Cu Chi Tunnels and Museum

While in Vietnam Heather and I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is the Tunnel system in Cu Chi that the Viet Cong used during the war to get away from the enemy...wait, that was us(my constant thoughts while there).Our fearless leader for this trip was John Wayne...well ok that's what he said to call him because we couldn't pronounce his name. John was a great tour guide! He had us laughing most of the trip with his simple humor which made the bus ride go fast. He even mentioned we were stopping at a factory to see workers who had been effected by all the Agent Orange we dropped on them. While there we could use the bathroom to go number 1 or number 2. Which in Vietnam when you go number 2 you say you are going to the happy room because you feel happy after you leave. I think they are on to something with that :)

The factory was very cool. They use egg shells, sea shells, and etching to create some beautiful works of art. Here are some pictures:



Then we were off to the tunnels. He showed us different traps they would create for soldiers to fall into and an original entrance to some of the tunnels. They had built a 3 layer system to use for escape. They also had a break during the middle when we could shoot a gun if we wanted. We saw them making rice paper, shoes out of tires, and ate what they ate during the war (tapioca root with peanuts..interesting). Then we watched a video from their perspective of the war. During this time I realized a bit why it would be hard for our soldiers who fought to talk about there time here. I was having a hard time just seeing all the ways the Viet Cong fought back. I can only imagine the horror and struggle to be at war during that time. After we left we were dropped off at their War Remnants museum were the facts and pictures were laid out. Quite frankly I am not sure why our Government got involved and I was angry to read how much poison we dropped which didn't just affect these people but also our soldiers.
Original Entrance to Tunnel
Inside
Sitting on the American Tank

Coming out from a 20 meter walk through the tunnels
Tire Shoes
Video from the tour:


There reached a point when I could no longer look at the pictures or see the rest of the displays, it all felt too hard and heart breaking. So we left and headed else where in the city to allow our brains time to process everything. I was glad Heather was there so we could talk through things as we went.