Hanoi

Saturday, March 14th

Another day dawned in drizzly Hanoi:

But the forecast was for some improvement, including sunshine (perhaps) tomorrow.

We had a full day planned by out guide, first stop a visit to see Uncle Ho, literally. As with Lenin and Mao, Uncle Ho was embalmed (by the Russians themselves, apparently) and contrary to his wish to be cremated, his body was put on display in this incredible (Soviet style) mausoleum.

No photos allowed inside, so you have to settle for us outside.

The queues can get long, especially since it's only open from 8:00am until 11:00am, five days each week, and also closed all of September and October (for annual body preservation treatment in Moscow - no joke).

Occasionally some visiting VIPs go to the head of the queue - this group to lay some wreaths.
 

Just across the road is the former French Governor's "palace" - apparently former colonial buildings are pained yellow (see GPO and railway station in Saigon).

Uncle Ho had a few automobiles - a Peugeot 404 given by the people of Vanuatu:

And two given by the people of the USSR - at least the French has style, even when behaving as imperialists. The Soviets, never.

Uncle Ho had a few rooms in a colonial building near the Governor's house, including a sparsely furnished office with pictures of Marx (Karl) and Lenin (Vladimir Ilych).

There is a nice pond in front of this house:

But it was still too grandiose, so a more basic residence was constructed in the Thai style on the other side of the pond. This is where he spent the last 13 or so years of his life.

Most things Ho are well guarded and well respected. There is also an air raid bunker adjacent to the Thai house built to protect from American carpet bombing, especially in1968 (Google Rolling Thunder).

On the way out we were shown an interesting phenomenon - a palm tree growing on top of a Banyan tree.

Even more interesting, a local Julio Iglesias on video singing songs in praise of the Great Leader - quite different to "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh...".

As always, our guide waits patiently for us t finish the best (latte) coffee we've had in Vietnam - right outside the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum!

Then we visited the nearby One Pillar Pagoda (so called for obvious reasons).

And a Buddhist ceremony where people bought paper dolls for $50 hoping to improve their luck in life:

Only to have them thrown on a fire - just like OzLotto I suppose.

And inside this Pagoda were all sorts of offerings the the "gods" - including bananas and biscuits.

And a monk chanting over a loud speaker.

During a packed day, we then visited the Temple of Literature, the first "university" in Vietnam.

Where students passed through various local, regional and national exams before entering the "university" where they studied for three years only to sit more exams. Failure meant returning home to start the process all over again - hang on, that sounds like Pyne's World.

You pass through a series of gateways, and pass ponds, very similar in design to the Forbidden City in Hue.

And then enter a room where the founder of the "university" is revered, along with his four best students.

Outside, chairs are prepared to welcome the class of 2015 - well, children who one day will become the next Vietnamese university graduates.

Just outside the peace and tranquility of the compound, life in modern Hanoi goes on:

But for us it was time for lunch, this time at a lovely placed called Le Tonkin (former French name for North Vietnam), appropriately inside a former French mansion in the French quarter.

Then to the nearby former French jail, location of much mistreatment and torture of political prisoners, but these days a museum and memorial.

But only a small part of the top section still remains, the site being developed for an office block:

Jail on the left, high rise office tower on the right.

Instrument of execution still inside.

The jail was better known in recent times as the Hotel Hilton when it was used to incarcerate downed US air crews from 1964 until 1973 - John McCain being the best known.

For our final visit of the day, something much lighter, and more entertaining - a Water Puppet show.

The hand puppets come from village folk tradition, and are controlled under water using bamboo rods by puppeteers "hiding" behind bamboo screens. The performance consists of about 15 vignettes and lasts about 45 minutes - it's thoroughly enchanting and highly recommended.

At the end of the performance the puppeteers appear dressed in waiders and still standing waist deep in water.

As if that wasn't enough - we had a one hour cyclo (trishaw) ride around the old town (not usually my scene, but enjoyable nevertheless).

We even felt safe - almost as though we had a crash-proof barrier around us (!).

But it was slow with plenty of time to admire the local NBN again.

Day almost over, it's time for a G&T with view (yes, the rain had stopped early in the day, and the sky was (almost) clearing!

As the sun set over the lake, we finished our drinks and found another nice restaurant on the old town and reminisced about a very complete day's sightseeing.