Thursday, July 9, 2009

Thursday, July 11
After checking out of our hotel in Hanoi at 8:30 this morning, we were off to an eventful day. Our first stop was Ba Dinh Square, the location of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the President Palace, and Uncle Ho’s House. NO HANDBAGS, NO CAMERAS, and NO TALKING IN LINE were the explicit instructions given to us by our guide Chuong as we neared the mausoleum. These strict rules were surprising to some of us, but those who went to see Mao in Beijing said they had a similar experience there. While walking in line prior to entering the mausoleum, a security man grabbed my arm and demanded to know where I was from. When I replied that I was from the United States, he gave me an odd look, rolled his eyes, and told me to proceed. As we got closer to mausoleum, the security guards became stricter, making sure that everyone remained quiet. When we entered the building, I counted a total of nine soldiers in the room with Ho Chi Minh’s body. After viewing Minh, we saw the President Palace, where he had his office, then had a peak into “Uncle Ho’s House.” His home was a beautiful little retreat that combined exterior and interior spaces much like the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
We then traveled to the Temple of Literature and the One Pillar Pagoda. Chuong shared with us information about the educational system in Vietnam, which is similar in many ways to that in China. Students often travel to the Temple of Literature prior to exams in order to rub the stone turtles’ heads for good luck!
Our lunch was a spectacular feast for our taste buds. We overwhelmingly agree that the food in Vietnam has been the best food of this entire study tour. Brenda requested that I share with everyone the menu of our delectable nine course lunch, so here we go! We started with a delicious vegetable soup, followed by ravioli of pork HaNoi style, banana flower salad with beef, fried chicken with lemon sauce, grilled eggplant filled with onion and meat, stir-fried beef filled with lemongrass, stir-fried shrimp with peanut, fried rice with vegetables, and finished it all with a dessert of fresh fruits and green tea. Needless to say, many of us are going to have to do some extra exercise after we leave Vietnam! In addition to the wonderful food, Brenda very generously offered to buy us all a drink with lunch. Deciding to have some fun, Brian W. arranged with Chuong to have a full bottle of cognac (the most expensive drink choice on the menu at about $89) delivered to the table. The look on Brenda’s face was priceless! Brian W. very innocently reminded her that she did say that she would buy a drink for everyone. After that, she was very careful to specify that she meant one glass, not one bottle.
After our spectacular lunch, we went to the Hoa Lo Prison, better known to Americans as the “Hanoi Hilton.” There is really only one thing I can say about this experience- it is all about perspective. As Americans, we think of this prison solely in terms of how it was used during the Vietnam War. Many of us did not know that it was initially built by the French to hold Vietnamese prisoners. Much of the prison museum dealt with this part of the prison’s history. However, the part of the museum dealing with the Vietnam War (referred to as the American War by the Vietnamese) was quite an experience. As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, I grew up hearing about the war from a much different perspective than the one presented in the Hoa Lo Prison museum. The lesson here is that there is always two sides of every issue, and no one ever wins in a war.
The rest of the day was spent with a quick visit to the Ngoc Son Temple, followed by an approximate three and one half hour drive to HaLong Bay. Some interesting sights on the drive included: water buffalo by the road, lots of rice paddies, a dirty coal mining town, “Disney-like fantasy” architecture, a wrecked truck that should never have been driven, and pigs on motorcycles.
Hopefully the rest of our days here in Vietnam will prove to be as fruitful as today has been!
Debbie Roberts