The City of Hanoi Vietnam

It was front and centre today 'cause of the tour I had lined up. Interestingly enough, the vendor who runs the tour I took is, of all places, based in Vancouver BC :). I met Junie in the lobby about 8AM and we headed out in an air-conditioned Isuzu. The first stop was the Ho Chi Minh museum. It is made up of a number of buildings of which the most famous is the mausoleum. The weather was a balmy 38C and humid by the time we got there and the line-ups were already HUGE. I told Junie I did not want to spend all morning queuing, so we passed on the tomb and headed for the museum.

They sure love Ho Chi Minh here. The museum was littered with sculptures, pictures (mostly black and white), and artifacts from the North Vietnam that existed during his life (1890-1969). There were the recognizable red flags with the familiar yellow star everywhere. There were reliefs of his face, sepia-like images of him, lots of pictures of his meeting world-wide dignitaries, and just about anything one could possibly cram into a museum as a tribute to their most famous figure. The museum featured some 3-D brass reliefs of events during his reign and the struggles they had with the French and the South.

I found the most revealing sculpture was a couple pf broken links in a very large metal chain. Each ring in the chain was about 1 metre by one-quarter metre. There were 3 links and the far left and right link were fractured. It seemed to be symbolic about the strife that was carried out by/perpetrated upon the Vietnamese by "neighbours" as well as the USSR and the USA in the period starting in the mid 20th century in particular. There was one of Ho Chi Minh's houses on stilts. I thought that was to protect it from flooding, but was told it was to keep the wild animals (of the killer variety) out of the leader's living quarters.

We then visited a cultural museum, starting by walking around the grounds that had a multitude of small structures typical of the sparsely populated provinces of the country. There were structures as well on stilts and with roofs made from mud and straw. We watched about 30 minutes of a puppet show. The stage is quite elaborate, actually being a house-like edifice with an Asian typical coloured facade. The puppeteers are in water about a metre deep and the puppets come through the curtain or rise out of the water. The music was familiar and I could not follow what the narrator was saying even though she spoke first Vietnamese then English. After we left the show, we went into the museum and wandered in awe for about 30 minutes.

By this time the mercury had crept up a few more degrees and I was sporting a noticeable line of beads of sweat so welcomed the trip to a defunct prison hoping it would be indoors and cooler. This was a popular hangout where enemies of the state and other assorted un-desirables were incarcerated. Life in these dwellings must have been rough, and there were lines and lines of leg irons where the inmates were shackled almost all the time. One of two guillotines used during those times had been preserved in the museum. On the upper floor there were pictures and pictures of unfortunate souls who did not survive their sentences. There were also many black and white pictures of the times. Naturally I especially latched onto some of the anti-war protests from North America during the 60's.

Lunch was next and I think there was cilantro in the mix so I did not eat much. The café was busy and very nice just like most local establishments I have frequented since my arrival. We relaxed a bit then walked to a temple around the corner with a plethora of Buddhist worshipping altars populated by gatherings of locals paying their respects. I was starting to fade by now, and had lost close to three litres of body fluids as the mix of humidity and heat was unbearable. It was now about 2:30PM so I decided I had had enough. We talked a bit about hotels and I mentioned wanting to move to the Horison, a lot closer to my office than the Hilton where I have been since last Monday. Junie offered to take me there.

I am moving in tomorrow, and will drop my bags off on the way to the office. The rate started at $125++ per night but was down to $120 with no ++ by the time we left. I received a text from Junie saying she had pulled some strings and the rate was now down to $115 no ++ and the internet fee had dropped from $2 per day to $1 as well. I came back to the hotel and cleaned up and packed then watched World Cup.

I spoke to my Sweet Thing and will crash. I think I finally got a good night's sleep last night and hope that continues.