Temples, Tunnels, and Cougars

We went back to the ship early in the morning to meet our group for our tour of the Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnels. The Cao Dai religion is a relatively new religion that was officially established in Tay Ninh, Vietnam in 1926. It literally means “Kingdom of Heaven”. It is a very beautiful religion that combines the teachings of Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and a number of other religions. It recognizes that each religion revolves around the worship of one God, which is the religion’s main teaching, and then combines different elements from each of the religions. They promote male and female equality, and within the temple showcase over 2800 stars to represent each ethnic group in the world. The temple is by far the most beautiful place of worship I have ever seen. Every crevice is ornately decorated and sculpted into complex and gorgeous designs. And on an even better note, Thomas Jefferson is a Saint in the Cao Dai religion, GO HOOS!
















After leaving the Cao Dai Temple, we had a 2 hour drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels are a 220-kilometer network of underground tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War. They were a means of protection, communication, food, weapon, and supply routes, as well as vessels for military attacks that were fundamental to the Viet Cong’s success in the war. The construction of it was incredible and so intricate. The tunnels were built to fit the size of the Vietnamese, which therefore restricted Americans from easy access. The soldiers built only sections of the tunnels, and knew only their portion, so if captured the entire system wasn’t given up. They designed air holes that matched the size of rodent and snake holes so as blend into the landscape. The network of tunnels contained kitchens, meeting halls, hospitals, and sleeping quarters. To avoid the smoke from the kitchens being noticed by Americans, the holes that released the smoke were built up to 30 meters long before breaking ground. The Viet Cong had 3 rules: Speak without sound, walk without footsteps, and go to the bathroom without smell. They used sign language to communicate, and when building the tunnels sang songs that sounded like animal sounds so Americans couldn’t tell the difference. The soldiers would drag a board at their feet when they crawled through the tunnels to trick Americans following them to go into trap tunnels, which held a number of gruesome booby traps. After going to the bathroom, they would mix it with ash to reduce the smell, and then would rub it on the bamboo spikes they put in the booby traps to cause infection to those who fell in it. The Viet Cong did not have the technological sophistication or wealth to use high-tech weaponry, and therefore relied on more “organic” measures.

Here is the tunnel system. There are three levels to the tunnel, leading to various rooms.




I went through this tunnel, which had been doubled the size of the original. It was extremely claustrophobic, pitch-black (I used the flash on my camera to see where I was going) and, I later learned from a girl’s picture she took in the tunnel, is home to bats. Jason decided against descending into the tunnel.







Don't be fooled by my smiling face emerging from the tunnel, I was sweating profusely and hyperventilating.



Here is picture of the size of the original tunnel. I can’t even imagine crawling through thousands of feet of that.



Air hole:


Here is an example of a booby trap they would use. The trap would blend into the leaves, then once stepped upon, open into a pit with bamboo spikes shooting up.



They also had a shooting range at the tunnels. I shot a handgun and an AK 47. Lets just say I would not make a very good marine, as you can tell in the below picture with my eyes sealed shut shooting the handgun.





When we returned from our trip, we went back to our room at the Rex. The concierge suggested a local French restaurant (Vietnam was previously a colony of France). The restaurant was very delicious and when we were done we returned to the rooftop bar to end the second night.

Annecdote

2/27/2010: Heed to all women over the age of 40 reading this blog: Please never do what I had to witness on the top of the Rex. One older woman who appeared to have one too many glasses of rice wine, put on a show for over one hundred people at the bar. She flailed around taking in and out her hair clip so as to whip around her head, she consistently lifted up her shirt for all to see her “no-longer-in-its-prime” stomach, and groped ferociously on a poor old man. Her friends and mortified husband watching the show held their heads in shame while stifling fits of laughter. I tried my hardest to get Jason to dance with her, but sadly he resisted my pleas. All I could think of was if this was anyone I knew, I would be teetering between hysterical laughter and crying.