My time in vietnam along the dusty trail my foreign language filed under. The first step in the north vietnamese politburos grand strategy for the conquest of south vietnam was its may, 1959 order to the ministry of defense to begin construction of the truong son strategic supply route, later known as the ho chi minh trail. We recommend booking ho chi minh trail museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. It consisted of thousands of kilometers of wellconcealed vehicle tracks, bicycle routes, foot trails and. Ho chi minh trail laos lonely planet forum thorn tree. Mar 10, 2000 probably the best book on a rather esoteric subject. Morris, virginia and hills, clive, ho chi minhs blueprint for revolution.
Mcnamara viet cong support us donate in 1959, the lao dong partys communist party central committee decided to increase support to the communist insurgency in south vietnam. Mar 14, 20 the ho chi minh trail not only connected north and south vietnam during a brutal war but also aided vietnamese soldiers. A multitude of tour buses leave ho chi minh for the cu chi tunnels daily and can be booked by any tourist office. It is best to visit first sa war remnants museum at the city proper before having this tour. Ho chi minh trail 28 works search for books with subject ho chi minh trail. Explore the entire list of places to visit in ho chi minh city before you plan your trip. Ho chi minh trail, signed abebooks shop for books, art.
This article was most recently revised and updated by michael ray, editor. You ll be able to book from tour agencies directly or through your hotel or. Later he became a central intelligence operative in laos commanding mercenaries along the ho chi minh trail during the secret war in 1970. Full day tours begin in the early morning and head first of all to the cao dai temple at tay ninh on the cambodian border. Probably the best book on a rather esoteric subject. By seth mydans, 20 february 2000 bangkok, thailand, feb. The twostorey museum has seven galleries dedicated to the system of trails collectively known as the ho chi minh trail. Ride a bike to the cu chi tunnels on a fullday day bicycle trip that includes private transport from ho chi minh city, lunch at a local restaurant, and admission to the tunnels. Cu chi tunnels, ho chi minh city ticket price timings.
Now part of a vietnam war memorial park in ho chi minh city formerly saigon, the cu chi tunnels have become a popular tourist attraction. Cu chi tunnels ho chi minh city 2020 all you need to know. The trail was put into operation beginning in 1959, after the north vietnamese leadership decided to use revolutionary. As author john prados demonstrates, you cannot discuss the vietnam war without discussing the trail. Ho chi minh trails myth dazzles road planners mishalov. The ho chi minh trail was not so much a single route but a network. The first us combat troops were sent to vietnam in march 1965. To begin with, the so called ho chi minh trail also called tru. See all 1 ho chi minh trail museum tours on tripadvisor. Riding vietnams ho chi minh trail travel the guardian. Life on the burma road, the tibet highway, the ho chi minh trail, and. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. A solo traveller or group smaller than four may still book this private experience but will be charged the base rate for four travellers. The ho chi minh trail was the major supply route for the north vietnamese forces that successfully invaded and overran south vietnam in 1975.
Book your cu chi tunnels tickets online and skiptheline. When the vietnam war broke out the communist military forces of north vietnam began employing the truong son road to infiltrate men and supplies through laos and into the u. Experience cu chi tunnels by bike day trip 2020 ho chi minh. The ho chi minh trail was a network of roads built from north vietnam to south vietnam through the neighboring countries of laos and cambodia, to provide logistical support to the vietcong and the north vietnamese army during the vietnam war. We joined the ho chi minh trail which had served as a supply route during the war which the vc used to send soldiers and arms to the south.
The scenery soon became quite stunning with lush, green vegetation and mountains rising in the distance. Experience the cu chi tunnels of vietnam on this smallgroup day tour from ho chi minh city with an informative guide. Ho chi minh trail and north vietnamese tunnels facts. Cu chi tunnels ho chi minh city all you need to know. The trail then leads into the jungle where youll find plenty of mortar. The so called ho chi minh trail was just western named it, but hanoi called route 559, and i myself, named harrimans highway. Do you need to book cu chi tunnels tickets in advance. Ho chi minh trail, elaborate system of mountain and jungle paths and trails used by north vietnam to infiltrate troops and supplies into south vietnam, cambodia, and laos during the vietnam war.
Cu chi experience ho chi minh city day tour urban adventur. Don duvall has motorcycled the length and breadth of laos while mapping it for laosgpsmaps. The ho chi minh trail was critical for transporting troops and supplies from northern vietnam to the u. Book your tickets online for cu chi tunnels, ho chi minh city. Ho chi minh citysaigon, vietnam5 things you should know before you visit duration. Jun 24, 2012 travel guide to ho chi minh city in vietnam where is the ho chi minh trail.
The road to freedom is a remarkable achievement, a meticulous inquiry into one of warfares most compelling stories, how the north vietnamese army kept the ho chi minh trail operating in the face of everything the americans could throw at them. The cu chi tunnels are around 45km from the centre of ho chi minh city. Recently, before 1959 that named truongson route range means west mountainouschain route. In order to combat bettersupplied american and south vietnamese forces during the vietnam war, communist guerrilla troops known as viet cong vc dug tens of thousands of miles of tunnels, including an extensive network running underneath the cu chi district northwest of saigon. The infamous and ingenious ho chi minh trail youtube. At least from a military perspective one can argue that the war in vietnam was lost in laos on the ho chi minh trail. Ho chi minh tunnels the vietnamese battlefeild duration. Traveling by airconditioned vehicle as well as speedboat on the saigon river, youll explore the vast network of underground tunnels used as hideouts for fighters, food and weapons during the vietnam war. Ho chi minh tunnels the vietnamese battlefeild youtube. Much more the trail consisted of a highly complex network of dirt roads, waterways, hidden bridges.
The whole subject around the actual ho chi minh trail is highly interesting but also complex at the same time. Morris, virginia and hills, clive, a history of the ho chi minh trail. Any tourist to vietnam taking a guided tour of the ho chi minh trail needs to understand that what they will get is a very small, localised and sanitized version of the real thing. The tunnels of cu chi by tom mangold and john penycate random. In general it started with the transportation arteries in north vietnam, swung west into laos, south parallel to the south. Ho chi minh trail ho chi minh city 2020 all you need to. At phuoc son we stopped for our final lunch of the tour again enjoying some excellent vietnamese dishes.
Tour vietnam war tunnels in ho chi minh city cnn travel. Cu chi tunnels half day tour from ho chi minh city not brits. Tom poole was a green beret, a member of the special forces, in vietnam in 1964. The vinh window and the ho chi minh trail historynet. The lizard men of ho chi minh trail i tales from the abyss ep3 duration. In january 2012, more than forty years after his last combat sortie, general merrill mcpeak traveled to southern laos with his two sons in search of whats left of the ho chi minh trail. Her choice of bike, a honda c90, is a very unlikely steed to choose. The best ho chi minh city hiking trails with photos. The trail stretched from northern vietnam along the laos border at a latitude parallel to vinh along the coast which was the main port for supplies destined for the trail, down to saigon in the south. The trail shaved nearly five months of time off of the trip and was used as. Its not quite on the tourist trail, yet, says doling. Delve into an underground world of guerrilla warfare in the incredible cu chi tunnels. Gain insight into the tenacity and resourcefulness of the vietnamese. The cu chi tunnels are the most popular day or half day excursion from ho chi minh city.
The ho chi minh trail vietnam veterans for factual history blog. Millions of words have been written about the vietnam war, and still, nearly 25 years after the fall of saigon, the repercussions of that war continue to have an impact on the american psyche. It was a combination of truck routes and paths for foot and bicycle traffic. Built by local fighters during the indochina conflict, the cu chi tunnels served as a base from which the viet cong could operate from close to the southern vietnamese capital. The ho chi minh trail was a network of trails, roads, and waterways that formed the logistical.
Check out where to stay in ho chi minh city and book an accommodation of your choice. Your trip is combined with a tour of a cricket farm or a home where. Ho chi minh city cnn most people who travel to ho chi minh city will make the hour or so drive out of town to visit the cu chi tunnels, used by the viet cong during the vietnam war. Enjoy the colorful taste of vietnam and especially along ho chi minh trail that will be starting from hanoi years city and trekking to hill tribe villages of a luoi, kon tum and buon me thuot as well as meet and interact local tribe people besides enjoy rural life at remote villages. Vietnam war tunnels underneath ho chi minh city are seen by few visitors. A byproduct of the frenchs first indochina war, 19461954, the footpath system that ran north south along the truong son. The trail was actually a 16,000kilometer 9,940mile web of tracks, roads. We wanted to blow it all up, the trucks and supplies and infrastructure, but what we could see was the road itself. Keywords ho chi minh ho chi minh trail hue nguyen van vinh robert s. Antonia also gives some insight into the vietnam war, the people and the background behind it.
Reading this book it is much more than a motorcycle journey from hanoi to saigon ho chi minh city along the ho chi minh trail. The infamous and ingenious ho chi minh trail cameron paterson duration. Chi are an immense network of connecting tunnels located in the c. For this hcmc tour, leave the hustle and bustle of ho chi minh city to explore one of the relics from one of the most significant local historical events in recent memory.
Opinion bombing the ho chi minh trail the new york times. We had the best experience in ho chi minh when we visited the cu chi tunnels. With the ho chi minh trail as his stage, historian john prados plays out the tragedy that was vietnam. A secret trail became one of the greatest achievements of 20th century military engineering during a deadly war now, 50 years later, that beaten track and its people can still be discovered by those who are driven by adventure. Virginia morris and clive hill trekked 500 miles of this labyrinth of roads, foot paths, and waterways long before it became a destination for motorbike adventures. The tunnels of cu chi were a tunnel system located almost directly between the free capital city of the republic of vietnam, saigon, and the ho chi minh trail which the communists used to bring men and supplies from communist north vietnam into the battlegrounds of south vietnam. Follow flat country lanes and pedal through rubber plantations, then spend the afternoon exploring the cu chi tunnels before returning to ho chi minh city. America, asia, britain, california, cambodia, cruising, england, food and wine, georgia, hill tribe, history, laos, rainforest, sailing, south east asia, vietnam. Ho chi minh trail opposition to united states involvement in the vietnam. If you book with viator, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund. More than 1 million north vietnamese soldiers used the ho chi minh trail to. If youre in a huge parking lot like i was, thats another less challenging trail that will take.
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