Today it was a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and to a Cao Dai Temple. The Cu Chi Tunnels were used during the Vietnam/American War. It was at the end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the supply line that ran from North Vietnam to the south. They built an extensive underground system in which to live and disperse weapons and supplies and evade the Americans. Their system of tunnels was 140 miles long and it included lots of booby traps. The U.S. carpet bombed this area after they finally figured out what was going on; there are craters to show for it. We could go down in one tunnel. The film we saw before going into the tunnel area likened the Americans (at least the military) to "a crazy batch of devils." I'm sure that's how it seemed to them at the time of the war.
Cao Dai is an interesting religion. It formed in Vietnam in 1926, and is an amalgamation of Christianity, Buddhism and local religious customs. Their saints include Sun Yet Sen, Jesus and Victor Hugo. They stand for justice and care for the poor and politically, they opposed both the French and the communists.
That's Luis photo bombing the shot of me outside the temple.
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