The tunnels of Cu Chi in Vietnam: Unusual and interesting tourist destination

In 1940 the Vietnamese army built an extensive network of underground tunnels that used them in their fight against the Frenchmen. Years later, enlarged underground labyrinth became one of the most famous ace of the Vietcong (VC)soldiers. Their tactic was simple, out of the bushes, assault, and rapidly disappearing.

Cu Chi tunnels today are located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon) and are one of the most popular destinations in the country. Palno with guides, snack bars, and even have a chance to shoot with AK-47 rifle or M-16 for just over a dollar a bullet.

Cu Chi tunnel system is about 150 miles long, and as a whole underground city of the living quarters, meeting rooms, cafeterias, hospitals, operating rooms, dealers, bomb shelters, wells, and even the theaters - everything you need to hide thousands of fighters in the jungle of Vietnam.

Tourists can see the B-52 bomb craters, watching old movies with Vietnamese propaganda, to hear interesting stories about the tunnels of Vietnamese dressed in traditional black pajamas " with conical straw hats, which will show some of the various traps (sharpened stakes of bamboo, stretched wires with electricity and holes filled with scorpions) used against enemies.

Although some of the tunnels at Cu Chi are extended for the tourists, others are still so small that must be crossed squatting or crawling on hands and knees.The dimensions of the tunnels are generally 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

Tourists can travel in the tunnel and feel the spirit that lingers from the days when it is moving vietkongtsite and American "tunnel rats" (an elite group of a few soldiers from the U.S. Army sent in tunnels). Many tunnels have grown to be able to accommodate more tourists are also conveniently placed and additional lighting.