Ho Chi Minh and T'ai Chi

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21st Mar

Ho Chi Minh - Today we saw Ho Chi Minh's preserved body. He was the leader of Vietnam during the War of Independence. It was really scary because all the guards had rifles and pistols, We had to line up in twos and everyone had to be really quiet. There were queues for hours but somehow we skipped all of it. It was strange seeing a dead body especially because he had a light shining on his head and he was wearing a suit. He was really tall and still had a beard. To me he looked a bit plastic. His body goes to Russia every year to be preserved. He didn't like any fuss and was very shy. You were quickly moved on by the guards and were outside in 5-minutes. You weren't allowed to wear any hats, take anything inside or take photos. I would like to go and see him again. Sophie

Today we went to see Ho Chi Minh. In the queue we met lots of school children (embarrassing). We were told by soldiers that we were to line up in twos. We walked past soldiers with rifles. When we saw Ho Chi Minh in a glass case he looked like a ghost because he had a yellow light on his head.

T'ai Chi - We went to a blue clear lake where people were doing funny stretches. The stretches included swinging arms, leaning against a tree, and laying on a bench so the man’s head was at the bottom. The lake was in the middle of Hanoi and it was the only space available.

At night we went to KFC, it was GROSS!

Traffic in Hanoi. Noise – tooting loud and long as soon as they get close to a bus. Crossing – there was a crossing but nobody stopped so you had to run across. There were more motorbikes than cars. Jonathan

We got up early (06:00) and went to Hoan Kiem Lake, which is in the centre of Hanoi. It is the only place where you can get to exercise because the roads are so busy. People use everything at the lake to keep fit, for example, trees, benches, gates, and the road. They used the trees for pull-ups. There was this man about 60, who was laying backwards on a bench doing sit-ups. There were groups of ladies doing T'ai Chi to music. It was really funny because they were so slow. There were people playing badmington on the off roads . We went to KFC. We had been badgering Dad to go. When we went inside it smelt so greasy and horrible. My burger wasn’t cooked properly and the chips were horrible. We didn’t enjoy it. Sophie

Parental Dodge – not sure how we found our way into the “Personal Invitation Only” queue but it certainly helped.

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Comments

[Joanne]

Your blog
Love reading about all your adventures! You are having such an amazing time. Seeing you swinging around in the waterfalls was brilliant. Sadly you've missed the coldest, most miserable winter in EG that we have ever known.........

[Christa]

Happy Easter!!
Happy Easter love ones! I hope you will find time to celebrate amongst your busy schedule! How exciting to see Ho Chi Minh - albeit as a corpse! In my student days he was popular with the German students I don't really know why! That was before the Vietnam war with the Americans! Anyway I am glad you are still enjoying yourselves and seeing really amazing sights - I have saved the family picture - it's brilliant. Keep up the good work of writing this journal! Sooooo interesting!

[Victoria]

I thought KFC was standardised the world over
It sounds a bit like the crown jewels queue. Like you Sophie I wanted to go back and have a better look at that. It sounds funny that he was shy and quick I wonder what he thinks of queues of people looking at him now! I thought KFC and McDonalds was meant to be standardised the world over it sounds horrible. I hope you did not suffer the following day eating uncooked chicken

[The Elegant Elephant and Mischievous Monkey Tour]

Dude, there is a McDonalds in Hanoi Square
Unfortunately, the episode of Malcolm in the Middle, which tells us there is a McDonalds in Hanoi Square is incorrect. KFC, however, is everywhere and I think we just hit on a badly managed branch. We can recommend McD in Australia, it serves excellent boeuf.