If George Osborne had wanted to shoot a really big gun, he could have crossed the border from Vietnam into neighbouring Cambodia. There, they have grenade launchers.
For years, tourists to Vietnam and Cambodia have been able to pay to fire anything from a pistol to a bazooka to a mounted automatic weapon. In the case of the former chancellor, an M60 light machine gun appears to have been the firearm of choice.
Osborne seems to have been on a visit to Củ Chi, a short drive outside Ho Chi Minh city, where a 75-mile (120km) network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war has been preserved in a memorial park.
Built using only basic tools, the tunnels are a historical relic showing how the guerrilla force was able to withstand a huge military power.
But as the tourism industry has boomed, south-east Asia’s battlefields have also become shooting ranges, with tour operators capitalising on huge stockpiles of weapons and ammunition left over from the conflict. Guides charge high fees to tourists, who often pay per bullet. However, some visitors say the attractions glorify war.
One travel blogger, Mark Bowyer, wrote that the Củ Chi “firing range is completely out of place at a sight [sic] that should remember, rather than celebrate, war”.
“The firing range is a major drawcard and a big money spinner,” he said, adding that as Vietnam has matured as a travel destination, the “tunnel experience needs to mature as well – and provide a solemn, sophisticated historical account of the area”.
Bowyer continued: “The Củ Chi story is one of many incredible David vs Goliath stories to come from the Vietnam war. It doesn’t need cheap props like a firing range. The fallen of Củ Chi and the Vietnam war deserve better. Travellers do too.”
A review of the same shooting range posted this week on TripAdvisor said it “provides an inappropriate release of testosterone in what I consider to be a war monument, not an entertainment arcade”.
In Cambodia, the government cracked down on shooting ranges a decade ago but the ban appears never to have been enforced. And among the region’s backpackers, rumours circulate that, for a high price, some of the shadier ranges will let you blow up a cow.
One firing range in Cambodia advertises a joint visit to the killing fields – where up to 2 million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge during 1975 to 1979 – and then to the range.
There, visitors can shoot an M60, the same gun Osborne apparently used. But the company also rents grenade launchers for US$100 (£76) and bazookas for $400. Targets include coconuts, watermelons and even liquid petroleum tanks. For $150, visitors can shoot up a bamboo house, the website says.
The UK Foreign Office travel advice for Vietnam includes tips for people attending firing ranges. It says: “Undertake any leisure activities which include firearms at your own risk and make sure you are supervised by a reputable guide. There have been reports of hearing loss from those close to these activities.”
