Bicycling and Tunnels

We convinced our guide, Tan, that 7 am was too early for a pick up so he agreed to come by at 7:30 am!!

Once we escaped the clutches of city traffic, Tan got us all set up on Trek mountain bikes and we rode some lovely back country roads and lanes as we headed to Cu Chi Tunnels Park. The back roads weren't too busy, mostly scooters going past. The children and parents were friendly, shouting "Hello" as we rode by. We stopped to look at rubber trees and slowed down going thru villages and past cemeteries to admire homes and gardens, cows and chickens.

Rubber Trees

As we neared the park, the traffic picked up so we loaded up the bikes onto a truck and drove to the Cu Chi Tunnels Memorial Park. We experienced first hand how the Viet Cong would use these tunnels to attack and run, escape the bombings and the sprayed poisons. Some of the tunnels were 10 feet deep and others went down 25 feet. The shallow tunnels were used to attack and hide but the deeper ones held rooms for cooking, sleeping, healing and storage. Over 16,000 people lived in the tunnels at the end of the Ho Chi Menh Trail. They began building these tunnels during the French war in 1948.

We went into a few of the tunnels and a park guide showed us how the VC could disappear into them. They also displayed the pits lined with bamboo spikes and nails designed to maim the soldiers who inadvertently walked into them. It was pretty sobering.

Following lunch we decided we had had enough of the heat so we headed back early. It was a 2 hour drive to go about 22 miles!