Hello Hanoi

Off to the Ho-Chi Minh mausoleum. Thousands of people. Very, very regimented. No cameras, no food, lined up 2 by 2 and single file past his mummified remains. He actually asked to be creamated with his ashes scattered partly in the north and partly in the south, but as the great unifier he was laid in-state in 1975.

 

The Resting Place

 
 

School kids lined up to see the great unifier

 
  
Instead of living and working in the sprawling President’s Palace, Ho-Chi Minh resided in…

  
…the very modest Stilt House. As the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam he arranged for this wooden structure to be built in the corner of the Palace’s grounds. The people called it “Uncle Ho’s House”.

  
The One Pillar Pagoda was built by the emperor in the 11th century. As the name suggests it stands on a single stone pillar. Unbelievable, the structure was burned by the French in 1954.

  
The many armed Buddah in One Pillar Pagoda.

Later in the afternoon we pushed off again to go to the Vietnamese Water Puppet Theater. It turned out to be a beautiful experience. 

  
The musicians and singers were top notch. They provided the musical and voice accompaniment for the puppets.

  
The figures are controlled by multiple puppeteers behind the curtain, in the water, using long bamboo poles and some wires (that you really never see). To give you a good idea, click on the video below.

Vietnamese Water Puppets

Tomorrow morning we’re off to see the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” (prison), then off to the airport for our short flight to hot Cambodia (it’s in the mid to upper 90s there right now…a bit different from the pleasant 60s and 70s here.

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2 Responses to Hello Hanoi

  1. Myra Boime says:

    LOVED-LOVED your photos and creative titles and narrative.

    Must take you along on all future trips.

  2. Water Puppets… totally cool!

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