Ho Chi Minh - Excursion to Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple

The Cu Chi Tunnels are part of the 202-km long tunnel system, which was used by the Vietnamese guerilla during the Vietnam-American War. A small part of the tunnel was open to the public and it was located in the village of Bin Dinh, about 40 miles away from Ho Chi Minh City. The visit was started with a politically incorrect video about the war (notable qoutes: they [the Americans] shot villages, pot and pans, children and chicken; she [one of the female Viet Cong guerillas] was shy and cute and she became a hero when she shot and killed the Americans). Also on display were the various traps used by the Vietnamese and, as the guide said it, the traps were not intended to kill the Americans, but rather to disable them. However, those traps looked like they could kill! We were also given the chance to enter the tunnel, which we did, but we had to get out of it before the end of the tour as we could not cope with the heat and the limited sapce within which we could move. There were also mock-ups of the ammunition workshop (where they salvaged exploded and unexploded bombs from the Americans), kitchen and dining area, and the infirmary.

Inside the tunnel; the tunnel has been made taller and wider to allow larger-bodied visitors to enter.

One of the concealed entries to the tunnel.

One of the traps in the ground; they used bamboo spikes, with poisonous ends.

The holes at the bottom of the anthill were used as ventilation holes.

Another vicious looking trap.

An American tank which was destroyed using home-made explosives, ironically salvaged from unexploded American bombs.

As part of the day tour, we also visited the Cao Dai temple in the Tay Ninh province. Cao Dai is one of the many religions that Vietnamese follow. Cao Dai is said to be a mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Taoism, Vietnamese Spiritualism and Islam, though I failed to see where the Islamic influence is. It is estimated that there are two millions followers. Cao Dai followers do their worships four times a day, at 6am, at noon, at 6pm and midnight. We were able to witness their noon worship, though honestly I did not feel comfortable to be there at that time.

The front view of the Cao Dai temple.

The interior of the Cao Dai temple, with decorated pillars and ceiling.

The view from the viewing gallery of the temple.

The interior of the temple.

The followers of Cao Dai doing their noon worship.