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Published: February 24th 2009
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Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Inside lies the body of the man for all to see. Check out the lines waiting to get in. Continuing an accidental theme, I left Hoi An for Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Hoi An and while I was in Hanoi, I made a trip to Ha Long Bay (separate entry for the pictures). If you are ever playing a Vietnamese person in Hangman, I suggest you start with the letter H.
Hanoi is all about Ho. Ho lived and reigned in Hanoi. They actually have a huge museum dedicated solely to the man and his accomplishments. His mausoleum stands guarded (3 out front, three in the hallway leading to Ho, 4 surrounding his body, and three more on the way out) at all times and is an extremely somber occasion. You must be properly attired - no shorts and tank tops, keep your hands out of your pockets at all times and absolutely no camera equipment. The guy next to me kept putting his hands in his pockets and getting reprimanded as we passed each guard. For some unknown reason, foreigners were allowed to cut in line and bypass a couple of hundred Vietnamese people. It was an awkard exchange of glances between the Vietnamese and myself as a guard stopped their line and allowed to cut in
front of hundreds of people. Ho Chi Minh is the father of the country (I guess uncle is the term of endearment here) and is rightfully honored. I just didn't expect to walk in and stand within 15 feet of his dead body with a shady odor wafting through my nostrils. Rather than be cremated as he had requested, Vietnam chose to preserve him for all to see. Uncle Ho jad even returned from his yearly re-embalming trip to Russia. Unique and disturbing all in one.
Hanoi seems slightly more modern than Ho Chi Minh. A bit cleaner, more paved sidewalks and a trendy feel about it. This might be a cultural adjustment on my part as people were saying the opposite of my statement when I asked which city they like better. Maybe it depends on where you start your Vietnam trip. Hanoi has some green space which makes it stand apart from the rest of the cities I have seen. Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword), a gorgeous lake next to the old quarter, allowed you an escape within the city. It has two little islands on it, one housing Ngoc Son Temple and the
other Thap Rua. Thap Rua translates to the Turtle Tower and if you put the two together you get an idea of the legend of the lake. Emperor Le Loi apparently returned a sacred sword to the turtle in the lake after an impressive battle against China's Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately due to environmental problems, the tortoises once found here are thought to be nearly extinct. I fear for the sword.
While reading at the lake two university students studying English trapped me into practicing with them. Not having anything planned it made for a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. They were very intrigued about Obama and talked a great deal about the differences between Vietnam and America. Nothing too earth shattering but I was amazed at their zealous approach to learning. They were seeking foreigners to talk with in order to improve their studies on a Saturday. I am pretty sure I never once thought about school or bettering myself on a weekend while I was in college. Pretty impressive.
Food in Vietnam is fast, from the morning pho soup to the numerous chicken and rice dishes, one can get a meal quick and easy almost anywhere
It was all yellow
The Presidential Palace in the country. This is why I was caught off guard by all of the fast food restaurants. There is Pho where you can get a bowl of the same soup found all over the city street stalls (which is the main eating establishments for the Vietnamese) for double the price. You pay for the clean sterile feel of the fast food restaurant. Then comes BBQ Chicken which is the actual name of this chain. Desperately hungry and strangely curious, I found myself walking into this fascinating place. I figured I should go for the namesake and ordered some BBQ Chicken. While it wasn't BBQ chicken, they certainly were good fried wings. I grabbed the menu afterwards and realized that BBQ Chicken does not in fact serve any BBQ chicken. This quirk is part of the endearing quality of Vietnam. The quirky pizza cone is another. While wandering Hanoi, I passed a pizza place that advertised "
The future of Pizza." Intrigued I went in inside to discover that their "future of pizza" was really a pizza looking like an ice cream cone. The crust was the cone and inside were all the other elements making up their pizza. After
Ngoc Son Temple Bridge
See if you can spot any tourists? consuming the "future of pizza" I can tell everyone to relax, pizza is not going anywhere.
I went to the Museum of Ethnology and was really surprised by how great it was. The majority of the Vietnamese population comes from the Viet Kinh people (85%), the other 50 or so ethnic groups make up the rest of the population. This museum showed the common tools and musical instruments that are found amongst the various minority ethnic groups. Outside they had an open air exhibit of the various housing found with each minority group and let you crawl around in them. It was amazing to see all of the different housing structures. Ethnic groups seemed to distinguish themselves through their housing (mainly roof differences) and through women's clothing (different colors and hats).
Vietnam is also home to some unique theater; water puppetry. Although all the guests appeared to be foreigners, water Puppet Theater dates back to the 10th century in Vietnam. The entire stage is a pond with a pagoda like building in the back of it. Inside of the pagoda are the puppeteers. They stand in the water and through some intricate wood and wire work control the
Hanoi Gas Station
All along the streets, little bottles of gas. puppets. They are concealed from the audience with a bamboo screen in which the puppets go in and out of. The puppets revolve around the agricultural history of Vietnam as well as their Chinese symbology. There are farmers, ox, dragons, fairies and people roaming about the water. The puppets appear to be around 2-3 feet tall and they dance along the water (some even swam but I am not sure how they accomplished that). As the play is narrated off stage, there is a folk band on the side providing the soundtrack and commentary as they play progressed. I still haven't quite managed to figure out how they managed to make the puppets stay under water, jump in the air and move around each other without having puppeteers splashing in the background. It will haunt me as a spend the night on yet another train. I am hoping the rocking of the train either puts me to sleep or lets my mind grasp the intricate movements that I witnessed.
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Connie
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Oh What a Thing to Do
Thanks for the photo. Looks like I need to lengthen my beard significantly. Love the photos, as usual. And I am amazed with the story of Ho Chi Minh's body. What in the world did they put in there to preserve it for this long?