Day 15: Cu Chi Tunnels, War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace

For our last tour day in Vietnam, we start with a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, an elaborate tunnel system built during the French occupation and expanded during the Vietnam War. It starts with video about the American/Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective. Despite the horrible circumstances of war, these tunnels show the ingenuity and tenacity of the Vietnamese people. In this area alone, there was more than 250km. of tunnel and whole villages lived underground.

Tunnel entrances were small and carefully hidden. These holes were even enlarged so tourists could safely take their photo opts. Tunnels were built in 3 levels, 3m. deep, 6m. deep and 8-10m. deep with underground kitchens, sleeping quarters and nurseries. There were also many boobytraps.

We get a chance to go through a section of the tunnel (enlarged for tourists after someone got stuck). A guide leads us down the stone steps with a flashlight and the tunnel is lit by footlights and daylight comes thru a few holes from the surface. We can only go single file and we're unable to stand upright, my view being the guide's backside. In the original tunnels people would have to crawl through these sections. We have the option of going through 20m. or 40m. The guide turns and says, "ok?", I nod and we go the whole 40m. That's enough for me. I'm already starting to feel a little panicky from not being able to stand.

We stop for lunch that's part of the tour and it's quite a feast. We have seafood soup, a delicious pomelo salad with shrimp and pork, "Co Ngu" style tofu, steamed egg-squid with onion and ginger, braised chicken with ginger, sauteed fish with chilli and garlic, stir fried vegetables and malabar nightshade with clams.

War Remnants Museum

We visit the War Remnants Museum, which has a very sobering exhibit of the war atrocities experienced in Vietnam. Various US military vehicles are also on display outside. We seem to have begun and ended our trip at very somber locations.

Reunification Palace

The Reunification Palace seems like a time capsule of the 1960's. It is a government building, once home to the South Vietnam Presidents. The top floors are mainly occupied by meeting rooms, reception rooms for foreign dignitaries, offices, a lounge and games room. The basement contains the communications and war rooms, and it feels like we're on the set of a cold war movie.

© Amy Lee 2013