Tunnel Life

Today we checked out of our Saigon hotel and headed to our boat via a stop at the Cứ Chi Tunnels.  These tunnels were first built during the 1940’s during the French occupation as a way for the Vietnamese to hide their sons from the French Army draft.  The tunnels which are little villages underground connect village to village and took 20 years to complete.  We had the opportunity to go into the tunnels but as soon as I got down there, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.  I thought it would be like the pyramids in Egypt but those were like penthouses compared to the tunnels.  You have to “walk” through them bent completely over…some were so low you had to belly crawl.  Definitely not my jam so fortunately I realized before I got too far to turn back.

During the Vietnam War, they were used by the Việt Cộng (North Vietnamese Army as well as South Vietnamese that supported the independent and united Vietnam cause).  There were 3 rules to tunnel life: walk without trace; talking without voice; and cook without smoke.  Walking without trace meant they kept to groups of 10 or less and the last person would walk backwards and erase footprints with their hand.  Talking without voice meant talking in whispers and code so the US tunnel rats couldn’t hear them.  They used a code for greeting that would let them know if the other person was VC or US/ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam). The code was to greet each other by number and if the numbers added up to 10, you know the other person was VC (ie. hello Mr 6…hello Mr 4).  Cooking without smoke meant using a Hoàng cấm stove that allowed the smoke in one area of the tunnel to escape from another area.

Today you can see pretty well in the jungle but during the war, the foliage was so think you could barely see in front of your face.  Our government deployed Agent Orange to thin out the brush so our troops could see the VC…it also made it easier for the VC to see our troops.

Termite mounds were used by the VC to get air into the tunnels. They  
stuck a bamboo tree through the hole and the termites would eat the inside
of the tree which would allow fresh air into the tunnels. Because the mounds
were natural to see, US/ARVN troops would not suspect anything.

Bunkers were so well hidden our troops would not be able to
see them.  I could imagine Daddy and his buddies walking pass bunkers just like this up in the Dả Nẵng and Chu Lai.

Our guide showed us how they entered the tunnels. There was a little 

ledge for their foot just inside and then another on just before the tunnel floor.

The above photos are examples of the various traps used by the Việt Công

Ho Chi Minh sandals

The VC would take old tires and make sandals.

Their uniform was black pajamas and these sandals.

This is where the smoke from the Hoảng cảm stove would escape. 

You can barely see the smoke in the picture and you could barely 

see if when standing over it so unless the troops knew to look for it.

We had a nice riverside lunch after visiting the tunnels before heading to My Thơ  where we boarded our home for the next 7 nights.

During Daddy’s time with Bell South/AT&T, he was a
repairman and often had to climb poles like this so once
again a sign he is with us on this trip.

Very common to see the tombs of ancestors 

buried in the fields of the family

Vietnamese Truck Stop

Phô Mai Jerry

(Jerry’s Cheese)

Sort of like a sponge cake with some kind of icing

Home for the next 7 nights

There are 40 cabins but only 31 are occupied

 At dinner, the ship sent out a cake to celebrate my birthday.  We were entertained by some local farmers after dinner and then it was definitely bed time.