was to visit the CuChi tunnels. These tunnels, located
outside of Ho Chi Minh City, were used by the Vietcong
during the Vietnam war as a base for their operations.
They were used for concealment, military planning,
weapon caches and even contained hospitals.
They stretched for about 250 Kms around the
Saigon area but, in fact, there were tunnels all over
the country. I think they were very instrumental in the
VietCong winning the war. They would hide in them
during the day and then come out at night to tend
to crops, get provisions and engage with " the enemy."
Last week we took a tour of the tunnels........
One of the many concealed entrances to the tunnels.
The VietCong's great advantage in using these tunnels
was their size. The Vietnamese people are very petite
and could fit into very small openings which the American
soldier could not. As a result,and also as they were often
booby trapped, American soldiers did not venture into them.
The Vietcong left signs for their people to show where
the entrances to the tunnels were, often a folded leaf or
a stick.
The tunnels were built on three levels, the top for
quick concealment, the middle for hospital and living
quarters, and the lower layer for emergency escape.
The lowest level was often filled with water and all levels
had vermin, spiders,scorpions and snakes.
The ventilation vents were artfully hidden, can you see
where they are hidden?
The Americans would try and flush out the VC
with boiling water, hot oil, tar and by throwing
hand grenades down into the tunnel to sea
the tunnels off.
We headed down into the tunnels....
20 feet to the next opening, literally slithering along
the floor of the tunnel.
Last week, a Canadian woman got stuck in here
and required five people to pull her out!!
I didn't want to be the next Canadian statistic!
of a hospital bed.
Unfortunately the tunnels have now become a
major tourist attraction and reminded me a bit
of Disneyland....
Lots of tourist tat - anyone for a bullet or hand
grenade key ring???
Or a used rocket shell?
And there's always someone with a selfie stick!
There was lots of laughter when the booby traps
were set off. I just found it all a bit disrespectful to
both sides in the war.
There was however, an interesting display on making rice
paper.. it looks so easy......
but I did feel sorry for this poor lady on a very,
very hot day in front of a very hot oven..
Drying in the sun.
Bougainvillea at the entrance to the tunnels.
Later on that day we headed to this museum:
in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to the war, HCM City
was called Saigon and the central core is still referred to
as Saigon.
The War Remnants Museum specialises in research,
collecting, preserving and exhibiting relics of the Vietnam
War. In this way, the museum intends to reinforce the
concept of peace.....
I could have stayed there all day.......
The most interesting feature were the photographs
taken by photojournalists from different countries
during the war. Several of them lost their lives on
the battlefront.
I actually remembered these photos when they were
published during the Vietnam War.
And of course there is this infamous picture the world
has never forgotten:
Children running away from napalm bombing.
Fortunately this particular story has a happy ending....
This young girl ended up as an asylum seeker while on
a visit to Cuba and is now living in Canada.
And the whole world was horrified at the shooting
of four Kent State University students while protesting
against the Vietnam War....
Images that showed the horrors of the war:
And even more horrors with the use of Agent Orange by
the American forces for defoliation and deforestation of
the country, resulting in birth deformities and genetic
abnormalities which continue on in second, third
post- war generations on both sides. The US forces
also suffered casualties with the use of this chemical
which we now know as Dioxin, and is probably the
most toxic chemical known to man. Very little, if any,
protective equipment was worn with the handling
of Agent Orange and it was touted as " safe."
Interestingly, it was manufactured by Monsanto,
the same US company that has developed GMO's
that are touted as " safe" .............
Outside, military equipment left behind........
A Chinook chopper used for transporting American troops.
Neither side........
On the walk home, we passed the Reunification Palace
Site of the American Embassy during the Vietnam War.
The embassy was razed to the ground post-war.
It brings to mind another iconic picture:
the fall of Saigon in April 1975.
The last S.Vietnamese to be evacuated from the rooftop
of the embassy.
And, in the present day, it appears history repeats itself
with no lesson learned...
Talk soon
Zoe
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