Saigon - Day 14

As you may have presumed, much of our visit to Vietnam has had undertones of the Vietnam War.  Today, then, is probably the culmination of that experience as we travel to the Cu Chi tunnels northwest of Saigon.  To get to the entrances to the various  tunnels we had to walk through the jungle for several hundred yards, and along the way we gained a new understanding of the difficulty presented by the terrain and the local farmers whose normal daily apparel was identical to the uniform of the VC  These tunnels were very influential in the fall of Saigon as they provided cover as well as movement for the Viet Cong.  The tunnels covered large portions of territory which on the surface was controlled by the Joint Forces, but underground was in the control of the VC.  The mass of tunnels were at least three levels deep, as long as 250 km (150 miles) long with numerous offshoots, some of which were booby trapped, and no overall map of the whole, so no one person could be able to show another how the whole was designed.  An amazing maze underground. As described to us today, by our guide, the Cu Chi villagers were  for the South in the daytime, but at night, in many cases because of intimidation, they joined the VC.  I have been probing our guide for the whole time here in Vietnam as to the state of the South Vietnamese people regarding whether they wanted the US “advisors” and later, our troops.  His response is absolutely we were wanted, not just by the political leadership, but by the people as well.  He also told us that the South was way ahead of Korea, Taiwan, and other SE Asian countries in 1974, and since reunification has fallen way behind, thanks to the policies of the current communist regime.  However, since the end of the US embargo, and resumption of diplomatic relations in the 1990s, the economic conditions have improved dramatically. 

We also visited a small rubber plantation where we saw how the trees are tapped for raw latex.  This tree was originally imported by the French during colonial times, and is now a minor contributor to the local economy as synthetic rubber has replaced the natural as the desired product.  We learn, as the salt water of our sweat drips into our eyes, that we are back in the land of heat (95F) and humidity (92%). 

For a little on the light side, the Vietnamese dollar is known as the Dong.  Of our group of ten, only two are male.  Wanna guess what we can joke about when discussing any purchases using the local currency?