Day 9 Wednesday 1st April, The Cu Chi Tunnels and War Remnants Museum

We had a very interesting, confronting and reflective day visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels about a two-hour drive from Ho Chi Min City and a War Museum in Ho Chi Min. Our group had an early pick up at 7.30am and we were soon on our way. Being morning peak hour, there were motorbikes and scooters everywhere! In a city of 12million, there are 9 million motorbikes. We saw two riders who were carrying about 12 reo rods, of about 10mt in length. The first rider had the front end of the rods attached someway to his bike and a few metres back the second rider had the end of the rods attached to his bike. We watched these two riders turn a corner and they had to be very well co-ordinated. It was hilarious and I wished I’d been quick enough to get a photo. After an hour of travelling, we stopped off at a charity, workshop, where beautiful pieces of Vietnamese artworks are made by people who have been disabled as a result of agent orange used during the Vietnam war.  Many are the 3rd and 4th generation decedents. All the artworks are made by hand, and we saw people working on the artworks before being taken to a showroom where you could make purchases. Our guide explained that similar pieces of artworks can be purchased at a cheaper price elsewhere, but they are mass-produced and made by machines. We continued on to the Cu Chi tunnels. There was approximately, 250km of tunnels, used by the Viet Cong or Guerillas during the Vietnam War. They were used as hiding spots as well as serving as sleeping, dining, eating quarters. They were very narrow and the few tunnels that were open for tourists to try had been made larger than they actually were. Rob crawled along one of the tunnels. There were many nasty and clever spiked bamboo traps made by the Guerillas to injure or kill the American tunnel rats (small soldiers who were trying to breach the tunnels). Some of the things the Viet Cong did were very clever. They wore tyre-treaded sandals backwards on their feet to trick the enemy. They knew the U.S. used dogs to sniff out the Viet Cong and they would lace the breathing holes that were just above ground, with chilli and poisons to trick the dogs. The tour finished at a spot where you could partake in shooting with AK47’s. This meant that while doing the tour you could hear constant gunshots and it was something that was very foreign to us. After this tour we returned to Ho Chi Min city and visited the War Remnants Museum. The Museum had displays over three floors and once again we struggled in some of the galleries. Here the Vietnamese told the story of the war and the devastating effects it had on the country. The titles of some of the galleries will give you some idea. They included, Historical Truths, Agent Orange During the Vietnam War, War Crimes, Agent Orange Effects and The World Supports Vietnam in its Resistance to US Aggression (1954-1975). Following this I walked back to our hotel while Rob and Trevor tried to find a money exchange so Trevor could get some US dollars. Unfortunately, it seems that Trevor had his pocket picked when a man came up to him and tried to repair his shoe. He realised when he returned to the hotel. Rob was able to help him block his Wise card and luckily, he had another wallet with a credit card in it so will use that. He probably lost about $250 in Vietnamese Dong and Australian Dollars. Anyway, he was still upbeat, and we had a lovely evening. We visited the roof-top bar at the Majestic Hotel for a drink and to enjoy a wonderful view over the river and the spectacular night lights of this big city.













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