Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai
Today we took a bus tour out to the Cu Chi Tunnels (built by the Viet Minh in the 30's and 40's and used in the war against the French and then later and more famously used by the Viet Cong against the Americans) and also saw the Holy See of the Cao Dai religion, a complex religion that takes in beliefs and elements of Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucianism. Their saints and revered spirits include some westerners like Victor Hugo, Joan of Arc and William Shakespeare.
We were able to watch part of one of their daily ceremonies in the lavishly and colourfully decorated Great Temple before heading off again for lunch. On the way back we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. We first watched a very biased propaganda video showing the Viet Cong soldiers and guerilla fighters as they bravely killed the enemy. We heard how they were awarded hero's medals for killing lots of Americans. We saw pictures of dead American soldiers accompanied insanely by happy clappy music.
After this bizarre start, we were told by our guide to stick together and not mix up with the other groups because he wouldn't be able to tell us apart then, given that we all look the same...Funny.
We were then brought into the woods and shown some of the original tunnels. How the Viet Cong managed to live in these tunnels for so long is beyond me. I'll put up some pics of how tiny these tunnels were. They were around 60cm in height and 80 in width. We were shown examples of the traps they used, where they lived and what they ate. Then came the firing range, where you could pay $1 a bullet to shoot an AK 47 or any other type of gun. Why anyone would want to pay to do this is beyond me, but it obviously appealed to Toby. I'm sure he'll give a vivid description of this on his blog.
The journey back to HCMC was as fun as all other minibus trips we've taken so far on this holiday, violently bumpy and extremely uncomfortable! For this reason, we plan to get trains as much as possible! Our next stop is Nha Trang, 450km from HCMC, on the night train this evening. Then we'll hit the beaches for a few days of r&r. Can't wait.
We were able to watch part of one of their daily ceremonies in the lavishly and colourfully decorated Great Temple before heading off again for lunch. On the way back we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. We first watched a very biased propaganda video showing the Viet Cong soldiers and guerilla fighters as they bravely killed the enemy. We heard how they were awarded hero's medals for killing lots of Americans. We saw pictures of dead American soldiers accompanied insanely by happy clappy music.
After this bizarre start, we were told by our guide to stick together and not mix up with the other groups because he wouldn't be able to tell us apart then, given that we all look the same...Funny.
We were then brought into the woods and shown some of the original tunnels. How the Viet Cong managed to live in these tunnels for so long is beyond me. I'll put up some pics of how tiny these tunnels were. They were around 60cm in height and 80 in width. We were shown examples of the traps they used, where they lived and what they ate. Then came the firing range, where you could pay $1 a bullet to shoot an AK 47 or any other type of gun. Why anyone would want to pay to do this is beyond me, but it obviously appealed to Toby. I'm sure he'll give a vivid description of this on his blog.
The journey back to HCMC was as fun as all other minibus trips we've taken so far on this holiday, violently bumpy and extremely uncomfortable! For this reason, we plan to get trains as much as possible! Our next stop is Nha Trang, 450km from HCMC, on the night train this evening. Then we'll hit the beaches for a few days of r&r. Can't wait.
posted by Dee @ 8:20 a.m.
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