Day 2 : Ho Chi Minh City Trip - CuChi Tunnel

Dalam 15 minit kemudian, maka kami sampailah ke CuChi Tunnel. Memang dah tak sabar aku nak sampai ke sini. Macam duduk dalam oven tau kepanasan aku dalam van tu. Menggelisah betul aku. So, bila kami sampai di sini...tengok banyak pokok-pokok. Redup ajer keadaannya. Sib baik.

Untuk masuk ke sini, kami dikenakan bayaran sebanyak 80,000 Dong (RM16) seorang. Ia tidak termasuk dalam package kami tadi di hotel. So, kami kena bayar sendiri di kaunter ticket di sini. Package kami juga ada disediakan tourist guide. Dia akan memberi penerangan tentang history Cu Chi Tunnel ini dan bagaimana askar-askar vietnam boleh mengalahkan tentera Amerika ketika perang Vietnam-Amerika pada tahun 1968 dulu.

The 75-mile (121 km)-long complex of tunnels at Củ Chi has been preserved by the government of Vietnam, and turned into a war memorial park. The tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system. Some tunnels have been made larger to accommodate the larger size of western tourists, while low-power lights have been installed in several of them to make traveling through them easier and booby traps have been clearly marked. Underground conference rooms where campaigns such as the Tết Offensive were planned in 1968 have been restored, and visitors may enjoy a simple meal of food that Viet Cong fighters would have eaten.





The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually culminating in an American withdrawal.

tempat dimana kami dipertontonkan penerangan video gambaran semasa peperangan Vietnam dulu dan kehidupan mereka di dalam tunnel. Kami menonton video terlebih dahulu sebelum kami dibawa ke dalam hutan ini untuk melihat tunnel. Kena turun bawah tu.

suasana di tempat tontonan video itu.

ini pula tempat jerangkap samar...musuh takkan perasan di bawah segi empat itu ada cerucuk tajam.....silap langkap boleh mati bawah tu.

inilah dia cerucuk tajam itu.....adoi tajamnya!!

tourist guide kerek ini (topi putih) sibuk memberi penerangan tetapi aku pulak sibuk berposing. Aku bengang dengan budak vietnam ni....very the kerek dan eksyen. Sempat kutuk Amerika terang2....dia cakap orang Vetnam hebat dan kuat...ceh!!!!!. Bukan bermakna aku sokong Amerika tetapi aku benci dengan keegoan budak vietnam ini.

A trap door on the jungle floor leads down into the Củ Chi tunnels. Closed and camouflaged, it is almost undetectable.

hanya org kurus ajer yg boleh masuk. Untuk pengetahuan semua...orang Vietnam memang kurus-kurus belaka.



musuh tak nampak kewujudan tunnel ini

American soldiers used the term "Black echo" to describe the conditions within the tunnels. For the Viet Cong, life in the tunnels was difficult. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, spiders and mosquitoes. Most of the time, guerrillas would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops or engage the enemy in battle.

Sometimes, during periods of heavy bombing or American troop movement, they would be forced to remain underground for many days at a time. Sickness was rampant among the people living in the tunnels, especially malaria, which accounted for the second largest cause of death next to battle wounds. A captured Viet Cong report suggests that at any given time half of a PLAF unit had malaria and that “one-hundred percent had intestinal parasites of significance”.

salah satu tunnel yg terdapat di sini....ada berani masuk????

inilah keadaan pakaian dan senjata askar vietnam pada zaman perang dulu...

korang ada berani ke camana aku pegang kepala askar vietnam ni.

jom tengok pulak senjata-senjata buatan sendiri yang digunakan

sempat lagi aku berposing dengan abg2 vietnam ni...tapi dorang bukan askar vietnam tau...doranglah yg jaga hutan ni....eh betul ke? aku agak jerrkk..

Jom kita pergi menembak. Boleh mencuba menembak kat sini. Aku memang excited nak mencuba menembak kat sini. Akan tetapi takda sorang pun dalam group aku ni yang nak joint. Termasuklah mat salleh yg ramai2 tu. Pondan tul mat salleh ni. So, aku terpaksalah cancel niat di hati ini. Tourist guide hanya bagi 5 minit berehat di kawasan ini. Mana sempat aku nak pi menembak...pulak tu aku sorang jerkkk...Frust tau!!!!

Jeles aku tengok member2 aku yang sempat gi menembak kat sini. Dorang charge satu peluru sebanyak 20,000 Dong (RM4)...alahai murahnya. Terpulanglah pada kita nak menembak berapa banyak peluru. Ada pelbagai rifel di gunakan dan setiap rifel itu berlainan harga.

Then kami dibawa ke tunnel. Sesiapa yang nak masuk dipersilakan. So, aku and the geng tak sanggup. Yelah kat dalam tu sempit...mana tau aku tersepit kat tengah-tengah. Tak ke susah nak bernafas. Udah ler dalam tu panas, busuk dan tak selesa. Orang yang kurus memang boleh masuk.

Gambar di atas yang kami berposing ni ialah tempat di mana orang yg masuk ke dalam tunnel itu akan keluar...adoi jauh gak yea. So, sementara nak tunggu mat salleh yg ramai-ramai tu keluar dari tunnel tu, aku minta tolong tourist guide gampang tu ambilkan pic kami berempat. Dengan penuh ego dan mcm terpaksa...dia ambil gambar gak. Then belum sempat kawan aku tu sambut camera bagak aku tu, dia dah lepaskan. Nasib baik Shima cepat-cepat sambut. If not, berderai camera aku tu kat situ. Mamat Vietnam ni memang berlagak dan sombong. Tak peramah pun. Udah ler English ko berterabur macam orang pendek lidah bercakap. Susah nak faham hokay!!!! Masa ni aku dah start menyampah dengan org Vietnam. Kerek semacam!!!

kami dihidangkan dengan makanan ubi kayu cicah kacang...makanan askar vietnam pada zaman perang dulu

minah salleh depan aku tu...tak suka ubi kayu. Dia tak makan pun

ada juga disediakan teh cina....

inilah bentuk bom zama perang Vietnam dulu......wahhhhh.....

ada kedai souvenir..... tak sempat aku nak belek kedai ni...dah kena panggil masuk van...macam hampeh tak????