I went to Cu Chi, famous as a Viet Cong guerrilla base during the Vietnam War. It’s about two hours from Ho Chi Minh City. The road to Ha Long Bay was narrow and poorly paved, so it felt much farther than the actual distance, but by comparison this road was in decent shape and the ride was easy. According to someone who’d been before, it has gotten a lot better than it was ten years ago.
A rubber tree forest we passed on the way
Apparently it’s a forest where they tap raw rubber. It had a certain charm.
On the road we saw high-school girls in white ao dai riding past on bicycles. Apparently girls in Vietnam are required to wear the white ao dai for all three years of high school. The guide said they look sexiest when they’re a little damp from the rain, but I had no way to check..
We arrived at Cu Chi. I’d pictured dense jungle, but it wasn’t that wild. War movies always make it look like the Amazon.
A trap
There are bamboo spikes stuck in the bottom. Fall in and you’re dead.
A hole where the Viet Cong hid
A well-practiced instructor giving a demonstration.
It’s so small that not just anyone can get in.
It gave me an idea of how hard it must have been for the American troops to fight guerrillas like this.
Tunnel
The Viet Cong even lived in them, apparently.
Tunnel entrance
They say that if the fighters fled into places like this mid-battle, it was very hard for the Americans to follow.
Tunnel entrance
Anthill
A camouflaged air vent is built into the anthill. Living underground, ventilation was essential, and they say they put the vents in places like this to throw off the dogs the Americans brought in.
A tank..
I actually went into one of the tunnels the Viet Cong dug, but it was so narrow and dark that I have no photos.
Rice paper for spring rolls, drying.
A skilled worker’s demonstration
The rice paper made like this is sold all over the world, they say.
A kitten
It was so cute I wanted to play with it, but there was no time, so this is the only shot I got.
Cassava, the Viet Cong’s staple food
It tastes somewhere between sweet potato and potato, and apparently it’s low in calories. Amazing that they survived on just this. With that kind of spirit, no wonder they beat America.
You dip it in ground peanuts.
Tea made from vegetables, they said.
On the way back
And that was the end of the tour.