Vietnam is a communist country. After a few days, we found out that Facebook was blocked in Vietnam. Our guide told us that it had been blocked for about a month or so. Interesting with all the turmoil and unrest going on in countries around the world. They must be worried about something....
We woke up pretty early our first morning in Hanoi as Sakhalin is 4 hours ahead of Vietnam. We walked around our hotel a bit and this the first photo I took. It was so interesting to see the very tall skinny buildings side by side and the people on the street.
Our driver and guide picked us up and the first thing we did was to see the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, who is the father of modern Vietnam. We actually saw his body in this heavily guarded mausoleum. We were told that the school children out front were there as a reward for good performance in school.
Next, in this same complex, we saw the presidential palace. I can't remember if Ho Chi Minh lived here or not, but if he did, it was not for very long.
Ho Chi Minh lived the longest (as president) in his next residence. It is in the same area as the mausoleum and the palace.
Finally, he moved to an even smaller home near his previous one. It was very simple with just a few rooms and no bathroom. He had to go to the above home to use the facilities. You can see this final home in the background of this picture of Max and our first (and favorite) guide:
It was cool and a little rainy this day, as is typical in the north. You know who wore shorts the entire time.
Next up was the One Pillar Pagoda. This is a very famous Buddhist temple where people go to pray. It is standing on just one pillar in the middle of this pond. Again, it is all in this same area. This is a little different view from the Facebook photo:
The people going up these very steep steps see what's in the photo below. You really can't go in:
Next up was the Temple of Literature. This was Vietnam's first university and was built in 1070. The entrance and gardens were very pretty.
Vietnam has four very important symbols. The dragon which symbolizes power and nobility, the unicorn (different than what we think of a unicorn) which symbolizes intelligence and goodness, the tortoise which symbolizes longevity and perfection and the phoenix which symbolizes peace. You see these symbols everywhere including on top of the entrance to the Temple of Literature.
In the Temple of Literature, the names of the scholars who passed their exams were written (or carved) on the tablets with the base of the tortoise. There are many of these tortoise tablets in the temple.
Next, we saw these ladies playing traditional Vietnamese music on instruments I had never seen or heard before. It was so interesting.
After that it was finally time for lunch. We had one of our best lunches at this little local place. It was so cheap..only about $1.00 each.
After lunch we went to the War Museum. This museum wasn't specific to the Vietnam war, but to all of the wars that Vietnam has been involved in. This country has been involved in a lot of wars, especially with China who occupied Vietnam for a while along with the French who occupied Vietnam for a while. You see the Chinese influence with the Buddhist religion and the French influence in a lot of the architecture.
We climbed to the top of this tower which was just some old fortress in the city, but part of the War Museum.
In the picture below you can see in the courtyard a lot of vehicles, planes and helicoptors from mainly the Vietnam War. Interesting that in Vietnam they call it the American War. At the top of the picture you can see a display of a lot of bombs used in the war. Beside the bombs is compilation of planes that had crashed. Not all from the Vietnam war, but a lot. Around the courtyard are buildings with exhibits from other wars. There are more airplanes in another section.
What we didn't know at the time that we took the below picture, was that Max was standing in front of the actual tank that crashed into the Presidential Palace gates in South Vietnam on the final day of the war in 1975. I'll point it out when we get to the south in a few days (or posts) from now.
Our next event of the day was a Water Puppet Show which is specific to Northern Vietnam. Very interesting. The puppets are wooden and have long sticks attached to their backs along with strings that control their arms, mouths, etc. The people operating them are behind the screen. Traditional music was played by the band. Very interesting and entertaining.
Our guide met us after the puppet show was over and took us on a walking tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi. We really loved it there. The streets are narrow and crowded and people are sitting on the sidewalks selling everything from souvenirs to food and fruit. Most people live in the tall houses above their shops. They stay open from 7:30 in the morning to about 10:00 at night.
Finally, our guide took us to a little corner place as we wanted to have one of the local beers. It was so cheap with beer only about 25 cents a glass, I think. Everyone in Vietnam sits in these little plastic chairs, too. They are everywhere. Along with the motorbikes. More about them later.
It was a great first day!
Love to you all!
Karen
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