A historical visit to Cu Chi Tunnels, Ben Duoc
When I started my research on what to do in the Ho Chi Minh area, they all had this one in common: The Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels were dug by the Communist forces during the Vietnam War and were used to transport supplies, communication, hiding and housing troops. They dug tens of thousands of miles of tunnels, with several floors and several branches reaching out in every direction. These tunnels are now one of the most popular attractions in the Ho Chi Minh area.
While researching, you’ll find that there are two possible sites to visit: The Ben Dinh or the Ben Duoc. I chose to visit the latter, simply because there’s less visitors at this site. This might be a result of the location, since Ben Duoc is located further from Ho Chi Minh than Ben Dinh. When I was there, it was only one other group on site at the same time as us. This allowed us to stand in silence without a tourist crowd making noise, listening to our guide telling us about the dark days of fighting. We could listen, uninterrupted, to the stories that were told and imagine the horror of the war.
Our guide did a great job in making our experience memorable. His English was good and he repeatedly told us stories about the war that his grandfather had passed on to him. It made it more real in a way and easier to connect with the stories and people that lived during this devastating time.
The highlight of the trip was definitely walking inside the tunnels. I can’t imagine being in a situation where living under these conditions is your everyday life, just trying to stay alive. The space is tiny, you’re surrounded by plain darkness and walls made of earth.
We started out at some tunnels that were a decent size. These were not originally at this size, but they were made bigger when they opened it as a tourist attraction. The last tunnel we visited was so narrow and small that it made me a little claustrophobic even though I’m usually not. I’m tall so when I walked in that last tunnel, my heels touched my butt on every step. We had a short Vietnamese guy walking in front of us the whole time and he ran like it was no big deal.
I would recommend wearing some loose clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty. I did bump into the wall every now and then at the last tunnel. I was there in October and it was so warm and humid. After getting out of the last tunnel we washed up but due to the humidity we didn’t really get dry until we got back into the car.
The last thing we did before heading back to the city was shooting with AK47. We did struggle a bit to find the place, since our guide said that people usually don’t choose to do this. I was really excited but at the same time a bit worried for the recoil. This was not an issue. The weapons are mounted for safety reasons, so I didn’t feel the recoil that bad. I didn’t hit target but a fun experience!
.
I truly enjoyed learning about this war on the ground where it all happened. Visiting, I couldn’t even imagine what their life was like. 45,000 Vietnamese men and women lost their life during this war. In my opinion, paying a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels is a must when visiting Vietnam.
