After about barely 50 m of crawling in the tunnel specially enlarged for tourists like me
The experience of crawling inside the Cuci tunnel roughly about 45 minutes north of Ho Chih Minh city, once used as defence against the US in the Vietnam war is in one word - terrifying. It is pitch black, damp and your sense of sight is rendered totally useless as you navigate on alternately on your belly, or on all four limbs and follow your guide in front of you based on his voice and the odd movements. For a very fit guy like myself, even when I went there in 2011, it was a real test of endurance and coordination, just to maneuvre the 50 m underground. During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong had to maneuvre up to hundreds of meters underground in near pitch black darkness while up above ground, all hell broke loose.
The Tunnel Complex as explained by the Guide
The Vietnamese communists or Viet Cong as they were called in the 60s to 70s, were highly trained, extremely motivated force, as they were fighting for the liberation of their land from the American imperialists. The tunnel complex was thousands of km long, according to the war museums account, and was as much as 4 levels or 50 to 60 meters deep under the surface to withstand the mass bombings of the US forces. Much of the tunnel complex was in total darkness, but they opened up to certain landings or flat portions where hospitals, communication centers and armouries were in operation. It was practically a small town totally underground.
The entrance to the tunnel was barely 30 cm or 3 feet in width and 2 feet in depth as demonstrated by yours truly
The effective use of these tunnels was one of the main factors in the VCs strong resilience against the American onslaught who had superior communications, firepower, superior air force, with the air calvary (Chinook Helicopters and high speed machine guns - weapons of death) and carpet bombing, just to name some of the obvious advantages. All these were not enough to overcome the mental resilience and will of the Vietnamese people in the end. the US pulled out of South Vietnam in 1975 leaving behind a trail of destruction, maimed people, hundreds of thousands of unexploded land mines, bombs and chemicals.
Today, Vietnam is fast becoming another mini China with bouyant manufacturing and a relatively young population and booming real estate. Many Chinese manufacturers have relocated some of their operations there as is Intel and some European manufacturers. The reemergence of Indo China is fast taking shape.
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