Meet the Eliuks: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam ~ Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

I have been so excited to write this post. The Cu Chi tunnels have been one of the biggest highlights of this trip so far (in terms of learning about the countries that we are visiting).

Vietnam has such a rich history. New and old. We have been learning more and more about the Vietnam war and it has been beyond interesting. One of the main sites to visit to learn more about the Vietnam war is the Cu Chi tunnels, so we booked a half day tour for our little family.

We headed to the tour offices downtown early in the morning and hopped on a beautiful mini bus to the tunnels. On the way we picked up another couple and together we made the quick hour and a half trip out with our English speaking tour guide.

I wasn't sure how engaged the kids would be on the tour. Honestly, we were fully prepared to have to keep them in line. But it was so well done, so organized and so interesting that they were all in the entire time. We spent almost two hours listening, walking and asking questions. We climbed into bunkers, saw the gun range and tried tapioca root which is what sustained the Viet Cong during the war. The highlight of it all was walking through one of the actual tunnels.

We were given the option to walk through one of the tunnels if we were interested. You could walk the entire 100ft or exit at 20ft, 40ft or 60ft. The heat, dark and claustrophobia got to me so I got out at 40ft with Hugh and Sydney. Dave and Henry made it the entire way. It was incredible to see how the Viet Cong had to live under ground for over 20 years. It was such an eye opener.

We learned so much, but here are some of the most interesting facts we learned on our tour:

~ There are over 250km of tunnels in the Cu Chi area. All of which were built over the course of 20 years using only bamboo tools and handmade shovels.

~ There are three layers to the tunnels. The first built at 3 meters deep, the second at 6 meters (which could withstand smaller bombs), and the third at 10 meters built to withstand almost all major bomb drops.

~ The tunnels were filled with traps for soldiers and they also had extremely narrow sections that only a south Vietnamese could fit through.

~ They survived by living off of tea and tapioca root which would keep them feeling full.

~ They used an underground well in the third level as their water source.

If you are ever in the Ho Chi Minh area, make sure that you include this tour in your plans.