Wrapping up in Hanoi

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Day 19
The morning started with an early walk to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. Niina, Tuomas and I were all eager to see the dead body of Uncle Ho himself. John, Tina, and Lily came along as well. When we first approached we were concerned as there seemed to be a long line. We were told the mausoleum was only open from 7:30am to 10:30am and at 9:15am the line was looking like we’d be there for awhile. However, once we cleared security, the line was moving fast. Too fast actually as Niina and I got separated from John and Tuomas who were held up by security. We did attempt to wait for them but the security guards and white gloves worried us. The boys then got stuck behind some massive school tour groups. Once in the mausoleum, we walked 2 by 2 in silence with our hands by our side. The air was ice cold and the room dimly lit. In the centre of the room was an glass enclosure with minimal lighting that gave us our look at Ho Chi Minh himself. He looked like a wax figurine and we questioned how much of him was still him: the body is sent to Russia once a year for maintenance. It was interesting to see the mass amounts of school children there. They would march up and file through. Then on the other side, they were all smiles and cheers to see Niina and I standing there waiting for the others. They were excited to practice saying “HELLO” in loud voices to us. Our reply would leave them with laughter. After a quick tour by the stilt house that Ho Chi Minh opted to live in instead of the presidential palace and the gaudy Ho Chi Minh museum, we stopped for some pho. Pho is much more enjoyable as a lunch item than breakfast. Back to the streets on a mission to find the Ho Lan Prison (or the Hanoi Hilton).
Before arriving at our destination, we stopped for bia hoi on a street corner. Bia hoi is fresh beer, made locally and usually earlier in the day. It was actually really good. It did taste slightly yeasty though and I wonder if more fermentation was occurring in our stomachs. The bia hoi made some of our bladders full quickly so still before reaching our destination we made another stop at Highlands Coffee (comparable to Starbucks). Please note that where we had lunch and our destination were actually not far apart.
Ho La Prison was first used by the French imperialists to hold Vietnamese political prisoners. It seemed they were treated very poorly. The prison was later used, during the war, to hold American prisoners of war, including Sen. John McCain. It seemed the Americans were treated very well, with photos from their Christmas celebrations and playing basketball in the courtyard. One can’t help but notice the marked differences in treatment of these two groups, which gives way to only more questions about what conditions were really like for both groups.
I parted from the group and walked back to the old quarter on my own. I took a leisurely stroll around the lake and had to cross many streets by myself. It’s much trickier to cross the busy streets of Hanoi when it’s just you versus a large group. I think Hanoi has proven to be the toughest place to cross streets.
The evening was our official final dinner for those ending their tour in Vietnam (which was most of us). We were also joined by some new people who would be starting in Vietnam and going into Loas. At this dinner, I opted for some pasta that wasn’t so great. I was chastised by a few for going so totally western fare for dinner but I just couldn’t take any more seafood or beef. As most of us were feeling healthy, we were ready for more drinks so continued with our goodbye ceremony at a loud bar in the old quarter. The bar was primarily only us in it, and we sat on the street. We rushed back to the hotel before midnight, the government demands it in Hanoi, and said our goodbyes in the lobby as the Loas folks were leaving at 5:30am, five us were leaving between 6:30 and 8am to go to the airport and some others were in Hanoi for one more day and were opting to sleep in. The goodbyes weren’t tearful but it was sad that our time together was ending.

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Photos

Bia Hoi
Some of the group having fresh beer on a street corner

Final night
Some new group members have snuck in this photo. They are going on to Loas and I didn't really get to meet them.

Niina, Tuomas and I
Final night goodbyes