Vietnam part 2 - Tunnels and Temples

Part two - Cu Chi and Cao Dai.


So - part two of the trip!

Yesterday we went off to see the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai temple. Both were
interesting, but the tunnels were definitely the highlight. It was a full day trip, on the bus most of the time. That in itself was really nice after all the walking we'd done on the previous day. My feet are complaining about this trip already, even if the rest of me isn't :)

Anyway, we started at the Cao Dai temple. Cao Dai means High Tower, and is a religion that is unique to Vietnam. Basically you take all the religions you can think of and mix them up together. They have a pope, who is picked by conducting a seance with the ancestors. Their saints include Victor Hugo, the french poet. The temple was decorated with pink dragons for some reason, with a great eye sitting on top of a globe, symbolising the One God that rules over all. They pray and have a service in the temple four times a day, and we got to see one of the services which involved a lot of chanting, gongs and incense.

After lunch we went off to the Cu Chi tunnels. This was the main highlight of the day. THe tunnels were used during the war by the local guerillas, and stretched for around 250km all through the area. The original tunnels were 60cm, by 80cm - just enough room for a small person to crawl through on their stomach. They've also put in a few lights - definitely not an original feature. Fortunately, they've enlarged them for tourists, so this section was 120 * 160cm. I could get through these if I crouched. Still, it was pitch black in sections and went for aroudn 100m. It was all very claustrophobic. I can't imagine using them to live in and fight from. Apparetnly they tunneled into the nearby US base during the war and would pop up at night and shoot at them from inside the base. It took quite a while for the Americans to catch on, but they couldn't clear all the tunnels.

There was also a museum area, showing the different types of booby traps used by the
guerillas. They involved pits full of bamboo spikes and rusty nails in various combinations. It all looked very nasty. And there was a ruined American tank, blown up by a landmine and left where it was destroyed. The entire back half of the tank was a twisted ruin.

It was quite a sobering experience all around. Everywhere we've been so far there are
reminders of the war - from the markets with army surplus, to old planes and tanks, museums - it's just everywhere. In that respect its been a holiday that makes you think about all that's happened.

But from here on it gets lighter. Tomorrow we're off on a twoday tour of the Mekong
delta. And that's followed by two days on the beach at Mui Ne. Both should be great side trips. I think we've seen most of what Saigon ahs to offer, so it'll be a good to move on,

Hopefully I'll get another chance at the internet in a couple of days. Talk to you then