Cu Chi Cu Chi

On Monday we went to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels used in the Vietnam War. I was surprised to find out that many of the tunnels and the proverbial death traps were actually built by locals who feared destruction of their homes. The tour started with a demonstration:




wait for it....




TADA! what a trick eh?

We walked as the tour guide showed us some of those death traps that I described:





I sure as hell wouldn't want to fall into one of those...yikes. Next up: shootin' guns. I opted for the AK47 because I wanted to impress my students. They have some hang up with those guns. I once threatened a class that I had one, and I was going to shoot them with it if they misbehaved. Don't worry, their humor is extremely morbid here, that's like standard protocol in the classroom.



Finally, we moved on to go into one of the tunnels. Our tour guide assured us that the tunnels had been widened for tourists. He also mentioned there was an exit every 5 meters or so. Psh, why would I need to exit? these tunnels were even widened! Well through this experience I have learned just how much smaller Asian people are than myself. If you had even an ounce of claustrophobia, you would indeed have a panic attack immediately. I came out dripping with sweat and exhausted from having gone through the distance of maybe a block.




These pictures were taken extremely hastily and do not show the size of the tunnels. And the Vietnamese obviously did not have optional exits, or scarce lighting. Oh right, and they would stay months at a time, hiding from men with guns and bombs. Why do I keep returning to war talk? Sorry for all the somewhat depressing notes. Next will be something that cheers even debby downers like me up: FOOD.