 | Ho Chi Minh City Out of Saigon - Cu Chi Tunnels Reviews | 1 - 10 of 18 |  |
The Cu Chi Tunnels - a must go if you are in HCMC. When you are there, crawl through the network of narrow tunnels, do it the Vietcong way! The tunnels have been modified to fit tourists like us. Leave a Comment
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The tour involve a description of the tunnels, then tourists are taken down into a section of the tunnels. There are three layers, one where you are bending over to walk, the next you are crouched and it gets even less on the 3rd level. I had to come out - for the first time in my life I found I was slightly claustrophobic. Truly amazing though.
At just over 5'2", I was crouching at the first level.
Location: About 75 km northwest of Saigon. Leave a Comment
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At the Museum at Cu Chi, there were some pretty horrific means of defence like the spikes put in the pits and covered. The spike ends were covered in poison. Fairly primitive but effective means against the more sophisticated defences of the Americans. Nearly 3 million Vietnamese were killed, 4 million others injured and over 58,000 American army men died in the war. Leave a Comment
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Located in the district of Cu Chi, about 1.30 from Ho Chi Min, the Cu Chi Tunnels are part of a network of tunnels stretching as far as the Cambodian border and used by NLF guerrillas to hide from the French Army first and then from the American Army.
There was everything in the tunnels: homes with kitchen, hospitals, weapons, food... and each tunnel entrance was well concieved and protected by a rudimental deadly trap, thanks to its poisonous spikes. Tunnels were built on three levels, with direct underground access to a river, and two generations of Vietnamese people have lived in these tunnels.
The tunnels were longer than 200 kilometres and air vents were needed... as you walk around, look for the termite mounds: they used to disguise the air vents. Of course the American Army did know of the tunnels, and a clear sign is the bombs dropped on the site (you can see them) and the presence of destroyed US Army tanks... still, the tunnel system could not be won. Only small upper parts were destroyed, but people moved down the lower levels and tunnels still continued to exist.
Some short stretches of tunnels are possible to visit, although they have been restored and made somewhat larger to accomodate foreign tourists... and yet, they are still hot, in pitch darkness annd extremely narrow and claustrophobic.
As there is no public transportation to the tunnels, the cheapest way is to visit them on an organized day trip, or else you can rent a taxi for half a day. Entrance (2007) was 55000 dongs. Leave a Comment
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Just about every tourist who goes to Saigon takes an organised trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Experiencing the claustrophobia of the war-time tunnels is seen as an essential part of the Vietnam experience.
A section of tunnel has been especially widened for foreign tourists to either walk through bent double, or crawl through on hands and knees. Either way, you get hot, sweaty and uncomfortable and at a certain point you will start hoping that you see daylight soon.
At the beginning of the tour, your Vietnamese guide will call for volunteers to try to get into a Vietnamese-sized tunnel entrance that hasn't been widened. That's the one in the picture. Call me stupid. I am 1.94m tall and I volunteeered. Sqeezing in was not too hard, but getting out again was another matter. After, I'd huffed and puffed and taken my belt off, I was eventually hauled out. Leave a Comment
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The flash from my camera gives a wrong impression how it actually is.
It is pitch dark, stuffy, hot, scary, ... and all the fears rolled into one.
You would have difficulty breathing too.
The Cu Chi Tunnels.
You have to experience it as how the soldiers experience it every day throughout the war.
MAJOR TIP - bring a torch light and a change of clothes.
Water is important too! You'll need it
More Tips Leave a Comment
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Both Kim Cafe and Sinh Cafe run half-day trips to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The one I took departed Kim Cafe at 8.20 am and returned at 2 pm. It cost US$4, excluding the tunnel entrance fee of 65,000 VND.
During the trip, you sit down to watch a North Vietnamese propaganda film, made in 1967, see a variety of Vietcong booby traps, B52 bomb craters and a destroyed US tank. And, of course, you get to crawl through the tunnels. Leave a Comment
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The Cu Chi Tunnels - shows the 3 layers of tunnels. This display as well as a video recording of the tunnels was in the building before you tour through the grounds. Very interesting. Leave a Comment
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Ann's Tourist Co., 58 Ton That Tung St., District 1 (tel. 08/833-2564 or 833-4356; fax 08/832-3866; www.anntours.com; e-mail: tony@anntours.com) offers great excursions. Ask for director Tony Nong.
FULL DAY EXCURSIONS: Cu Chi Tunnels and Tay Ninh Visit the underground tunnel in Cu Chi learning special tactics of revolution force used during the Vietnam war and Cao Dai temple in Tay Ninh with the ceremony at 12:00 noon. The Cao Dai religion is combination of Christian and Eastern religions. Cu Chi was an important base during the war because of its strategic location. The incredible 200km long network of hidden tunnels was used for storage, shelter, command posts, and hospitals. Continue on to the town of Tay Ninh, headquarters of one of Vietnam's most interesting religions, Caodism, an eclectic fusion Eastern and Western religious philosophies. Visit the Caodai Great Temple, a striking rococo structure built between 1933 and 1955.
Cu Chi Tunnels About 40 kilometres out of HCMC lie the historic and impressive Cu Chi Tunnels. Stretching over some 200 kilometres, the system of tunnels was began to be established as early as pre-WWII to hide the Communist guerillas that have historically resided in the area. The advent of theVietnam War meant the tunnels took on even greater importance, expanding to act as the logistical headquarters of the Tet offensive and allowing the North Vietnamese army to penetrate far into the south. The tunnels are so narrow that the government has widened some to allow foreign visitors to enter. Cu Chi and the Tunnels On the way back from Tay Ninh we stopped at Cu Chi to see the tunnels. There is an opportunity to fire an AK47. The cost is $1.00 per bullet. Dormitories, ammunition depots, conference rooms and even hospitals and schools were housed in the adjoining rooms, all safely underground, during the War. Leave a Comment
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The Cu Chi tunnels are a far-reaching network of Viet Cong tunnels which run for nearly 200 miles used in the American and French Indochina war. The tunnels are designed to have complete facilities which range from kitchens to printing presses and even street signs, all of which were used to assist the National Liberation Front (NLF) military.
Location: About 75 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. Leave a Comment
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