Vietnam 2008 - Day 1: Hanoi

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We left Chicago about 1 p.m., flew for 13 hours to Tokyo, had a couple-three hours layover, then flew to Hanoi, arriving about 10 p.m. on Weds., Oct. 9. We couldn't find our tour guide, so I borrowed a cell phone from one of the travel information guys at the airport. Turns out our guide was at the airport - just in a different area. We met Mr. Ha and he had our driver take us to the hotel. It's a pretty posh set-up to have your very own guide and driver. People kept asking me why we were going to Vietnam. Besides the obvious - beautiful country, fascinating culture and history and the worlds best noodle soup - it's a very inexpensive place to vacation once you get there.

The next day, Ha took us to visit the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum. Everybody loves Uncle Ho. Hearing about the wonderful virtues of communism is a little weird - but other than a lot of official government news and military guards sprinkled around, it's not all that different from other places.

It was hot and muggy, which felt OK. Remember this was our first day...

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Photos

First page of Breaking Dawn
I am SUCH a geek. I was actually excited for the 13 hours of uninterrupted reading time ahead of me on the flight to Tokyo so I could get into the last book of the Twilight series. Sucked it dry before we landed in Hanoi :-)

Welcome to Japan
Made it to Narita airport. Nice, clean, plenty of amenities - so Japanese.

Plastic food
It's so nice to see what a particular dish looks like - in all of its shiney plastic perfection.

Saporo!
Uh, we had to avoid the water, right?

Magic fingers
Testing out the massaging Laz-y-boy in the airport terminal. Have I mentioned how much I dig Japan?

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Huge square used for national holiday parades.

Ho's mausoleum
A closer view.

Vietnam flag
Ha explained that the flag is red representing all the blood shed for unification and the single star represents the solidarity and achievement of the Vietnam people.

Explanations...
Ha tells Paul more about the historical significance of the Ho Chi Minh site. His English was WAY better than our Vietnamese, but it was still tricky to pick up on everything he said. We probably got about half of it.

last picture of the mausoleum
I don't think I've ever written that word so many times.

Bamboo
Self explanatory. Bamboo is strong and brings lots of good luck.

Some political palace
Can't remember the name of this thing but Uncle Ho did not use it. He worked from a more simplified structure. The "Joe Sixpack" philosophy of governance.

Cute couple
In front of a pretty lake.

One pillar pagoda
Two pillar pagoda, three pillar pagoda, ha-ha-ha laughed the Count. OK - the jet lag is eating my brain. Sorry. This was really cool and very old.

pagoda
The curled and ornamented corners are similar to the temples in Thailand. Vietnam is also a Buddhist country, though their form of Buddhism is a blend of Thai, Indian and Chinese.

Inside the temple
The pagoda's remind me of those fancy sugar Easter eggs. It looks pretty on the outside, but the inside is even more ornate.

Museum
This is one of the most interesting museums I've ever seen. Part modern-art, part history displays.