The Hanoi Wrap-up

Cyclo nap
see all photos »

This feels a bit weird blogging about Hanoi, since I'm already on to Sapa in N. Vietnam (separate blog), but here goes!  Hanoi was a lot of fun... stiflingly hot the first two days, but fortunately the heat broke our last two days there and we were actually able to be out and about the whole day.

We went to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, where he was put on display despite his wishes, and thousands each day stream past to pay their respects, or in the case of Laura and me, just gawk and watch the reactions of the Vietnamese onlookers.  The Vietnamese credit him with kicking out the French colonials and also bringing Communism to the country...  The old man looked pretty good, considering he's been dead for over 50 years.  The guards standing by his body (encased in glass, fortunately) check to make sure you're not talking or doing anything else shady, like putting your hands in your pockets or making faces.

Conical hats
see all photos »

Speaking of Communism, it's a little odd to walk down the streets of Hanoi and when you see guys in their 60's and older, think that they were most likely Viet Cong and fighting against Americans not so long ago.  Having said that, the Vietnamese welcome all tourists with open arms, including Americans.  All is forgotten in favor of the almighty dollar.  The Vietnamese are very industrious people, focused pretty intently on hard work and getting ahead.  They remind me more of the Chinese than of their other neighbors (e.g. Lao or Cambodians, who are much more laid back). The North Vietnamese are generally pretty reserved, and supposedly people in the South are friendlier- we'll see.  Although some of the people who befriend us are looking to sell something, we have also met some very nice people who are just being friendly.

Badminton and exercises by Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
see all photos »

One morning Laura and I had breakfast on a park bench by the lake in central Hanoi, watching people practice tai chi and do other unidentifiable exercises (see photos).  Another place that was interesting and also a little disturbing was the "Hanoi Hilton"- the prison where American pilots shot down during the War were held, including John McCain.  I've got a photo album of shots from there loaded on my flickr site- let me know if this link doesn't work:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8627958@N02/sets/

Breakfast by Lake
see all photos »

Also on that site are descriptions for the other photos I have posted here- since the captions didn't transfer when I imported the photos into this blog.  Anyway, the prison was originally built by the French in the late 1800's to house the anti-French Vietnamese rabble rousers, and then later was used by the Vietnamese to hold POW's.  The photo exhibits were all about how the American prisoners were treated like visiting royalty, although their personal stories after they were returned to the U.S. suggest otherwise.  Laura's uncle was held in the Hanoi Hilton for over five years, and sadly came home with no teeth and little hair... I took most of the photos for her since she didn't think she could take going there in person.  Some of the more ridiculous photos showed U.S. soldiers with farm animals and talked about how they found "joy and interest in raising poultry, growing flowers, and making friends with these pets."  Right on!

Early morning exercises
see all photos »

Other highlights from Hanoi include dodging the crazy moto (moped) traffic and taking cyclo rides around town (a bicycle rickshaw- see photos).  I offered to peddle around my cyclo driver if he paid me, but he wasn't having that.  Sunday night, Laura and I took the overnight train north to Sapa... see next post for more on that.