, I had heard that there was a VC war cemetery nearby and wanted to see it. I asked the tour guide to point it out to me and he said "Yes, no problem, tell me again in 40 minutes". I reminded him about ten times on the way home and just when I thought he had forgotten about me I asked again. Dummie smacked his head and said "OOOOOHHHHHHHH so sorry I forgot".

"Thanks pal" I scoffed. He then proceeded to tell me that I could see a lot more of them up north and that it was almost impossible to not see them, so I would have another chance. Reading up in my guidebook I found that the area around Danang was full of what I wanted, war cemeteries and battlefields, so more of it to come in the next coming days.

I had the driver drop me off at a restaurant that Jodi and I ate at the first night. I'm already craving chicken in a bad way and the only real substitute that I have found is beef so far. The fish and seafood don't appear too appetizing to me and thus I'm eating beef twice a day. I think back at my last chicken dinner at Mike's house in Melbourne and drool. I'm likely not to see a chicken or an egg till I get home due to the bird flu in SE Asia. All the chickens are dead or in hiding, maybe in the tunnels.

I walked back to the hotel to grab a bag of militaria that I have been carrying around for the last few days. Heavy lot and don't want the weight in my pack so I went down to the street and arranged for a ride to the post office. I had to get a box made next tot he post office, but to my horror in the post office I was denied form sending my package. You see in Vietnam all outgoing mail is scrutinized. So after packing the box tightly it was dumped in front of me and the clerk said that customs might not allow me to ship this stuff home. WHAT!!!!

I have over 200 medals & cap badges, plus 100 dog tags and numerous other items and I can't ship it!!!! WTF!

I was told to come back tomorrow, but I said screw it and decided on my back to the hotel that I would just lug it to Nha Trang.

While walking back to the tour office Rickshaw Boy from the morning accosted me on the street. Seems like he has been waiting for me all day. BAH! Told him that I wasn't going anywhere now and that I'm leaving for Nha Trang tomorrow. He skulked off looking pissed.

Nha Trang, my next destination. Jodi is there...hung over I might add. 12-hour bus ride away.

R.