Cass of letters and syllables. Kuchi tunnels - an underground labyrinth and landmark of Vietnam Underground city in Vietnam

visit Ho Chi Minh City and walk past one of the bloody sights of the war years, it would not be forgivable. On the second day in the morning, having bought a tour, we went to the Kochi Tunnels, located 70 kilometers northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

The transfer to the village in both directions cost $ 3.5, on the bus they collected another 120,000 dong from us for entering the tunnels themselves.

The tunnel system was built around the mid-40s when the Viet Minh (Independence League) Vietnam) tried to expel the French from the country. At first, the tunnels served only as caches for storing weapons and ammunition, but soon became a refuge for Viet Minh fighters. In 1954 Vietnam liberated from the French colonists. In accordance with the Geneva Agreement, the country was divided into two parts - North and South. In 1960, an armed conflict began between them. Within a few years, it escalated into a large-scale war. In the North, the country was ruled by the Communist Party led by Ho Chi Minh, but in the South, the country was ruled by American proteges. Vietnam became a point of conflict between the interests of the USSR and the USA. The tunnels gained fame only thanks to American war crimes. small village Ko Chi or Ko Ti (Địa đạo Củ Chi) in the suburbs Saigon, turned into a system of underground tunnels, more than 200 kilometers long, immersed in carpet bombing by American aircraft. The USSR could not openly wage war, so they secretly helped the army of the Northern Vietnam weapons and military training. Under a veil of secrecy in the Northern Vietnam ten Soviet military centers of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the air defense were deployed. The main task was the training of Vietnamese missilemen. Over the entire period of the military campaign, US aviation lost more than 4,500 fighters and bombers, which was equal to almost half of the entire American air fleet. This became possible only thanks to the tactics of guerrilla warfare specially developed jointly with the USSR. Charlie (as the Yankees called the Viet Cong) dealt a crushing blow to the enemy and retreated deep into the jungle.

Such tactics greatly irritated, if not to say infuriated, the interventionists. Regular raids were carried out to clear the partisans. And then the locals had the idea to escape with the help of deep tunnels. The tunnels, located on three underground levels, included secret entrances, living quarters, schools, hospitals, kitchens, control centers, weapons workshops, and even artillery depots.

They withstood the most powerful attacks, and explosions of air bombs. Every enemy who tried to penetrate the narrow tunnels met in his way ingenious traps or a bullet. It was a real underground city that sheltered thousands of people, men, women and children from certain death.

Narrow hatches, which served as entrances to tunnels with a width of 0.6 to 1.2 meters, were well camouflaged with branches and fallen leaves, it was impossible to detect them visually.

Only a very thin and dexterous person could squeeze through them. Chimneys from the kitchens stretched parallel to the ground for several meters. As a result, the smoke had time to cool down and spread along the ground, indistinguishable from fog. The hoods were disguised as termite mounds and sprinkled with chili peppers so that they could not smell the dogs or buried the captured American military uniform, the dogs smelled the familiar smell and ran past.

Water intake from the river was organized underground. Above the tunnels on the surface of the earth, a huge number of traps, traps and improvised mines were organized, collected from the remains of unexploded bombs and shells. Viet Cong traps were extremely inventive, insidious and effective. This made it possible to claim many lives and cripple a huge number of enemies. The Americans were afraid to meddle in the jungle. Here are just some of the inventions of the Vietnamese:

- “Wolf pits”, or as the Viet Cong called them “Tiger Trap”, studded pits with sharpened bamboo stakes, were sprinkled with leaves or covered with turf. The soldier, advancing, fell down, with his whole body on sharp stakes. If death did not come instantly, then the fighter died in hellish torments. There were almost always disguised loopholes nearby, if the Yankees ran to the rescue of a friend, then they were immediately shot from hiding.

- "Vietnamese souvenir" - a round paper platform, sprinkled with leaves on top and did not stand out on the surface of the earth, but as soon as Ji Ai's foot stepped on the trap, the foot immediately fell to the bottom of the pit and ran into sharp pins. The ropes fixed inside were immediately stretched, and huge nails from four sides firmly stuck into the leg, making it impossible to pull the limb back. This trap did not kill, but left a person disabled without a leg. The extracted pins were given to the soldier as a keepsake, hence the name of the trap.
- Trap "Bamboo" - installed at the door of rural houses. As soon as the soldier opened the door, a small log with sharp stakes flew out of the opening. Often the traps were set in such a way that the blow fell on the head - if successful, this led to severe injuries, often fatal. Sometimes such traps, but already in the form of a large log with stakes, were installed on stretch marks in the jungle. Where the jungle was impenetrable, the log was replaced with a heavy ball with welded spikes.

- "Punji" - the trap was installed on forest paths, next to American bases, disguised under a thin layer of grass, leaves or under water. The size of the trap was calculated exactly for the foot in the boot. The stakes were always smeared with feces or carrion. Getting a foot in such a trap, for sure, caused blood poisoning and amputation. An enlarged version of this trap caused more serious injuries, piercing the leg to the thigh, as well as the groin area.

- "Whip Trap" or whip trap was often installed on jungle paths. A bamboo trunk with long stakes at the ends and connected with a stretch. It was worth touching and a disguised bamboo trunk with stakes hit with all its might in the area from the knees to the stomach of the negligent soldier.

Trap "Bucket Trap" - a bucket trap with stakes or large fish hooks dug into the ground and camouflaged. The whole horror of this trap consisted in the fact that the stakes were firmly fastened in the bucket at an angle downwards, and when falling into such a trap, it was impossible to pull out the leg - when trying to pull it out of the bucket, the stakes only dug deeper into the leg. Therefore, it was necessary to dig out a bucket, and the unfortunate man, along with a bucket on his leg, was evacuated to the hospital.

Side Closing Trap - these are two boards studded with stakes, fastened together with elastic rubber and stretched. Thin bamboo sticks were inserted between them. One had only to fall into such a trap, fragile branches immediately broke and the wings slammed shut at the level of the victim's abdomen. Additional stakes could also be dug into the bottom of the pit.

Spike Board - snake board. Installed in shallow ponds, puddles or swamps. Ji Ai, stepping on the pressure plate, immediately received a blow with a board with stakes from under the water, which often led to death.

Other mutilation traps were also used, such as "Grazing the Crocodile". But, of course, weapons of mass destruction had the maximum effect - streamers and "Pineapples" hung on trees - turned the presence of American soldiers in the jungle into pitch hell Vietnam. To combat the tunnels, the US Army used chemical weapons - defoliants, causing large-scale chemical contamination of water and soil. And also on the basis of the 25th Infantry Division, a special unit "Tunnel Rats" was formed. It recruited volunteers of short stature, thin, young people with a strong nervous system. The task of the "Tunnel Rats" was to penetrate into the discovered underground tunnels of the enemy, search for important documents and place explosive charges to undermine the tunnels.

Usually the "rats" were equipped with a Colt M1911 pistol, a flashlight and a gas mask. This unit suffered losses in the underground war. At every step of the underground city, in its narrow passages of tunnels, American infantrymen were waiting for death. Pits with snakes and scorpions and dead-end tunnels with traps spread widely. In a niche, behind a thin clay wall, a Viet Cong was sitting, there was a small viewing hole in the wall, and as soon as the enemy approached the wall, the Vietnamese pierced him with a spear through the wall. It was called "JI on a spit." Or, sticking his head into a narrow hole, a noose was thrown at the soldier’s neck. A mine well was also used - the tunnel went to the upper level and a grenade was dropped on the enemy’s head from above, the Vietnamese at the top immediately closed the hatch and pressed it down with a sandbag. Wormholes were used very often, the Vietnamese easily slipped into them, but the USA Army fighters were forever stuck in a narrow neck.

The horrors of this war can be fully experienced by yourself, having been in the tunnels, sometimes narrow passages can only be overcome by crawling, even for me, a person of not large build, it was sometimes difficult to crawl in the dark and narrow corridor of the tunnel. Besides, it's very hot there. Many underground rooms were brought to the surface and covered with thatched roofs, the dining room was also on the surface. We were waiting for a simple lunch of an ordinary Viet Cong fed with tapioca, very similar to potatoes and peanuts.

That's all the food of the fighters who defeated one of the strongest armies in the world. After the inspection, it was possible to shoot (for an additional fee, of course) from different types of small arms, both American and Soviet-made.

On the way back, the bus dropped everyone off at the War Remnants Museum, formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes. It works daily from 07-30 to 11-45 and from 13-30 to 17-30 and includes eight separate thematic expositions. In the yard there are samples of military equipment of those terrible years, frozen, iron monsters that claimed the lives of thousands of people. Don't forget that nightmare.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are probably one of the most famous. These tunnels are a network of underground passages that connect the most distant parts of the South and even, as they say, go to. The Ku Si Tunnels were a real headache for the Yankees during the "American" war. Indeed, along these passages, the Vietnamese got up to and staged sabotage. The tunnels stretch in different directions for more than two hundred kilometers.
To visit the tunnels, we decided to book an English-speaking tour, as well as a tour of. It cost about eight dollars, along with a visit to the city of Teinin, the center of the Caodai religion. We were taken to the place where the tunnels are best preserved.
So, when you enter the territory of Cu Chi, an area with many huts opens up to your attention, under the roof of which there are something like tunnels.

Of course, the territory is already fully equipped for tourists, there are benches everywhere, in some places they sell drinks and ice cream - that is, you can relax.

These huts are also mainly equipped for tourists - some have a plasma TV, which shows wartime pictures, in order to better plunge into the atmosphere of those years.

Also shown are the schemes of the tunnels in the section - in order to see the complexity and multi-tiered structure.

Of course, having seen all this, one wonders how the Vietnamese could hide for so long inside such earthen passages. It is immediately clear that it is very stuffy there. But, you see, it's impressive. Of course, catching the Vietnamese out of these tunnels was almost impossible. How many tiers went down underground is not even clear.

The entrance to the shelter was camouflaged with grass and leaves; it is almost invisible from the outside.

After that, everyone began to try to hide underground.

For larger European men, the shelter was not enough.

Moreover, there is so little space inside that there is practically nothing to breathe.

Then we were shown traps. The main model of the device of traps is the presence of a movable part, which is disguised as the environment. And when someone steps on it, the movable platform turns over and the enemy falls on sharp bars.

And here are the tunnels themselves. Ordinary earth entrance. You can go down the stairs.

I’ll say right away that if you have a fear of enclosed space, you should not go down underground. People will walk in front of you, behind you too. Most of them are with cameras, and that's why everyone goes very slowly. Consider also the fact that it is almost impossible to turn around there, to disperse with someone too: it is very narrow. Therefore, you will have to sit in stuffiness for quite a long time.

The entire territory of the Cu Chi Tunnels is something like a museum where you can see not only the tunnels themselves, traps and various devices, but also the military clothing of that time.

And this guide shows us how various traps work. The general meaning is this: the enemy advances somewhere and either falls through and falls on sharp metal rods, or something works and just sticks into it.

And this exposition is even moving.

On the territory you can also see interesting species of plants and insects.

The entrances to the tunnels are located almost throughout the territory. The whole picture reminded me of something like cheese with holes - there are so many of them.

Well, here are the last tourists climbing out from somewhere out of the ground, and it's time to go back.

In order to appreciate the full scale of the Cu Chi tunnels, imagine that sixteen thousand people could fit in the tunnels at the same time. At a depth of ten to fifteen meters there were huge ammunition depots that could not be seen from the outside, barracks and operating rooms. To be honest, the feeling of visiting the tunnels, with all its traps and killing devices, is somewhat similar to the feeling after visiting - a little creepy. On the other hand, this is the only way to get closer to the events of wartime in.

most_41rus in Guerrilla warfare in the tunnels of Cu Chi.

Prologue.
“Cu Chi is quite an interesting place,” Ralph Paxey explained as they walked. “The headquarters of the 25th Tropical Infantry Division from the Hawaiian Islands is located there. They built their base more than two years ago over the tunnels that the Viet Cong had dug there, and thought they had succeeded in sealing all the exits from the dungeon. They made a big mistake. It looks like the Viet Cong continued to operate right under their feet. Ku Chi from the very beginning turned into a severe headache. This is a huge base right across from the Iron Triangle, on the opposite bank of the Saigon River. All these years there are the most fierce battles.

According to some reports, the Viet Cong began to dig these tunnels during the war of liberation with the French. According to others, during the war with the Americans for their independence.
Data on the length of the tunnels also vary, according to various sources, from 150 to 200 km of underground passages and underground rooms. In these tunnels, not only fought, there were warehouses with food, hospitals, barracks, canteens and cinemas. The Vietnamese government decided to preserve part of the tunnel complex and organized a memorial complex there. Now everyone can see for themselves how the defensive tunnels were organized, if they wish, they can go down into those parts of it that were deliberately expanded so that taller Europeans could move along them. These areas allowed for the passage of tourists have a length of 20 to 50 meters. But I assure you, this is more than enough. It’s uncomfortable to be there temporarily, and even more so to live and fight.

"In 1965, the 25th US Infantry Division was transferred to the area of ​​the village of Cu Chi near Saigon. There was located the main center of guerrilla resistance in South Vietnam, the main base of the communist North. With the help of this division, the United States planned to quickly suppress resistance and thereby gain final control over the southern part of Vietnam. But almost immediately strange, if not mystical things began to happen in the American camp. Despite the increased security of the perimeter, shots were heard in the tents at night, and the next morning they found dead officers in them. In the bushes right in the center of the camp flashed surreal shadows that made very real shots and disappeared to no one knows where. The Americans strengthened their security to the limit and began a large-scale operation to clean up the surroundings. Thousands of soldiers demolished the jungle with bulldozers and "cleaned" the area with napalm, destroying all settlements, as well as sources of water and food. But the ghosts continued to attack. It took about four months for the solve the mystery: by coincidence, the base of the 25th division is located exactly above the underground partisan city! It was a network of tunnels with a total length of more than 250 kilometers (!), Which was dug in the clay, ideally suited for this land of Cu Chi back in the early 20th century, during the French occupation. However, the Americans did not long rejoice at their discovery. Yes, they discovered “burrows” (more precisely, at that moment the American command only began to guess about their presence, without even a close idea of ​​the scale of the tunnel system), but how to deal with them?

Tunnel organization schemes:

The Americans tried to use search dogs to detect secret passages and pursue the enemy in the tunnels. But the Vietnamese also found a solution against dogs. They sprinkled the entrances and the camouflaged secret manholes with pepper to confuse them, tossed up captured American uniforms, usually abandoned by the Americans after the evacuation of the wounded. The Vietnamese, to bring down the smell, began to use American hygiene products. The Americans had to refuse the help of dogs, in fairness, it should be noted that the combat losses in the canine units were also huge.

Then, to fight the partisans in the tunnels, the military command of the American group organized a special unit called "tunnel rats" - frail reckless soldiers equipped with headlamps, wire telephones, pistols with laser sights ... The Viet Cong met the "rats" with open arms and prepared for them such an underground a quest consisting of traps and ambushes that only half of those who descended into the "burrows" managed to get out of the Vietnamese land alive.
Based on materials: http://gorod.tomsk.ru/index-1310708533.php

And the guys from the "tunnel rats" unit were waiting for not only intricate labyrinths, dead ends, all kinds of obstacles, but also many cleverly placed traps along the entire route through the tunnels.

Here is a pit with stakes.

Prudently closed by such a lid, balanced on a hinge in the center.
It worked as follows: with pressure on the lid, it turned over,
the fighter fell on stakes, the lid closed from above ...

These are the spinning things...

This one just snaps shut like a trap.

But this one is very "wisely" designed. When trying to pull out his leg, the fighter received even more injuries.

This one also rotates on a central axis.

These are the "gifts" usually flown on the path in the jungle

But such people flew in when they did not knock on other people's doors ...

Miracles of disguise. Such a fighter could get out at any time, in any place, inflict damage on the enemy’s manpower
or carry out sabotage actions and also quietly leave ...

This is an expanded tunnel for tourists

And you can imagine not extended. I crawled 20 meters along this. Still those impressions...
First, stuffy and humid, much more than on the surface. And this despite the multiple ventilation outlets
Second, it's tight. Rather, the lower part seems to pass, and the shoulders, at least mine, are already with difficulty. It so happened that the main tunnel was even more or less.
It was possible to go through it with a "goose step", but when we turned into a branch, to the exit, it became smaller and I had to stand on 4 points and only then I was able to pass.
I wouldn't want to wander there alone...

These are the entrances to the tunnels themselves, they are like this

Or like this...

This is a field kitchen, the chimney from the stove comes out of the ground aside in 30-50 meters
There is a smell, but no smoke.

A little photo chronicle of those years, fighters of the "tunnel rats" unit:

If the local population can visit the tunnels for free, then everyone else will need to pay to enter. Inspection of the tunnels is possible from two sites: near the village of Bendin and near the town of Benziok. In Bendin, the entrance to the tunnels costs $3, while in Benzioka it costs a dollar more.

You can book an excursion to the tunnels at any travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City: it will cost from $25. The price includes both travel and guide services.

Count the time in such a way that acquaintance with the underground city will drag on for almost the whole day: the round trip and the tour itself.

When to come to Kuti: opening hours of the underground city

Kuti tunnels are open to the public from 8 am to 5 pm all days of the week.

History of Kuti

The tunnel system in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City (once Saigon) was laid in the 50s of the 20th century. Members of the Viet Minh Resistance Union, who fought against the French colonialists, began underground work. In the nearby villages, the locals dug their own tunnels. Then all the parts were connected, forming an underground city.

Passages have a width of 0.5-1 meters. Only people of modest build could climb through the tunnel. Some part of the subway had to be expanded so that the "heroic" tourists could squeeze through the catacombs.

Tunnels go deep into 3-5 meters. This depth made it possible to withstand the explosions of shells, light bombs, guns, and even a 50-ton tank.

The US 25th Infantry Division deployed near the village of Kuti in 1965 to suppress the center of Vietnamese resistance. American soldiers experienced the acts of "ghosts" in this area. Shots inside the camp and killed officers, mystical raids with sabotage - all this led to a massive cleansing of the territory. The jungle was demolished by bulldozers, poisoned water and food, carried out gas attacks.

Soon the partisan city was found, but it was hard to get into the "burrows". The "Iron Triangle" (the so-called place near the village of Kuti) did not succumb to destruction. The Viet Cong were nimble, their traps "invisible", and their underground dwelling impregnable.

The Americans let into the holes of "tunnel rats" - specially trained soldiers, but only a small part of them got out. To get a better idea of ​​this war for the tunnels, we recommend watching the movie "Tunnel Rats".

The search for entrances and exits with dogs did not bring good luck: the partisans used pepper to bring down the scent of dogs, dressed in American military uniforms, and washed with their soap.

Only when the Americans connected serious military equipment and began the "carpet bombardment" of the B-52, making funnels up to 20 meters deep, the Vietnamese were defeated.

The underground city was destroyed, but did not surrender. The US Army had to leave the territory as the final phase of the war began.

When planning our trip to Vietnam, we decided to visit several very different corners of this interesting country, in my opinion. We are on the island of Phu Quoc and the next stop was one of the largest cities in Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City is a very noisy and vibrant city with a very interesting history, but I will talk about this in more detail in another article. And now I want to talk about the Kuti tunnels. For any traveler who wants to get to know the history of the country better, I advise you to definitely visit this place on your own or with a guided tour. This will be especially interesting for fans of military history.

The Ku Chi Tunnels are not just a tourist attraction, they are part of Vietnam's military past, and to this day, many older generations remember those terrible years of the war with the United States with a shudder.

In Ho Chi Minh City, we planned to stay only a couple of days, and therefore it was necessary to immediately decide on the time - where and when we would go. As for travel agencies where you can buy tours, there are not so many of them as in Nha Trang. We purchased a tour in the nearest to our hotel, so that later, in which case, we would not have to run far for clarifications. We agreed on the purchase of the tour practically on our fingers, because they did not understand our English, and we did not understand them.

On the tour, it was instructed to expect the bus at 8.00 near the entrance of the hotel. As a result, we waited for him for about an hour and did not know what to think. To our question to the sellers of the tour, we received only one answer that the bus would arrive soon. There was nothing to do and we had to wait patiently. After waiting, we finally hit the road.

The tour cost us $20 per person. Duration - half a day.

How to get there

Ku Chi Tunnels (some call them Ku Chi Tunnels) are located in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, at a distance of 50-55 km from the city center.

My advice to you: if you decide to get there on your own, it is better to do it by taxi. Agree on a fixed payment, and not on a meter, it will be much cheaper.

There is no direct bus to your destination, you will have to make transfers and this will greatly lengthen your journey.

Maritime transport is also long and problematic.

And in any case, it is better to plan a trip in the morning, so there are less traffic jams.

One way trip takes about two hours.

Wear comfortable sportswear and running shoes. Do not bring bags or heavy backpacks with you. Then you will have to carry it all with you.

Google coordinates: 11.144455, 106.464276

Entry price

We were brought to a forest area, then we got off the bus and waited for our guide to purchase tickets for our group.

Prices are very cheap:

• For an adult 3.5 dollars.
• For a child 1 dollar.

What are these tunnels?

Then we proceeded to the tent, where we were shown a 20 minute documentary about the history of the creation. In place, everything is as close as possible to a real military atmosphere.

Kuti tunnels are underground labyrinths dug by partisans during the war, 200 km long, up to 10 meters deep. Almost all residents took part in the construction of the tunnels, including women and children. They rummaged with the help of improvised material, mostly with hoes. Thanks to this resourcefulness of the Vietnamese, thousands of lives were saved.

There is also a layout of the entire multi-level tunnel system. Now you will be surprised at the skill and diligence, as well as love for your homeland. The first level - a depth of about 3 meters - these are various premises (kitchen, hospital, rest room, etc.), at this level they practically lived, at the second level, 6 meters - they hid during the American bombing, and then climbed back to the first level (on the second there was not enough oxygen and it was possible to hold out only for a short time) and the third, the deepest level of about 12 meters - here people hid from gas attacks.

Deep wells were dug to get water. The ventilation system is well thought out. The Americans for a long time did not suspect the existence of guerrilla tunnels.

Start of the tour

We were met by people in uniform and throughout the tour there was a guy with us who showed and told everything.

There is no one around and thinking that all this is not just models, but military history, it becomes really uncomfortable and terribly interesting. Looking around, I realized that it was better not to lag behind. Otherwise, it's very easy to get lost.

At first, they tell how the tunnels were dug and fortified, how difficult it all was, but still the Vietnamese people are resourceful and they succeeded.

Various military shells and bombs of that time were also presented here.

Then we saw a real bomb crater. Of course, you can’t say for sure whether it’s true or they dug it especially for tourists, but it’s still impressive.

We are inside

Having gone a little further, they showed us the descent into the tunnel, it was impossible to see anything there, it was a complete haze. It is so narrow that you simply don’t understand how it is possible for an adult to crawl through it. It was a variant of a real military tunnel. Currently, all other tunnels have been specially expanded for tourists, otherwise it would be simply impossible.

Then we had to descend into the next tunnel. The guy who works there was the first to go and demonstrate. It was more like a short and very low underground passage. We stooped slightly and passed it in a few seconds. I was disappointed, if I may say so, that all subsequent ones will be like that. As soon as I thought we were going to be underground for a longer time.

We went underground and walked bent over. Here we were shown an underground well. Despite the fact that we were underground, there was no lack of air.

Emotions overwhelmed me, at the same time it was scary and interesting. The reality of what is happening adds the presence of bats and spiders. A terrible and disgusting sight. Being in such a place really perceives reality in a different way. Climbing the stairs and once at the top, you catch yourself thinking how happy you are with the sunlight. It is impossible to imagine what a nightmare these partisans experienced during the war years. Having stayed at the bottom for only 5 minutes, but already I want to quickly get to the surface.

Description of tunnels

Everything is so thought out to the smallest detail, everything is carefully disguised, that an ignorant person will never really find where the beginning and where the end of the tunnel is. It turns out that some tunnels had exits to local reservoirs.

We were shown how the Vietnamese during the war followed the enemy, looking into a small crack that goes to the surface. The guy went down into the tunnel from one side, and while we were thinking how long he would stay there, he was not noticeable to everyone behind our backs, got out from the other side.

We were also shown a ditch for opponents with sharp iron tips, when an enemy hit there, death occurred instantly. Then, after walking a few steps, we again descended into the tunnel, here we saw a very small room underground, with two beds and a table, very similar to a rest room, then we had to go through the tunnel again in a half-bent state.

This time it was lower than the previous one and we had to walk with bent knees, after which we ended up in a military hospital. A picture of the operation is shown here, all mock-ups are made in full size, and taking into account the weak lighting with small flashlights, it generally gives the impression that you are present at real events, it becomes even creepy.

Yes, I forgot to say, the Vietnamese equipped all the tunnels for visitors with small lanterns, and even under such tourist conditions it is still not pleasant to be there. Now imagine that during the war the partisans crawled in complete darkness, and the tunnels were so narrow that they had to push with their hands to crawl through and they could not see the light for many days.

At the exit from the tunnel, a mock-up was installed, as two partisans carry a wounded man on a stretcher.

And of course, when you move forward, no one warns you what will happen next and the element of surprise makes the picture come alive.

For camouflage, all descents into the tunnels are hidden under a roof with straw.

The steepest narrow tunnel

And again we had to go down, for the plausibility of what was happening in this tunnel, speakers with the sounds of a military rumble were built in, our legs already ached decently, but the most interesting thing was waiting for us ahead. For tourists, the Vietnamese made the last tunnel the closest to reality, it was lower than all the previous ones, here we already had to walk in a half crouch, after a minute of travel (although underground time goes much slower than it really is), we ended up in a room with 4 partisans at a large long table, inside the tunnel was divided into two paths to the right and left. We had a choice where to go, people from our group were in both directions, but which one was right was not clear. We chose the path to the left.

We walked half-crouching, then the tunnel narrowed even more and we had to crawl on our haunches. The air in the tunnel was damp and stuffy. Moving forward, we did not see the end of the tunnel, and even from afar we could not see the light on the surface, and then two girls in front of us stop and ask if we are going in the right direction and where the exit is. And then I began to panic, it did not last long, a few seconds. But even with the knowledge that there is a way back and we are very close to the surface, I was seized by fear, and I do not suffer from claustrophobia. We crawled back and took a different path and ended up on the surface.

During these 5-10 minutes underground, we really felt as close to reality as possible. When you are underground, and even in such a narrow space, it becomes really scary and the greatest desire is to leave this place as soon as possible.

Once on the surface, I no longer wanted to go underground.

We continue to marvel at the skill of the Vietnamese

At the end of all the crawls, we were offered to try the food of the partisans. It was boiled cassava root and some kind of seasoning poured separately on a plate. Some tried, but we had no desire to try.

The next thing we saw was a small gazebo with various traps. The Vietnamese heroically defended their country without having special weapons for this.

Their sophistication can only be astonished. Looking at them, you understand that you should not get involved. The Vietnamese are very proud and cheerful people.

On the way to the exit, you can see the life of the partisans, various workshops are shown, how partisans made shoes from tires, cleared mines.

Photos of exhibition copies