THis ady was slated for a visit to the Vinh Moc tunnels on the DMZ about 2 hours drive from here. We engaged a driver yesterday and he dutifully arrived on time at 8.30. The drive up Highway 1 was interesting in itself seeing first the poor edges of Hue and then the truck dodging ride through vistas of rice paddies and then off the highway and through rural villages. First stop was a ruined catholic church in Quang Tri which was the scene of heavy fighting (see picture). Then on through a seaside town which I thought was one of the best spots I have seen. I could live there. On to the tunnels and a walk through bomb blasted bammboo groves and into what for me was a gruelling experience.
The lights in the tunnels were rudimentary and although they are a lot higher than the Cu Chi tunnels I had to walk bent legged the whole way . Down a steep flight of rocky stairs to a depth of about 30 metres and then through twists and turns viewing various tableaus of figures showing how they lived.
By the time we got to the steep flight of steps out I was glad we were getting out. The steps killed the last vestiges of strength in my legs and when I emerged they were like jelly and I had to sit for 10 minutes to recover.
Then on to another museum dedicated to the people of Vinh Moc whose only crime was that they were suspected of supplying food to a surface to air missile battery off the coast who took shots at bombers on the way to Hanoi. For this they were condemned to live underground and their village destroyed.
We also stopped at a Viet Cong cemetery and you will see by the headstones most were nameless soldiers. They didn't wear ID discs like our soldiers for obvious reasons so the named graves are few and far between. Their exists in Vietnam even now a quack industry in which psychics say they can find the remains of missing soldiers. Finding remains is very important to the Vietnamese as it is to us.
Our War Graves Commission is still identifying remains from the First World War.
Too tired to write more, hope you enjoy the pics, sombre though they may be.