May 29th, Betsy and I went to the Cu Chi tunnels, a set of tunnels dug by the Viet Con, about 40kms outside of Saigon. This was an area of Vietnam that was never under the control of the US and was used as a base by the Viet Con to strike at Saigon. The whole area is still pretty much a jungle and it is easy to lose sight of people. When we arrived we were shown a Vietnamese propaganda movie from the 60's, from a social history point of view, really interesting. It made me aware of how ill educated I am with regards to 20th century world history. And that the events in this country are still so recent that the effects can still be seen and are shaping the country today.
After the video we went to take a look at the tunnels and then were given the chance to go down into a 10 metre length of tunnel. The entrance was slightly bigger than an A4 piece of paper, but I watched a few guys go down and thought "I can do this" despite a dislike of small, dark places. So off I went and lowered myslef down, little did I know that this would only be half of the story. That gravity would not remain my friend for long.
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