Ho Chi Minh, Confucius Park, Lunch, Hoa Lo Prison

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Geo: 21.0344, 105.847

We booked a van with driver and a guide for the day. We were picked up at 8:30 am. Our guide was very good and well versed in the history of Vietnam, Hanoi and the Buddhist religion.

First stop was Ho Chi Minh Square where the Mausoleum is located. It is across for the major government building. The history of Vietnam is somewhat complicated and Ho Chi Minh's goal was independence from foreign powers and reunification of the north and the south.

It is in some ways surprising how far the country has come despite the turmoil the country has been through.

Ho Chi Minh was born in central Vietnam but spent his time primarily in the north often in hiding because of his "revolutionary" stance. He was quite a solitary person and personally lived a simple life.

Confucius "Park" is an area dedicated to the teachings of Confucius and the area was once a university because Confucius believed that education was very important. Today the graduation classes from other city universities were at the park to have their pictures taken.

The city tour included a traditional Vietnamese meal. The restaurant was very large and the budget provided for the lunch was far in excess of what we could eat.

The Hanoi Hilton was our next stop. This was Hoa Lo prison which was built by the French during the colonial period. Many Vietnamese political dissidents were held here by the French in pretty deplorable conditions. Later, the Vietnamese used it to hold US prisoners, including pilots. One notable was John McCain. It seems from the program at the prison that the treatment of the US prisoners was much better.

Our trip included a trip into the "suburbs", in this case a town in which the production of ceramics is the major industry. We visited a family owned business and we could see the various stages of the work.

We got back to the hotel just before dark.

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Comments

[crw]

You have had a busy day! Love the scooter transport photo - superb packing and balancing skills. On one of my trips to Delhi, I saw computers and televisions being delivered via bicycles - perfectly packed and balanced. It did occur to me t
hat each load was probably worth more than the delivery person received in salary in an entire year.