Making Like the Viet Cong

Much in all as it was a brutal war in so many ways and, from what I've read, changed a lot of the rules about how war was “supposed” to be fought, I have always been fascinated by the stories about the Viet Cong and how they basically lived underground in order to fight back against the American forces trying to occupy their land. What I didn't know was that they were not north Vietnamese. They were from the south; they just held sympathies with the forces from the north.

I packed up early at my hotel and headed out to get to the meeting place for the tour. I was so far away from Pham Ngu Lao that I almost had to move hotels if I was going to be comfortable and get things done. So I left the nice place with the nice people and headed for the insanity of the backpacker area. I guess you have to do what you have to do sometimes.

I left my bag at the tour operator's office and waited for the bus to come and pick me up. Actually, they ended up taking me around the block to another of their offices to meet the bus. There were people lined up for all sorts of tours that were on offer by the operator. It looked a lot like chaos to me, but people were put on the appropriate buses in a very efficient manner and it all went quite smoothly. Eventually it was the turn of the half-day tour to the tunnels and we headed to our bus. Our tour guide introduced himself to us and then began to talk a bit about the history of Saigon and reunification of the country. And it became clear that, here in the south of Vietnam at least, many people still view it as two separate countries that have been reunited by force and not necessarily by the desire of the people who might still view themselves as south Vietnamese. It was clear from things that he told us. For instance, we were told that the city had been Saigon. When the north won, they changed the name to Ho Chi Minh City. But the people like the name of Saigon, so they still call it so. And if a visitor asks for a place in the city, they can easily say Saigon and they will be understood. However, anything the comes from the government must address the city as Ho Chi Minh City. He told us that many people from the north move to Saigon because that is where everyone wants to be. Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam because life is so good here. There is fertile land and good opportunities. And that doesn't exist in the north. He told us that while northerners often come to live in the south, it doesn't go the other way. Southerners do what tourists do, namely they go and visit, see the sights, and then they leave. They come back home. Later, at the tunnels, he talked of the Viet Cong as rats who slunk back underground to hide from the American forces. He said almost none of this with bitterness, but he definitely had no reverence for the north and the northern government. If it weren't such a serious subject, I might have laughed heartily at some of the things that he said.

On the way out to the tunnels, we did a very Chinese tour thing and stopped at a craft market, and were given the opportunity to go shopping for some tourist crap. I just stayed in the air-conditioned bus.

Once at the tunnels, we were given an overview of what went on there before we went into the site. It looked a lot different than it must have looked then, as the US had been using Agent Orange to destroy the foliage that gave the Vietnamese fighters such good cover. The trees seems to have recovered nicely now.

Once we all had tickets and brochures, we headed into the exhibition area. There is a bit of a staged feel to it all, but it is still quite artfully done. The presentation of it all is quite nice. At the start is an area that has stands of bamboo, with large huts all over.

These are presentation areas where each group that comes for a visit goes to receive some orientation regarding the tunnels and how they are laid out, as well as a video presentation about the Viet Cong and their service to the cause. As you might imagine, this was a propaganda film that was pro-regime and portrayed the Viet Cong as heroes and the Americans as demons. It was all a bit thick. “This girl was awarded many times for killing Americans.” “This is how they killed many Americans.” “This girl lost her parents to a cowardly attack from the air by the Americans, but she came back with a strong hatred and fought valiantly and killed many Americans in return.” Still, it was interesting.

After the film, we headed further into the regrown jungle to see some of the traps laid by the Viet Cong. There were camouflaged holes, big enough for one person to hide that allowed a sneak attack from behind (after which they scurried back into the holes like rats).

There were bamboo spike traps that pierced the flesh of those that fell victim, but often didn't kill. Then the Viet Cong would come by through their tunnel network and finish the job by sticking knives or bamboo spears through holes in the walls to kill the victims.

There was a gallery of all manner of different spike traps that were laid through the ingenuity of the Viet Cong. I'm sure it all did what it was supposed to do, demoralize the American troops.

There were also some depictions of the Viet Cong sitting around doing some everyday activities, like reading, or writing letters to family elsewhere, or plotting how better to kill the invading Americans.

Then it was on to the shooting range. Here visitors have the opportunity to shoot AK-47s, or machine guns of a couple of sorts, or a couple of other kinds of weapon. It was very loud. And I was getting to the point where I wanted to see the tunnels.

A small demonstration of how to make rice paper...

...another spot where we were shown the ingenuity of the Vietnamese in making footwear out of old tires (I guess the Cambodians weren't the first to be so ingenious)...

...and it was finally on to the reason for the visit. The tunnels. These were built on three levels. They dug them in teams, digging well-like holes about 10 meters apart down to a first level at about 3-4 meters deep. Then they connected the wells by digging sideways until they met. They did all of this by hand with only bamboo scoops and makeshift hoes and shovels. They worked in teams of 4 to accomplish all this work. Once the first level tunnels was made, most of the well holes were filled in to cover their presence. Then they began on the second level of the structure. The second level was built in much the same way, but the well holes weren't covered up. They were used to move between the levels. Then the third level was made. In addition to the tunnels, there were chambers made (although we didn't get to crawl into any of those) that served as the living structures. There were kitchens, pantries, sleeping areas, and more. It was all very elaborate.

And very small. I was barely able to stay on my feet, and I could only do that by stooping very low and taking off my backpack. I don't know how the Viet Cong managed to be scrabbling around all over the place in a hurry, with all their gear as well. And then to live underground. I'm not afraid of small spaces, but I still think it might have driven me crazy to live like that.

It was an interesting experience and I enjoyed seeing the area. But scrabbling through the tunnels was a reasonably short experience, only going on for a maximum of about 60 meters. I can see why all the other stuff is added to the experience. It would be a long way to for only 5 or so minutes of looking through the living areas of the Viet Cong.

On the way back to town, our guide told us that he could drop anyone who wanted to go at the War Remnants Museum. It sounded interesting, so when we stopped there, I got off the mini-bus. It wasn't far from the backpackers area, so it wasn't going to be a problem.

The War Remnants Museum is another spot where they expound the virtuous fight against the atrocities of the Americans. That whole line was starting to get a bit old. I have read and heard enough about the Vietnam War to know some of the horrible things the American troops did. Some of it was truly atrocious, and there is nothing in the way of mitigation in the explanations I have ever heard that will change my mind about some of the horrid things that were done. But I also know that the Viet Cong, as was proudly displayed in the Cu Chi Tunnel area, did a whole bunch of terrible things themselves, in the name of throwing off the yoke of colonialism and imperialism through war. It is hypocritical to criticize the horrors of one side without acknowledging the atrocities of your own side. But then, it is said that history is written by the winners. So...

There were a bunch of military vehicles on display. They were kind of cool.

And there was an area that was supposed to depict the detainment camps used by the Americans. Of course, the museum didn't label them as detainment camps. They were scenes of unimaginable torture and punishment, the debasement of humans. There were all kinds of testimonials about the treatment of detainees. The truth? I have absolutely no idea. The American version will no doubt be different, so there is no telling what might have really happened. But some of the stories were quite difficult to read.

Inside was a predictably one-sided presentation about how the world supported the Vietnamese resistance to the invasion by the Americans. It sounded as though the Americans were the only ones who wanted them to be here. Again, I don't know.

However, that all being said, there was an amazing display, on the second or third floor of the museum, of journalists' photos from the war. What journalists were able to capture of the war was really quite stunning. It was worth a visit just for those.

And then it was time to find a place to stay. I headed back to Pham Ngu Lao and found a hotel that, in the grand scheme, wasn't too expensive (at only 16 dollars), but in Vietnam was quite expensive. Good thing it was only for one night.