Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam

First things first: Happy 3rd birthday to this blog! Yey! It’s been three years since it uttered its very first words – "Hello World". LOL. Anyways, I realized I haven’t posted the photos I took from Cu Chi Tunnels from our Vietnam trip, so here they are.

One of the highlights of our Vietnam weekend last month was definitely our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a few hours away from Ho Chi Minh's central districts. It was an elaborate tunnel complex dug by hand and served as a strategic defense point during the Vietnam War.

As our tour guide explained how life was during the war, the Viet Cong soldiers had a difficult life inside the tunnels. If life amidst a war isn't difficult enough, the tunnels that they were living in were small and dark and they had food shortage. Apart from that, since they were living in close proximity, illnesses easily spread.

However difficult, you could only imagine the strength, discipline, and will of these people to guard their land. We got to see the traps they've set up above, and it was gruesome, but effective. It was ingenious that they made their air holes camouflaged as ant hills so that the people above will not discover the complexity of the hidden structures beneath. They would cook their food early in the morning and let the smoke rise up a few feet away to make it look like morning mist.

We had the opportunity to go inside some parts of the tunnels (reinforced with cement, of course, for tourists), and it was difficult. It was a small, dark tunnel, so you had to duck while walking all the way. You can't turn back, because people are behind you, so you just have to muster up all the strength and courage to finish the path until you get to the next exit. That part of the tour was definitely not for the claustrophobic, but all in all, a visit to the tunnels to get a glimpse of how life was during the war is definitely a must-do in Ho Chih Minh City.

Location:

Củ Chi Tunnels, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Camera Used:

Canon EOS 400D

Date:

November 3, 2012