I think I'm gonna find this trip to Cu Chi "exciting"

Well, to the disappointment of the German couple sitting beside me, the free drugs never appeared on our "speed" boat trip to Cu Chi (~3 hrs, ~50km - at least I'm not on a bus).  Nonetheless, the place was still fascinating.

      A rail-thin Vietnamese woman demonstrates a covert entrance to the tunnel

Our tour guide, Hai, (like "Hi!"- Hi, Hai! - this one absolutely KILLED1) was actually a South Vietnamese communications officer.  This did not stop him from demonstrating the viciousness of the Vietcong booby traps, nor the stealth of the some of the tunnel entrances (as above), nor the power of both American- and Soviet-imported guns (I shot an AK-47, 30,000dong (1.50)/round, still waiting for that damn german couple to email me the pics).  The thing the tour impressed upon you (with the help of an old-school Vietnamese propaganda video), was the collective dedication/passion to the cause of eradicating the American presence.  Awards were bestown upon men, women, and children for killing the most Americans.  Tunnel cities were built to conceal villages to protect the people, and also to enable more effective American-killing.  The videos and guides delivered all this information without a hint of emotion or perspective - the stoicism was what I found most incredible.  Unsure of my understanding of or attitude toward the war or the information presented to us, several of my tour compatriots offered words of comfort to me (the only American in our tour).  This I found curious as well -  I didn't have time to investigate if terms like "monolithic communism" meant anything to them, and vice versa.  Instead we learned more ways to kill Americans, and ruthlessly.  Ultimately, the Cu Chi tour is a celebration of guerilla triumph over a violent and intrusive presence; in may ways it resembled a tour of Jockey Hollow in New Jersey, tables turned dramatically.  Touche, Hai.                 

1 - Too soon to make a "killed" joke at Cu Chi?  Dzzt, too late.