The Tunnels of Cu Chi

Today, March 15: Cu Chi tunnels - return to Tan Son Nhat airport and fly to Siem Reap. We left the hotel at 9 a.m. and arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels about 10:30. Upon arrival, we are scheduled to watch a short introductory video on the construction of the tunnels. Our guide asked us several times if we we OK to watch an anti-American film. We assured him that was going to be OK and enter an open-air, thatched roof, lecture hall. The old, black and white propaganda film, with dramatic Vietnamese music started. The narrator spoke in English but had that same kind of scratchy, preachy voice we remember from childhood news broadcasts. Here is the story: the heroic people of Cu Chi are just minding their business farming and supplying the Viet Cong with food. The Americans begin to bomb Cu Chi, killing villagers--adults, as well as children in school. Huge craters are left from the bombs dropped by B52's. Essentially, Cu Chi is a jungle village where growth of runners, trees and vines make movement difficult. The village is near the Mekong River. Following the practice of tunnel building started up north, the villagers and the Viet Cong soldiers begin essentially an underground village. By day the villagers farm and by night they begin to dig the three levels of the underground system. Teams of three did the digging in several places at once. First a square hole was dug, approximately 3 feet per side and about 10 feet deep. One person broke the ground with what looks like a bamboo spear. The next person scraped the loose dirt into a basket, and dumped that into the basket of a third person. The third person would carry the dirt to a bomb crater or to the river, so that digging activities couldn't be detected. The tunnels had three levels...an entry level, living level and working level. Periodically, there were vent holes, dug down to the levels at an angle so that fresh air would flow into the tunnels. Cooking was done in one room, eating done "next door." The cooking room we visited had a fire going and they were actually cooking tapioca root. A large tree trunk was shoved into the fireplace under the cook pots, and smoke was vented off some distance to be released into the jungle in a way that made it look like fog or mist. All of the entrances, vents, etc. were disguised and very difficult to find.

In order to show visitors how all of this works, various parts of the tunnels have been excavated, or recreated so that one descends about 10 feet of stairs and enters an excavated room. Thatching covers each area, but the roof is elevated enough to give good light by which to see. Around the area are also hiding holes visitors can get into, and there are some tunnel sections that have been widened for visitors to go through. When first dug (said the movie narrator) sections of the tunnel were purposely left very narrow so that "big belly" Americans would get stuck. The narrator also talked a lot about villagers who were decorated by the Viet Cong for being American killer heroes.

In addition to the living areas, we saw where spent bomb shells were converted to reused weapons, looked at some of the horrible booby traps that were rigged for soldiers to step on or in...usually resulting in a fall onto spears, stakes or metal stakes. The ways we have devised to hurt, maim, kill one another are truly terrible. The film wasn't nearly as difficult to see and hear, as it was/is to contemplate the absolute misery and degradation of war. The pictures will better illustrate what I'm trying to explain...Also on display we're the remains of an American tank as well as numerous bomb craters made by 500-pound bombs from B52 bombers.

In the afternoon, we left Saigon in a driving rainstorm, rising above the mut and city crowds and war memories to land in Siem Reap, Cambodia--hot and humid. Tomorrow we get picked up at 5:30a.m. To watch the sunrise over the temples at Angkor Wat, back to our hotel by 8:30 for breakfast and repack, and then we are delivered for our afternoon and overnight stay at the Buddhist monastery. When we get back, well put up a brief post to let you know how that went, and then well be on our way back to the good, ol'' U.S. of A.

Hiding hole for one person...cover on top makes it undetectable


Air vent



Entrance to tunnel



American tank disabled by explosive device


Reprocessing spent bomb and shell casings for new ordinance


The sewing room for making uniforms




Going through connecting tunnel (enlarged 2 x for tourists)



Emergency operating theatre


Kitchen...note log used for fuel for fire under pot



Many yards away...venting smoke


Tapioca root...peeled, cooked, with sugar and ground peanuts for dipping. A meal this large was enough to keep a soldier going for a day



Mantrap...step on this disguised piece of trail and fall into pit with spikes


To end on a happier note...Our room in Siem Reap



The pool and courtyard lit at night...sweet dreams


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Location:Outskirts of Saigon