Cu Chi Tunnels

Only a few hours away from the city buzz of Saigon, lies an underground hybrid called the Cu Chi tunnels which the Viet Cong used to fight their guerilla war against American soldiers.

Before starting the tour, we watched a 20 minute film that was essentially no more than a Communist propaganda tool. It spoke of the enormous heroism that the Viet Cong employed to defeat Americans and labelled one guerilla soldier as "an American killer hero" for killing hundreds of American troops.

We were then led through the territory which was filled with entrances to the underground tunnels, kitchens, army tanks and meeting rooms. We climbed through one 100 meter tunnel which was suffocatingly stifling, small (even though it had been made bigger for us large Westerners) and constricting. I found myself longing to be outside again after just a few minutes underground.

It was a fascinating tour, especially when one considers that the war was being fought only 30 years ago and now Americans are freely allowed access to what was once enemy territory.