DAY 2 – THE CU CHI TUNNEL TOUR
We were referred yesterday by our
hotel attendant to a tour operator for our Cu Chi Tunnel Tour. Tours offered are either in big groups (in a
bus) or small groups (in a van). For
this one, we chose the bus which costs only USD5 per head. The fee covered the two-way transportation, the
English speaking tour guide, a quick drop by to a lacquer workshop along
the way, and complementary bottled water.
From
Wikitravel: Cu Chi Tunnels
is located 40km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels are an elaborate underground
community made up of 250km of tunnels and chambers below the city. The tunnels were dug with simple tools and
bare hands during the French occupation in the 1940’s and further expanded
during the Vietnam War in 1960’s to provide refuge and a defensive advantage
over the American Soldiers. So despite
all the bombings in South Vietnam, the Cu Chi people were able to continue
their lives beneath the soil – where they slept, ate, wed, gave birth, planned
attacks, healed their sick and taught their young.
We arrived at the tunnel past 11 in
the morning after a 1-1/2 hour travel. At
the entrance, we were oriented with the rules, the restricted areas, and of
course our time limit.
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The picture above is a demonstration of how the Vietcong hid underneath or take a peek of the outside through a small opening covered with leaves. Plenty of those are scattered all over the area. The pictures below are other forms of entrance and exits as well as the traps and decoys that were carefully planted as early form of defense.
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The dining bunker and workshop
area.
The tour allowed us to crawl around in the safer parts that are partially illuminated with low-powered lights.
Other pictures...
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After our actual underground experience, we were allowed to wander on our own for a short while. There were plenty of souvenir shops but I found the one near the shooting range as the most budget friendly. I bought a wooden carved flower vase and a small wooden pot with Cu Chi Tunnel engraving for my keeps.
VIETNAM
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Hello Madam.
ReplyDeleteSome your picture are nice. can I use some of the your images put in my website : http://www.deluxegrouptours.com
no problem but please ensure that it is properly linked to this blog :)
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ReplyDeleteCu Chi is one of greatest tunels in the world. I missed this historic site when visiting Sai Gon city.
ReplyDeleteThe system is about 200 km long tunnels and ventilation systems in the position of the bush.
ReplyDeleteIf the tour package contains a charter flight then the air tickets for it are released literally in the last moment.https://greenvisa.io Otherwise, when there appear changes in the list of tourists, the tour operator - consolidator of the trip, - has to pay a big fine.
ReplyDelete