Cu Chi Tunnels (Day Six)

Saturday was the day we drove about an hour to the district of Cu Chi, which is the site of the notorious Cu Chi Tunnel network. The tunnels were built originally during the early 20th century to be used in the World Wars, and were later vastly expanded to be used the war against the Americans. These tunnels were entire underground cities where people could eat, sleep and fight without leaving the tunnels for months at a time.

The beginning of the tour was very strange. They showed us a video that was made in 1967 and it talked all about how terrible the Americans were and all of us found it very offensive. It was so strange to see their perspective on the war, because all we ever hear is the American side of things.

The tunnels were so expertly camouflaged, the holes that were dug to let air in were disguised as termite nests, which in the middle of the jungle don't seem out of place at all. There were also small outposts built where guerrilla fighters could shoot out of little slits in the ground that were barely visible. The tour guide showed us the opening to one of the tunnels and it was so well disguised that he actually had to knock on the ground to find it.

We actually got to crawl through some of the tunnels too which was really cool because some of us (including me) could barely fit inside, and the tunnels had been expanded for tourist purposes, so I couldn't even imagine what they were like originally. Inside the tunnel system there would be a long tunnel and every once in a while it would open up into a room, there were dining rooms, sleeping areas, kitchens, medical rooms, work shops, etc. It was amazing to see all the different amenities these underground tunnel systems had.

For Dinner on Saturday, we went to a restaurant that was just down the block from the hotel. It was very good. Three of us ordered a tuna soup with rice noodles. The first soup came and it had the tail of the tuna in it. The second soup cam and it had a nice filet of tuna from the body of the fish. Then my soup came and it had the head of the tuna...just the head. I was fine with it but it was still very shocking to receive my soup and just see a dead tuna staring back at me. After dinner we went to a bar that was situated on the 32nd floor of a sky scraper and that was an incredible experience. the view was amazing. there was also an outdoor patio, and I guess there isn't very much wind that high up because the weather was perfect.