Indochina Day 13, Ha Noi

Thursday June 9^th

Started out early this morning on a walking tour with Richard. We walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. At 8:30 there was already a long line to get in. The were guards and ushers who were very strict with acceptable behaviour. I was told I had to remove my sunglasses and couldn't walk with my hands behind my back. We were all told to be quiet. It's all about respect. We filed into the mausoleum in an orderly fashion and walked into Ho Chi Minh's room. He has been laying in state here since his death in 1968. He looks very well preserved. After that we entered the grounds of the Presidential Palace. The French built this building and when Ho Chi Minh came to power he refused to live in it, as it went against his socialist ideals. He had a traditional small two bedroom house built on stilts in the gardens, which we also visited. We also saw the One Legged Pagoda, a small temple that Ho Chi Minh used for worship. Then Richard told us of a few more things to do and see for the afternoon and he left to go back to the hotel to meet the new people who are joining us. So we went into the Ho Chi Minh Museum. It was somewhat interesting, so I looked around a bit and then decided to strike out on my own walking tour. It's just too difficult to keep the group together.

So, off I went. I followed Richard's map and directions for a bit, passing a number of barbers who were plying their trade on the sidewalk with a mirror attached to a wall or a tree (no overhead) and other scenes of Ha Noi life, until I realized that I was lost. I wasn't particularly worried as it was 11:00 and I had until we had a commitment at 5:00. I asked directions of a few people without success, as they can't read maps apparently. I found a small park and decided to sit and cool off from the heat and watch four people about my age play badminton. It was quite fun to watch. When they finished they sat on the court on little stools and opened a few beers. Then they invited me over and offered me a beer! I sat with them for about an hour. One of them was a 53 year old woman who spoke English quite well. She was a high school teacher. We had a great talk about lots of things and laughed a lot. They also gave me two bananas. They were very friendly and obviously just wanted to talk to a tourist. I told her I was trying to get back to Hoan Kiem Lake and tried to get her to read the map too. After awhile she figured out where we were. She told me that one of the men could give me a ride back to the lake on his scooter. So, I got on the back carrying two potted plants in a plastic bag for him. It was quite an adventure riding that way through the crazy Ha Noi traffic. They go every which way, they don't follow stop signs, they just use their horns and enter traffic slowly, and everyone else gives way and makes room. To us it is chaotic, but somehow it works.

When I got to the lake, I went for a walk around it. It is quite scenic and peaceful. I visited a small temple built on an island in the lake which is connected by a bridge. At the south end I found the road that leads to Hoa Lo Prison. En route I met a young female university student who tried to sell me a scooter tour of the city. I told her I was looking for the prison and she gave me directions. This is a prison that the French built to house unruly and rebellious Vietnamese during their period of control. After the French left, the Vietnamese used it for awhile and then during the 'War In Vietnam' (which the Vietnamese call the 'American War') the North Vietnamese used it to imprison American fighter pilots who were shot down. It's a pretty grim place and the cells were communal and the men and/or women were shackled to the floor. There was a guillotine housed there as the form of capital punishment. There were two rooms dedicated to the Americans and there were a couple of photos of Senator John McCain who was imprisoned there, including one of him visiting the prison in 1990's. It was interesting watching two short movies that were full of Vietnamese propaganda and portrayed the Americans (understandably so) as the evil enemy that the Vietnamese had to overcome.

When I came out about 40 minutes later, the scooter girl was waiting for me. She was really nice and kept pitching the tour. So, I listened and asked what she recommended that I hadn't already seen. She listed a few places and we haggled over the price a bit. I decided to take the tour, because it was really hot (37 degrees and really humid) and I was tired of walking. So, away we went. Again it was exciting driving around on the scooter, and cooler with the breeze. She just sounded her horn and drove off the sidewalk into on coming traffic along the curb, until she could work her way over to the right lane. She took me to: the Opera House (a beautiful old colonial building), History Museum (the history of Vietnam from prehistory days to the present), Temple of Literature (which was the original university in Vietnam and is now just a tourist attraction), the Military History Museum (which gives a very biased version of the 'American War') and the Flag Tower (which is an old tower built in the French days and has a collection of captured American planes, helicopters and tanks) and finally St. Joseph Cathedral (which the French built made to look like Notre Dame). At all the sights I paid for admission for me and Theo (that was her name) because I don't think she'd been in any of them and I couldn't see leaving outside in the heat to wait for me while I wandered around inside. I really enjoyed her company. She was fun and really interested in everything. After the Cathedral, she wanted me to go shopping and I said I don't like shopping. But she kept talking about it. She asked me if I liked the tour and if I liked her and when I said yes to both, she told me I should buy her something! Either a ring or some clothing! I offered her an ice cream. She kept asking. Finally I got annoyed and told her that she didn't like me, she just liked my money, that all I was to her was a walking wallet, and I walked away. I made my way back to the lake and found the famous ice cream shop 'Fanny's' and had a sorbet.

Then I walked back around the lake to the Water Puppet Theatre. There I met my group and we walked to the presentation. It was interesting, in that there way a small ensemble of musicians on traditional instruments and the puppets were controlled from behind and were moving through water like a small shallow pond. Didn't understand the plot though, as it was in Vietnamese.

After that we walked to a prearranged restaurant and had a couple of drinks (I had something like a lemon aid and a two litre bottle of water), while we waited for Richard to arrive with the new people. (Actually it is interesting that they don't have lemons here, but the do have limes, which they call lemons.) Then we all enjoyed a nice meal (I had frog legs for the first time in my life and they were quite good, but small). Then I led a group back to the hotel while Richard went with the others for a drink. What a great day!!