Day 13 June 15, 2012: -Ho Chi Minh City -Cu Chi Tunnels tour
Today’s discovery was a trip <through the country side> to see the Cu Chi tunnels. The village of Cu Chi sits on a vast network of tunnels stretching more than 125 miles. The <Cu Chi tunnels-1> allowed the Vietcong to control a large area near Saigon. The South Vietnamese communists, or Viet Cong, built this network of tunnels in and around the village of Cu Chi and worked continually over 25 years to expand the multi-level network, which includes mess halls, meeting rooms, an operating theater, a tiny cinema, small factories, and vast ammunition stores. During our visit to the tunnels a school group was there on a class trip. They wanted to take photos with us and just talk with us. The tunnels hand-dug built by the Viet Cong, measured only 80cm in diameter. Some areas have been widened to accommodate visiting tour groups. I was the only one in our group who ventured into an original tunnel entrance and crawled out another entrance <Cu Chi tunnels-2>. It was dark, hot and extremely humid. The tunnel rooms contained “punji stake” pits in the corners that became deadly traps for U.S. tunnel rats – soldiers who chased the VC in to the tunnels. When General Westmorland heard about the tunnels he said he would get rid of them in 30 days. Never happened. <Cu Chi back to HCMC>
This religious movement was created by drawing on aspects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Spiritualism and Catholicism. <Cao Dai> was founded in 1926 by Ngo Minh Chieu The temple was constructed 1933-55 in a unique architectural style that reflects its intriguing mix of traditions. In many ways, Cao Dai resembles a Christian cathedral. It includes aisles, square towers and a central nave with upper gallery. Decorations are extravagant and colorful. The three principal colors of Cao Dai are yellow for Buddhism, blue for Taoism and red for Christianity. Four ceremonies are held each day that include chanting, prayer and Vietnamese hymns.
We also stopped at a <small rubber plantation>. The “farmer” showed us how he collects the rubber sap and transports it to a factory. For fertilization he places bags of chemicals on the ground, punches holes and lets the water filter through to the rubber trees.
<Independence Palace> was the residence of the President of South Vietnam. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. In a fraudulent election orchestrated by his brother in 1955, Ngô Đình Diệm defeated former Emperor Bảo Đại. Diệm declared himself president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and renamed the building the Independence Palace. On February 27, 1962, in a failed assassination attempt, two RVN pilots rebelled and bombed the palace almost destroying the entire left wing. With restoration impossible, Diệm had the palace demolished and commissioned a new building. In November 1963 Diệm and his brother were assassinated after a coup d'état led by General Dương Văn Minh and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu who became president. Independence Hall served as Thiệu’s home and office from October 1967 to 21 April 1975, when he fled the country. At 10:45am on 30 April 1975, a tank of the North Vietnamese Army bulldozed through the main gate of Independence Palace, ending the Vietnam War.
<Saigon Opera House>, designed by French architect Ferret Eugene, the Saigon Opera House was built in 1897 with 1,800 seats to entertain French colonists. Many similarities exist between it and the Petit Palais in Paris. The ornaments, balustrades, cartouches and roof were all brought from France. After 1956, the Opera House was the Lower House Assembly of South Vietnam. In 1975 the opera house was restored to its original purpose.
The Soul of Vietnam – is a folkloric show for tourists which present Vietnamese history and culture with traditional folk music.
The show consists of three distinct parts provides a quick look at Vietnamese history from the early Hung King dynasty to the present.
The first part describes Hai Ba Trung (the Trung sisters, 12-43 AD) riding two elephants to fight against the Chinese rule.
The Soul of Vietnam is both entertaining and educational to foreign audiences. The show featured a segment in which Vietnamese “students” carrying Viet Nam flags and banners sang a very political song extolled the communist party. As an American I did not find this segment enjoyable at all. We were ending our 14 days in Vietnam hearing these student sing the praises of the communist party was not a favorable end to an otherwise wonderful re-visit to Viet Nam.
Viet Nam Photos Page 8