Today we toured the city of Hanoi. It was a really interesting mix of ancient history, recent history and culture.
Our first stop was the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. This communist revolutionary leader is truly respected and honored by the people of Vietnam. In this place, his embalmed body is on display for the whole world to see, despite his will stating that he wanted to be cremated (so Wikipedia tells me). Our guide shared some things about this leader, for example that he never took residence in the French-style grand palace, but that he had a simple house of three rooms built next to it. That he was the son of a teacher and that because of his years abroad, he spoke fluent French, English, Russian, Cantonese and Mandarin. It was strange for us to see the cult around his person.
After this, we went further back into history and visited the citadel where the Vietnamese monarchs resided between the 11th and 19th century. Little is left of the original buildings and it was rather sad to see a modern French building on the site of the old palace, still with the dragon steps in front of it. Apparently, dragons are symbol of the highest power in old Chinese teaching and the monarch was considered a son of the gods.
Completely unexpected (when on a private tour, one has not done any homework), we stepped down into a bunker and found ourselves in the very room where Ho Chi Ming, commander Giap and the other military leaders of the Northern Vietnamese army designed their strategies for liberation of the South during the Vietnam war. As part of an American family, this made a profound impact on me.
After lunch and a well-needed naptime, we headed out for a rickshaw tour. At first I felt embaressed to be pushed around by a man of respectable age on a bicycle, but it turned out to be a really fun way of taking in the old town without having to watch traffic all the time. What a crazy and bustling street life! And in conclusion, we went to see a water puppet show. This ancient tradition is still staged today and we thoroughly enjoyed the show! Asher sat on the tip of his seat, watching intensely and commenting on everything he saw happening in front of him. I enjoyed seeing the musicians play on traditional Vietnamese instruments.
We also learned an important Vietnamese saying: "A man without rice wine is like a flag without wind." And did you know that temples in this country are places where you honour your ancestors as well as great heroes of the nation. If you are a buddhist, you go to the pagoda to pay your respects.
