An Entry Point into the Cu Chi Tunnels - HCMC
Located about 40 kilometers outside of Saigon, the Cu Chi region was the site of a 200 kilometer network of tunnels. These tunnels provided a way for people to navigate the area without being seen and to live underground. Tunnels were complete with living spaces including kitchens, bunkers, factories, clinics.
This hole seen here is an example of a hidden entrance to the tunnels. Someone could drop down into the tunnel system to disappear or pop up above ground to lay a trap and then disappear again.
Check out the size of the hole compared to the shoes. This gives an indication of how small the tunnels were.
Even though a section of the tunnels was widened and to enable tourists to crawl through, the tunnel was still barely navigable and caused almost instant claustrophobia.
We left with a greater understanding of how hellish it must have been for both sides fighting in this region (and in the whole of Vietnam). Of the 16,000 people original Cu Chi residents, only 4,000 remained at the conclusion of the war.
Read about our brief brush with the American (Vietnam) War.
