“Get down” I whispered as I heard it approaching. We hid in a nest-like hole under a bush. But she kept on peaking as if it wasn’t about survival. “Don’t worry, it’s just a squirrel” she said as she finally got up and climbed up to the surface.
The forest was vast and we were lost. We were in the middle of the jungle without any equipment. All we had were our senses and instincts to rely upon. The hot humid air weighed heavily on us and it was around midday. We’ve been on the run for at least five minutes but it felt like seven.
Oh she and her squirrels. She loved squirrels.
“Come, kitty kitty” she called what she thought was a squirrel. You could see the foliage resonating from something below it. I climbed out and sneaked after her. “Stop it” I whispered. Then faster then lightening the giant anaconda jumped up from the ground and was now towering over her with it’s mouth open. “Now I got you” it hissed. “Sarah, no” I cried as I ran towards her, fueled by rage born out of fear. As the anaconda closed up on her she was still standing there petrified, I could barely pushed her out of its way. We both fell. I knew we didn’t have much time so I pulled Sarah up, grabbed her hand and started running. It was an all out race for life between us and the monster. It was running close behind us but not close enough to have a bite.
One moment I decided to end it once and for all as I knew our energy was running out. I pushed Sarah aside suddenly then came to a sudden stop and crouched so that the snake would fell over me. As it was getting up I pulled out the katana on my back from its sheath. I knew it would be useful one day. And this was the day. It was me and the anaconda. Facing each other in a battle of life and death…
Yeah so probably my visit to the Vietnamese jungle did not happen exactly this way but it could have, right?
It was a rainy day (or was it simply liquid air? you know this vapor like rain you get in England only this was 40 degrees hot) when I went to see the famous tunnel complex the Vietnamese soldiers used during the war. They’re called the Cu Chi tunnels. The whole experience was like being transported back to the eighties minimum. The entrance had this special feel about it as if we were entering a top secret Soviet military base or something. After we went through this underpass we emerged in what looked like a camp with these semi-underground wooden houses in which we were told to watch an educational documentary about the war with the Americans. Well I don’t know when was it recorded but it was made out to sound like some documentary from the 50s. The kind female voice was eager to point out (sometimes three or four times in a sentence) how the brave Vietnamese soldiers were shooting the evil Americans like dogs. In the beginning it was kind of funny but the message was so forcefully and repeatedly… well repeated that it started to become disturbing. For me. And I’m not even American.
So here’s the dilemma. Is it right to speak of the killing of people like a happy pastime? I understand what injustices and horrible act by the Americans were suffered and I do support that every nation deserves to be free of any oppressors and/or occupiers but… still I felt it was a bit too much. Maybe I’m wrong and just don’t fully understand the depth of things probably because I never had to live through a war.
Halfway through the documentary we were told to get going so I never knew what happened in the end…
Then we were shown very clever traps to kill more Americans, bomb craters and a real shooting range. As we were approaching the shooting range you could hear the gunfire from quite a distance but obviously you could not see it so it felt like there was a fight going on somewhere in the jungle. It was creepy, I kinda felt like I traveled back in time.
Then I saw an “aconda”…
And then, the star of the show, the tunnels themselves!!!
So these people dug out and lived in these tunnels for years! Unbelievable! If you have seen me you know that I’m not a big guy but still I felt very uncomfortable to crawl through that short distance we were allowed to do.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like during the war. Just imagine two guys bump into each other, one must reverse crawl all the way back to the nearest junction to let the other pass. Then what if while reverse crawling he reverses into another guy? It must have been a nightmare. Oh yes and the Americans were bombing as well.
Okay listen I dragged this out longer than I planned so I have to make a part three.
In that I will tell you more about life in Vietnam including cuisine and architecture. I promise it will be way more interesting and funny than what it sounds, okay?
So love me please, just a little bit longer.
Bus 64 