When in Rome... Part 1

Until this week, it it pretty safe to say that my knowledge of the Vietnam war was predominantly limited to what I have learned from American propaganda. It has been intriguing, to say the least, to see the other side of the story. Emily and I spent our morning touring Cu Chi, a 124 mile complex of tunnels excavated by Viet Minh and Viet Cong fighters over 25 years of conflict. I happened to bring the recent Economist survey on Vietnam with me on this trip, and I think the opening article might do more justice than I can.

"Knees and knuckles scraping the ground, the visitors struggle to keep up with the tour guide who is briskly leading the way through the labyrinth of claustrophobic burrows dug into the hard earth. The legendary Cu Chi tunnels, from which the Viet Cong launched waves of surprise attacks on the Americans during the Vietnam war, are now a popular tourist attraction. Alongside the wreckage of an abandoned M41 tank another friendly guide demonstrates a dozen types of improvised boob-traps with sharp spikes that were set in and around the tunnels to maim pursuing American soldiers. The Vietnamese not only welcome the tourist dollars Cu Chi brings in, but are also rather proud of it. They feel it demonstrates their ingenuity, adaptability, perseverance and, above all, their determination to resist much stronger foreign invaders, as the country has done many times down the centuries"

Following the booby traps and the crawling, or more like duck waddling through the tunnels, we took our turn at the firing range shooting an AK-47. Em was especially excited for this experience. I on the other hand have always been terrified of guns. There was definitely a scream and jump the first time I pulled the trigger. The second time I think I managed to keep my eyes open but it is probably safe to say that I came no where close to hitting the target... and I still have a fear of guns.