Before we left Australia, Tim and I booked a tour with Intrepid Urban Adventures to see the Cu Chi Tunnels. The rest of the group, who have not done so, have opted to join an open tour to do the same.
The rest of the group walk to their pickup point at the appropriate time while Tim and I are picked up from the hotel. Unknown to us, we are the only ones on our tour. Nothing like a good private tour! We drive 1.5 hours to Cu Chi and our local guide takes us around. We first see one of the small hidden entrances to the Cu Chi tunnels. Tim attempts to get in. He makes it but his chest and back both rub against the entrance walls. Anyone any larger than Tim would not be able to fit into that entrance. The photos to come will astound you if you haven't already seen them.
We also see some of the traps that the Viet Kong used to attack the American forces. The traps are mostly made from bamboo but are cleverly and sly designed to kill or severely injure their prey.
Before we make our way to the tunnels themselves, we visit the shooting range on site. The shooting range allows you to fire the guns used by the Viet Kong army during the war. Tim and I decide to give this a go and choose to fired a Colt .45 and an AK47.
We make our way to the tunnels itself with a guide who works at Cu Chi itself and he is armed with single torch. We are given nothing. We go through 70 meters of underground tunnels. These tunnels have been widened slightly to fit the larger frame of tourists. We then go into another set of tunnels spanning 50m. These tunnels haven't been touched but are not much smaller than the first set of tunnels. Our guide travels quickly through the tunnel and Tim and I struggle to keep up. While the tunnel is dimly lit with orange lights, the lights are few and far between. Every so often our guide disappears around a corner and Tim and I find ourselves in complete darkness.
We depart the Cu Chi and our local guide drops us off at a restaurant which he recommends. We try to order and discover that no one spoke English. We end up pointing at what we wanted in the menu.
That night we meet up with our new tour group and tour leader - Jay. He let's us head off on our own for dinner. Two of the three new team members join us while the other has a farewell dinner with his previous tour group. We end up at the same restaurant as the night before.
After dinner, we make a quick final stop at the markets and then head home to rest for the 7 hour bus journey from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Phen.
Despite wanting the be well rested for the next day's journey, the night is very sleepless as Tim is hit with a bout of food poisoning.
The rest of the group walk to their pickup point at the appropriate time while Tim and I are picked up from the hotel. Unknown to us, we are the only ones on our tour. Nothing like a good private tour! We drive 1.5 hours to Cu Chi and our local guide takes us around. We first see one of the small hidden entrances to the Cu Chi tunnels. Tim attempts to get in. He makes it but his chest and back both rub against the entrance walls. Anyone any larger than Tim would not be able to fit into that entrance. The photos to come will astound you if you haven't already seen them.We also see some of the traps that the Viet Kong used to attack the American forces. The traps are mostly made from bamboo but are cleverly and sly designed to kill or severely injure their prey.
Before we make our way to the tunnels themselves, we visit the shooting range on site. The shooting range allows you to fire the guns used by the Viet Kong army during the war. Tim and I decide to give this a go and choose to fired a Colt .45 and an AK47.
We make our way to the tunnels itself with a guide who works at Cu Chi itself and he is armed with single torch. We are given nothing. We go through 70 meters of underground tunnels. These tunnels have been widened slightly to fit the larger frame of tourists. We then go into another set of tunnels spanning 50m. These tunnels haven't been touched but are not much smaller than the first set of tunnels. Our guide travels quickly through the tunnel and Tim and I struggle to keep up. While the tunnel is dimly lit with orange lights, the lights are few and far between. Every so often our guide disappears around a corner and Tim and I find ourselves in complete darkness.We depart the Cu Chi and our local guide drops us off at a restaurant which he recommends. We try to order and discover that no one spoke English. We end up pointing at what we wanted in the menu.
That night we meet up with our new tour group and tour leader - Jay. He let's us head off on our own for dinner. Two of the three new team members join us while the other has a farewell dinner with his previous tour group. We end up at the same restaurant as the night before.
After dinner, we make a quick final stop at the markets and then head home to rest for the 7 hour bus journey from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Phen.
Despite wanting the be well rested for the next day's journey, the night is very sleepless as Tim is hit with a bout of food poisoning.
No comments:
Post a Comment