The Vinh Moc Tunnels - Highway 1

Trip Start Feb 05, 2009
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Trip End Mar 07, 2009


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Sunday, February 22, 2009

The afternoon took us through Dong Ha to the Vinh Moc Tunnels.  These are larger than the Chu Chi Tunnels out of Ho Chi Minh City.  We passed over the Ben Hai River which originally acted as a demarcation line between North and South Vietnam.  We walked the original bridge and took a look at the monument on the Southern side representing the mothers, wives and children waiting for the South Vietnamese to return from the North.

The Vinh Moc Tunnels that can be toured is about 2.8km in length.  The photos show the flash from the camera but they are completely black inside.  The village above and the North Vietnamese soldiers lived in these tunnels for 6 years of the war after taking 1 year to complete them.  They had everything below ground and surfaced when there was no bombing underway.  Apparently the North Vietnamese soldiers would travel down to the tunnels and stay there about 1 day before being moved out to Con Co Island where they would then be taken by boat down South past the unsuspecting Americans on land.  We met a deaf and dumb man there who had pride in signing that he had eaten and slept in the tunnels for 6 years - he had been born in them.  We were shown mounds of soil that appeared to be graves but in fact demonstrated how the North Vietnamese hid there weapons and ammunition in the so called 'graves' placing joss sticks in the mounds for effect.  The maze of tunnels were cold and damp but encompassed bedrooms, toilets, laundry areas, meeting rooms etc.  Very interesting.

All in all an interesting day.
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