Day 11

Today has been a pretty emotional kind of day. Everything we did today revolved around the Vietnam war. In the morning we all got up and on the road by 7:30 AM.  We drove an hour and a half to get to the Củ Chi Tunnels.  These tunnels were elaborate underground passageways that the North Vietnamese used to attack the US and South Vietnamese troops.  It was very eerie to walk around a place where a knew so many people were brutally killed. The took us on a tour and showed us huge craters left in the ground which were remnants of bombs that exploded. Also they showed us secret passageways that were so tiny, the small Vietnamese man could barely fit inside it, and they were used to hide and ambush.  But what really got to me was when we walked around and looked at examples of various traps that were hidden and used to kill any who accidentally walked over them.  There were bamboo traps, door traps, see saw traps, and a whole bunch of others. Just seeing the large sharp nails, and thinking about what would happen if you stepped on one really creeped me out and made me sad that it actually happened to people. When we finally got to walk through one of the underground tunnels it was actually pretty cool. We had to crawl because it was only about 2.5 feet tall and 2 ft wide. Not to mention it was pitch black. I kept using my camera flash as a light to see where I was going. I can't imagine running through one of those during a war. At the end of the visit there were a bunch of gunshots from a firing range nearby, and that just made the who experience so surreal. I'm glad I got to experience this historical site, but man was it emotionally draining.

After eating lunch out on a dock. We went to see the War Remnants Museum right down the street from the hotel. The portrayal of the war from the Vietnamese stand point is definitely different from the American version we learn in school. To them, we were the enemy. Walking through the museum I started getting really upset seeing the terribly gruesome pictures and displays of large guns and bombs. I guess that is the reality of war, it was just really tough to see. It was cool seeing the other side of the story though. There are always 2 sides and I think it is an extremely valuable thing to experience. It is definitely eye opening.

Tank outside of the museum

Only a few of the guns displayed

Gas masked used during Agent Orange

A picture of some soldiers during the war

After the museum we went shopping for some souvenirs and I found a couple of really neat things. I still need some more for people but Im running out of ideas for gifts! Tonight we are taking the UEF gang out to dinner as a thank you and farewell. I'm really really going to miss those guys. I will be so sad to leave them.