Going in a fox hole at the Cu Chi tunnels. We visited this site as a reminder of the sacrifice of so many lives that never be repeated. The horrific destruction of war hits all, and I have decided to add only a few pictures here. Historically, the Cu Chi tunnels were a network of more than 250kms of tunnels used by the Viet Cong during their guerrilla warfare against the Americans during the Vietnam war (1960's); the tunnels reached all the way to the border of Cambodia. Some parts of the tunnels were several stories deep, and included numerous trap doors, constructed living areas, storage, weapons factories, hospitals and kitchens. I attempted to enter the small hole - you can see how tight it is, but just enough to maneuver your body down. The small size of the Vietnamese soldiers made it much easier for them to go in and out of these holes.
Ok, now that I'm in, can I manage to get out? This was not an easy task.
As you can see, the foxhole covers were so small that they were easily covered with leaves as a camouflage.
Once the leaves were scattered, it was not an easy to locate where the cover was.
This shows the dug outs that were used to travel through the woods.
A very eery sight - there were several variations of these types of traps. Horrifying.
A replica of how the Viet Cong recycled American bomb casings to be reused to make tools and other warfare materials for their own use ..... all these were made in the underground tunnels.
We were able to go through about 20m of the tunnels, crouching down (not quite on your hands and knees). It gives you an idea of how small these tunnels really were.
The rubber from army vehicle tires were made into shoes! Here, a demonstration shows how the rubber is cut, and the tread remains to add a more solid grip to the bottom of the soles of the shoe/sandal. The heavy treads were to last for many years. The straps were even adjustable. They seemed to have thought of everything.
Going in a fox hole at the Cu Chi tunnels. We visited this site as a reminder of the sacrifice of so many lives that never be repeated. The horrific destruction of war hits all, and I have decided to add only a few pictures here. Historically, the Cu Chi tunnels were a network of more than 250kms of tunnels used by the Viet Cong during their guerrilla warfare against the Americans during the Vietnam war (1960's); the tunnels reached all the way to the border of Cambodia. Some parts of the tunnels were several stories deep, and included numerous trap doors, constructed living areas, storage, weapons factories, hospitals and kitchens. I attempted to enter the small hole - you can see how tight it is, but just enough to maneuver your body down. The small size of the Vietnamese soldiers made it much easier for them to go in and out of these holes.
Ok, now that I'm in, can I manage to get out? This was not an easy task.
As you can see, the foxhole covers were so small that they were easily covered with leaves as a camouflage.
Once the leaves were scattered, it was not an easy to locate where the cover was.
This shows the dug outs that were used to travel through the woods.
A very eery sight - there were several variations of these types of traps. Horrifying.
A replica of how the Viet Cong recycled American bomb casings to be reused to make tools and other warfare materials for their own use ..... all these were made in the underground tunnels.
We were able to go through about 20m of the tunnels, crouching down (not quite on your hands and knees). It gives you an idea of how small these tunnels really were.
The rubber from army vehicle tires were made into shoes! Here, a demonstration shows how the rubber is cut, and the tread remains to add a more solid grip to the bottom of the soles of the shoe/sandal. The heavy treads were to last for many years. The straps were even adjustable. They seemed to have thought of everything.
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