Ho Chi Minh City

Tunnel Rat

I went a bit outside my personal comfort zone drinking Mekong Whiskey - rice wine laced with the blood of a King Cobra. But crawling through a part of the tunnel system used by the Vietcong during the war was a little over the top as well.

We arrive in Saigon and check into our hotel on Monday. We walk to the Central Market to get a replacement suitcase and find one that I stash back in the hotel room while Pat continues shopping. I'm offered a ride back to the market on the back of a 'Honda' scooter for a modest fee which I debate internally but accept. Hopping on, the driver offers me a helmet and then proceeds to drive in that insane traffic flow towards the market. Somehow we get there but not before driving on the sidewalk and going the wrong way on a one way. "No problem, Uncle".

Tuesday, we meet our tour guide for the hour and a half trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside Saigon. We stop at a rubber tree plantation to examine the gooey residue of a cut tree. Arriving at Cu Chi, we find tourists of many national nationalities. First we sit through a short film about the caves and the role they played in the war and then we are off to explore. The guide stops on the trail and talks about the tunnels and then lifts a lid off a well disguised opening which he invites me to crawl into. I had to drop down feet first with hands above my head - barely squeezed through the opening. Then, I crawled the rest of the way on my elbows on a floor covered with leaves. The guide told me that once I get underway it was about 50 feet to an exit. Just "be sure to take the second left to get out" - if I take first left or go straight, it was a dead end with no turn around. There was only about a 6 inch clearance for my head and I made my way in the dark, I heard the occasional fluttering of wings. I managed to shine a light up ahead of me and saw a bunch of bats hanging from the ceiling. Oh well, can't go back so just press on. Luckily I took the correct turn and found the exit. Can't imagine how our tunnel rats that flushed out VC hiding in these tunnels didn't have mental health issues as a result. Very intense. Will never complain about an MRI again.

After touring SE Asia and places like Cu Chi, we can see what hardship our troops endured fighting here. That they returned home to a lukewarm reception will forever will be a black mark on the era.

I had a great respect for your efforts during the war but after seeing the hardships you endured, personally, I'm flabbergasted that anyone comes out of there completely intact.

And now back to regularly scheduled retirement.

See the photos here.