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to allow them to evade French army
patrols. The old tunnel network was
renewed and enlarged when the Na-
tional Liberation Front (NLF) insurgency
began around 1960.
Within a few years, the tunnel sys-
tem became the lifeline of NLF opera-
tions, snaking all the way from Saigon
to the Cambodia border. The attacks
that rocked the southern Vietnamese
Capital during the Tet Offensive were
launched from Cu Chi.
In a bid to break local community
ties with NLF forces, the southern re-
gime launched its strategic hamlets
program in 1963. Government forces
destroyed villages in suspected pro-
communist areas and relocated the
people to their controlled, fortified
encampments.
Instead of isolating the people from
NLF influences, the program had the
opposite effect, strengthening sympa-
thy for the communists. Thanks to the
tunnels, the NLF had access to the stra-
tegic hamlets anyway. To try to regain
control of the Iron Triangle, as the re-
gion was known, the Americans built a
larger base camp at Cu Chi.
Only after several months of unex-
plained sniper attacks did they discover
that their camps lay directly on the top
of an intricate network of NLF tunnels.
Thousands of Americans, Australians
and southern Vietnamese ground troops
descended on the Iron Triangle to try
and seize control of this strategic area.
Unable to find the tunnels, they
decided instead to try and cut off the
NLF supply routes. They eradicated and
burned villages and destroyed paddy
fields. This area was doused with chem-
icals and set ablaze with napalm. Yet
despite the devastation above ground,
many NFL fighters survived, tucked
away deep inside their earth fortress.
“Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels was a
memorable experience. In the pouring
rain, we walked around the site where
battles were fought and so many lives
were lost. Venturing into the claustro-
phobic dark tunnels was something I
will never forget,” a tour member told
to me after the trip.
“It was the blind leading the blind
into the darkness of those narrow tun-
nels, relying on the feel of the walls
as we were hunched over double. Ten
minutes underground felt like much,
much longer. It was a relief to come
back to ground level, but also gave me
a huge sense of appreciation for the
amazing survival techniques that the
Vietnamese used in this dark period of
their history,” said another.
Malcolm and Fran Surman of the
UK Embassy in Bangkok, remarked: “Of
all the wonderful places that we were
taken to, I think that Cu Chi tunnels
made the greatest impact as we came
to realise the awful conditions that
were endured by those who wanted
their freedom.”
Also as part of the tour, we arrived
at Bach Dang in time for lunch where
we walked to the impressive bonsai
garden (
Vuon Kieng
) on the bank of
Saigon River.
As all the tourists headed back to
the city and their next adventure, they
all agreed that a tour of this area is a
must do for anyone visiting Vietnam.
TRAVEL
RIVER
Pham Ha is an award-winning CEO and found-
er of Luxury Travel Ltd, the first luxury travel
and tour operator in the Mekong region. He
is also a travel guru, tourism speaker, travel
writer, consultant and a leading designer of
luxury tourism industry training programs
Tourists get up close and personal
with the narrow tunnels of Cu Chi