DMZ

Note: This trip was done in 2001.

We also made a one-day excursion from Hué to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

DMZ consists of an area about 10 km wide and located around the Ben Hai river. This river forms the split between South Vietnam and North Vietnam. The area around the DMZ is still not cleared by mines, and everyday new mines are found.
Our first stop was in a mountain district near the Laos border.

Due to the fact that heavy chemical weapons were used during the Vietnam War (which ended in 1975), the harvests are still bad and the vegetation has not returned in all places.

This visit was probably the most heart-rending of them all.

TThe last way up to the American Khe Sanh base was too difficult for our bus.

We were transported by a truck to get there.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at the Vinh Moc tunnels which our children had been looking forward to.

These tunnels were the living headquarters for the Vietnamese who lived in the DMZ district. The tunnels are beautifully located beside a nice beach.

Many tunnel exits are located at the beach and inside the tunnels you could feel a gentle breeze sometimes. The tunnels are built in three different levels, from 15 m to 26 m beneath ground. They are about 1.2 to 1.7 m in height so you can easily walk inside.

There are plenty of different rooms, for example a maternity room. 17 children were born down here during the War.