Adrian's Motorbike Adventure - Exploring the Cu Chi Tunnels

While I wasn't in Saigon long(Saigon is officially Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone still calls it Saigon), it was still long enough for an adventure! I'd heard about the Cu Chi tunnels, some famous tunnels used by the Vietcong during the Vietnam war, and wanted to check them out. Unfortunately, I was too late to get in on the day's cheap organized tour, so I took matters into my own hands and hired a motorbike driver / tour guide named Dat to take me out to the tunnels and show me around. Dat was a great tour guide. He had actually worked for the US military during the war, and had many interesting stories about that. During the war he was paid about $2,700 a month, an absolute fortune back then in Vietnam, and he had a big house, his own car, et. But after te South fell, all that was confiscated and he was then sent to a re-education camp for 3 1/2 years.

Enough back story - on to the good stuff! The adventure started the second I left the guesthouse - little did I know that the main part of the adventure wasn't going to be the tunnels themselves, it would be getting there! I fastened a deathgrip onto the back of Dat's motorbike, and went along for the ride as he expertly weaved through traffic. I was more than a little nervous, but was reassured by the fact that Dat was 62 - if he'd made it to be that old he must be pretty damn skilled with a motorbike!

90 adrenaline-packed minutes later we arrived at the tunnels. There we saw some Viet Cong mannequins illustrating the life of the guerrillas, an exploded tank, and a bunch of nasty spike traps used by the Viet Cong. Oh, and obviously we saw the tunnels too. I actually got to crawl through them. Pretty intense! Clearly I am taller than your average Viet Cong, but those tunnels wouldn't be comfortable for anyone, except maybe Dr Evil's pint-size clone, mini-me. They were also quite hot. After just 200 meters of crawling I was also drenched in sweat. Hard to believe that the Vietcong did this for several kilometers!

All in all a fascinating day. And now that I'm back on solid ground I can say I was very glad to have gone by motorbike - certainly a lot more exciting than by car!

popping out from a secret entrance to the tunnels

hidden in the tunnel

termite mound with a hidden air vent for the tunnels

hangin' out on a disabled American tank

stepping on this would definitely ruin your day. . .

Viet Cong mannequins hard at work converting unexploded US bombs into their own explosives

me in the Cu Chi tunnels

back on solid ground with my daredevil tour guide/driver Dat at the end of the day