Destination: Vietnam
Book: The Tunnels of Cu Chi by Tom Mangold and John Penycate
When I talked to Candy Harrington about writing a post for A Traveler’s Library, she apologized because the book that came to mind was ” a little dorky.” Hey, any book that inspires travel fits on the shelves of A Traveler’s Library.
Candy writes much-needed informational articles and books about accessible travel. The third edition of, Barrier Free Travels: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers hit the shelves June 16, and if you are one of those who hesitate to travel because you need help getting around, or if you know someone who fits that description, check Candy’s immensely helpful guide.
Now let’s see what she learned about Vietnam from her dorky book.
Good Morning Vietnam
I grew up hating Vietnam.
Booby-trapped entrance to a Cu Chi tunnel, Vietnam
My first recollection of the country was on the nightly news — something called the casualty report. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew from my mom’s reaction that it wasn’t very good. As I grew up and entered high school the war became more personal for me. My friends were drafted and went off to fight. Many never returned, and those that did come home were forever changed. I truly hated everything associated with this horrible event that took my friends from me — including the entire country of Vietnam.
Fast forward some 20 years when a friend gave me the book, The Tunnels of Cu Chi, by Tom Mangold and John Penycate. He thought I would like it, but I was unimpressed; so I just stuck it in my behemoth of a purse. Later that week, I pulled it out while I was waiting impatiently in a bleak surgical center. And much to surprise I couldn’t put the book down. It simply captivated me.
Written by two tunnel rats, the book is a compilation of their adventures in the 200-miles of tunnels constructed and used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war. It was the authors’ job to find the tunnels, enter them, disarm the booby traps and fight the Viet Cong, many times in total darkness. The book told of the danger of entering the tunnels, with grenades, bullets, punji stakes and spears poised to ward off interlopers. And it told of the underground communities; with whole families living there and even raising there children in these subterranean chambers.
Hidden entrance to the Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
The more I read, the more I was compelled to visit Vietnam. And as luck would have it, the embargo against travel to Vietnam had been recently lifted.
Six months later I landed in Ho Chi Minh City. Through my travel writer colleagues I was able to find a friend of a friend of a friend who had a car and who would take me out to Cu Chi. We met for the first time at the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel; and after sharing a few 333 beers we agreed to head off the following morning.
It was a journey I’ll never forget, down a rutted dirt road, lined with roadside vendors selling gas from plastic containers. We stopped at the fabulous Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh, before heading on to Cu Chi. Once there we walked through the jungle to a small clearing, where two kids offered to guide us through the tunnels. We crawled though, just as the tunnel rats did, passing the disabled punji sticks and squeezing through tiny passageways before emerging into cavernous rooms.
The Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh, Vietnam
I spent several hours there, and during that time in some small way I made peace with the country.
I no longer hated Vietnam.
It’s amazing what a good book can do.
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Candy Harrington is the editor of Emerging Horizons and the author of several best-selling guide books for disabled travelers, including her newest release, the third edition of Barrier Free Travel; A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers.
She also blogs regularly about accessible travel issues at Barrier Free Travels.
Do you have suggestions for off-beat books that have lured you to foreign destinations? Please share. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
Related reading at A Traveler’s Library: The Quiet American, Books on Vietnam, More books on Vietnam.
Tags: book, Candy Harrington, Cu Chi, guest post, Travel, Vietnam
Vietnam is an amazing country. I’ve been there 7 times and have visited the tunnels. It’s really creepy, if you ask me, that this such a popular tourist area. Mostly because they now have a shooting range where you can test out your rifle skills.
Personally I’d rather experience the beautiful countryside and all the more positive things, like the food and people, that this country has to offer.
what an interesting article. i am glad that she shared this with us, because i have no intention of doing the tunnels. still, it is important to recognize the terrors that have gone before us, lest we forget. i am excited to learn of candy’s sites – heading there next!
Twitter: DonnaLHull
says:
Thanks, Candy for introducing me to this book about the tunnels in Viet Nam. I’ll be visiting the area for the first time in October. I doubt that I’ll tour the tunnels. Although it’s important to remember and learn from history, like Wanderluster, I’d rather concentrate on the more positive aspects of Viet Nam.
Nice article – I’ll have to pick up the book. I live in Vietnam now and every time it’s pouring rain out, sticky with 80% humidity, or the sun is boring down on me relentless (which is pretty much every day!)- I think of the war. It’s impossible not to. When I go by the thick jungle foliage, I think of the people who fought here – both sides. The resiliance of the Vietnamese people is still alive and well and I see it every day. It’s strange to be living in a country with so much American history – but that’s what makes it a fun country to travel through as an American!
I’ve never been to Vietnam or anywhere in the East… This discussion (the post and comments) makes me want to go!
Thanks for the comments:)
I’ve been to VN many times since, but the book is what first inspired my first trip there, just a month or so after the embargo was lifted. I agree, it is a much different country today, and they have found a way to commercialize a section of the tunnels. I haven’t been back there since the commercialization, but I’ve heard about the shooting range, huge gift shop and bus tours. Anyway, at that time it was like what some of the country still is now — relatively untouristed. So I guess that is a general travel lesson — see things when given the opportunity, as if you put it off, they may remain changed forever.
I think the bottom line of why I went to the tunnels was that in some way I was looking to connect to the friends I lost in the war.
Candy Harrington
Thanks for all the lively conversation about Vietnam. I think I’ll read the book, and certainly want to visit, but probably not the commercialized tunnels.