The last day in Vietnam; Cu Chi Tunnels

For my last day in Vietnam I offered to help the field office team who was desperate for a trip leader for a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was one of the more educational trips I had been on but still a good time. I had a small group of students, only about 20 so it was an easy trip coming off of the Cambodia trip.

Here is your history lesson of the day via Wikipedia

The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually culminating in an American withdrawal.

I tried to get a lot of pictures thinking that maybe Cormac could use them in class. The tour was pretty neat, showing us old traps, and tunnels that had been expanded to allow tourists to go inside. A highlight for some of the students was the shooting range that came with the tour. I didn’t take part but instead sat and marinated in the crazy humidity.



This was the actual size of the entrances to the tunnel. The ones we went into later have been expanded.



Just one of the many types of traps created. They all looked very painful.

Onward to China!