Through the Rabbit Hole - December 23rd

On Dec 23 we drove to the CuChi Tunnels. If you’ve read anything set in Vietnam during the war, you may recall stories of Viet Cong soldiers popping up, seemingly from nowhere, and attacking. Or tales of people, soldiers and citizens, living underground in a network of tunnels. That system is the 120 miles that make up the Cu Chi Tunnels. Throughout the property, we were shown camouflaged holes (entrances/exits) which measure 20x30CENTIMETERS! Do the math! It’s 2.5cm/inch. About the size of a standard piece of paper. Into and out of these, people would go. They’re like a network of prairie dog holes. I’ll post progression photos of people from our group getting into and out of one. Feel the dimensions when you see them. The tunnels themselves are frequently no larger than that. Some have been “enlarged” (minimally, I’d say) so that a person who hasn’t got the figure of a starved Vietnamese could crawl on knees and elbows through. It’s hot, musty, humid, and extremely close. Add to that a chain of people before and behind you blocking any air (there’s no light at all, so that’s not an issue), and you’ve got one of the most claustrophobic experiences I can imagine. These tunnels contain (though we didn’t actually see them) a hospital chamber, sewing and machining chambers, kitchens with diverted and filtered chimneys, etc. Prior to being permitted to enter the tunnels, we had to sit through a 20 minute propaganda film which went into detail about the “American Devil” bastards, and the “Heroic Viet Cong Comrades”. I’ll grant you, what we did here was heinous and grotesque, but the film made it seem as though the Vietnamese were not engaged in guerilla tactics to which Americans responded. Not something I want to go too into depth on here. We saw a wide array of pit traps that were horrific and celebrated in the exhibit. And were basically verbally beaten about the head and face by the exhibits. Still and all, it was worthwhile. The tunnels are mind-boggling. Have a physical experience, walking cautiously through this lightly tamed jungle, hearing the insects, the elements, and the report of machine gun fire, was very vivid. At the site, they give tourists the opportunity to shoot AK-47s and M-60s in a range. The sound is everywhere. It’s no challenge to imagine the stress, anxiety, lasting trauma and fear this situation might have elicited. Add to it, abundant adrenaline and a chunk of military re-education, and you’ve really got something volatile and unstable.

Ok.. pardon me. I’ll skip ahead to the end of the CuChi Tunnels visit where in the gift shop we were allowed to try….. SNAKE WINE! Alison and I led the charge and we successively drank cobra and scorpion infused wine from a filthy communal shot glass, wiped “clean” by a filthy rag. It was… powerful. I’ll give them that.

I’m still 2 days behind in my reporting, but tomorrow is an early day. We leave at 7am to go to the Floating Markets.

Yesterday and today were both terrific (well. Mostly) and today was our first day visiting Heifer Projects. They did NOT disappoint! We are presently in the Mekong Delta Region, Can Tho City, Can Tho province.

Tomorrow night , Alison and I have dates with some of the staff here to eat unusual (for us) things, in town.
Today’s unsavory items, and I’m happy to cross them off my list frankly, were chicken foot – spicy, but not really tasty or meaty - , and pig liver. You may already know that liver of any sort is at the top of the short list of things I cannot bear to eat. This consumption today was an accident. We had a wonderful soup and in it were strips of meat. Not until I was chewing did I realize what it was. Bad surprise, but I swallowed it and moved on.