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Published: August 5th 2012
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Day 15
As it is Sunday today, it is another free day. I did manage to get up at 5am as planned. This was so that we could go to Hoan Kiem lake to see if the people do T'ai Chi there. Renske, Amberlee and I set off.
The streets were so unrecognisable without all of the traders in place! There were very few people, bikes or cars........and then we got to the lake.....OMG! The people were like ants, power walking around the lake; young, old and very old. It was quite an amazing site to see. How inspirational! They were using the stone benches for doing push ups, press ups and sit ups! As we continued to walk with the pack ; we came across a huge aerobics class, but also many people in the surrounding area were also joining in. Alongside that group was an older group which we also joined in. At this point we saw Hannah and Becky laughing at us with cameras poised. This group was slightly slower, doing self massaging and also massaging each other in a Congo motion!
We then moved on the the dancers....it was just unbelievable; there was a lass
for everyone! Further round the lake there was out all and badminton too. All I can say to sum it up is....WOW! I went back to bed for an hour when we got back before breakfast at 8am.
After breakfast we all went as a group to the 'Hanoi Hilton'. It is so oppressive to see, but at the same time it wasn't what I expected. There is so little of it left, but still, it was interesting to see. What you see of the present-day Hoa Lo Prison is actually only the small southern section of the entire prison complex back in the day; most of the prison was demolished in the mid-1990s to make way for the Hanoi Towers, a shiny office and hotel complex so steeped in capitalism it would have horrified Ho Chi Minh. The present-day complex can be entered through the gate on Hoa Lo Street, known by Vietnamese inmates as "the Monster's Mouth". This door is emblazoned with the words Maison Centrale, or "central house", a common French euphemism for city. It was so hot over lunchtime today, we were struggling with the heat. The group split into two; some went to eat.
Nadia, Britty, Amberlee and I went into the park and on into the French Quarter. We had a ,'window shopping' wander, then in a taxi to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country, which is composed of 54 ethnic groups. The government saw the importance of having an ethnographic museum to preserve and present the cultural heritages of ethnic groups. It is split into two areas: an indoor and an outdoor exhibition. The indoor part is composed of the exhibition building, office, research centre, library, storage, technical lab and auditorium. The outdoor exhibition, which highlights different types of houses in all parts of Vietnam. Pathways link the indoor and outdoor exhibitions with each other.
Back to the hotel for a shower, I have sweat so much today, I was practically swimming! Nadia, Britt and I went to a first floor corner place that overlooks the main square for something to eat tonight. Hannah and Andrea joined us for a drink after we had eaten. It was LUSH! We had in house entertainment; which was novel! A rat came from the building we were in, across the 30 or so electric cables to the building
over the road. We all saw it, but wasn't quick enough with the cameras. Ten minutes later it came back, we missed it again, then it had the audacity to come out a third time, but alas we never caught it on film!
We came back early (10.30) as we have to pack. We move on to teaching week tomorrow.
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