There was only one thing on the agenda today, the Cu Chi tunnels. A system of tunnels used in Vietnam during the war. We did have a brief stop at an art factory, in which handicapped workers, specifically those that were affected by Agent Orange, create egg inlay art. I bought one for my mom to give her when I get home, since I sadly missed Mother’s Day on the flight here (sorry Mom).
When we made it to the location of the tunnels, we first got to go into a helicopter that was left behind by the U.S. army after they left Vietnam, along with a couple planes. It was strange to see such things simply left behind, and it felt dystopian in a way to me. How could something so massive and that probably costed a hefty sum of money, end up abaonded after the war?
It wasn’t long though before we reached the tunnels, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The thought and precision they put into building the tunnels shocked me, from the layout to the odd twists and turns it was all interesting. We had previously had a lecture on the Vietnam War before we came here, which mentioned these tunnels, but it was a whole different feeling seeing them in person. It was so tight in there, and everybody had to crouch to walk through. There was the one famous tunnel with the small opening that we took turns going through, and I chickened out at the last moment. It literally felt like my body was bending backwards as I tried to lower myself down, and I just couldn’t do that. Props to everyone who did though, just not me.
Throughout our tour of the tunnels, we got more insight into how everything worked. Such as the rubber shoes the soldiers wore that were made in a specific way so that it looked like they were going in the opposite direction they actually were. We also saw all the traps they made, which really cemented how much thought they put into these tunnels, and that’s the major takeaway I had from the history of the war and the country. The intelligence and resilience of the people.
Every tunnel had three levels, the first one being mainly living quarters, medical, kitchens, and meeting rooms. Below that, the tunnel for the elderly and children, and the third and final level being a bomb shelter. It amazed me, because even though I was actively looking at a diagram of what the tunnels looked like, I still couldn’t understand how they even got to certain places. The people thought of each scenario, with soldiers becoming farmers during the day so that America couldn’t attack them, and bamboo traps with spikes so sharp I was scared even with a fence surrounding it. It is no wonder that the Vietnamese were able to outsmart everybody else, and it really showed today with these tunnels and everything we saw.
Overall, today was probably my favorite of them all. Despite it being hot (thank you to my portable fan again), it was so interesting seeing the details and intricacy of the Vietnam war from a different perspective. Despite learning about the Vietnam War growing up, throughout both middle school and high school, I feel like it was only ever from an American-centric perspective. This showed a whole different side to those same exact lectures I was taught in my earlier years, and it really opened my eyes to learning more about Vietnam and it’s history.
