Our first stop was at Ba Dinh Square, where Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It also contains Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Well, this turned out to be quite an experience!!! There were hundreds of thousands of people here! There were two lines, one just to get into the square (that was us) and another to actually walk through the mausoleum. The second line up stretched for several kilometres. This was even busier than our guide anticipated so it took us longer than planned! There were bus loads of school kids lined up for the visit, not to mention thousands of Chinese tourists!! It was an interesting wait in line as the students were all vying for our attention as they practiced their English. The line up for the washroom was also very interesting as we "polite Canadian girls" soon figured out how to deal with the "butting in" Chinese ladies! Ha, don't mess with Saskatchewan girls!!!
We also saw Ho Chi Minh's house and the One Pillar Pagoda before finding our way out of the masses of people. The good news is that it had quit raining by then and the sun came out!
Our next stop was at "The Temple of Literature ", a walled complex dedicated to Confucius. We had time to wander through the complex. It was very interesting, in spite of it being very crowded. Once again we enjoyed seeing so many children.
Our final stop was in the "Old French Quarter". We were picturing quaint little streets with charming buildings..... wrong!!! Instead, they were the narrow streets of the old Hanoi commercial district.
There were shops, food stalls, people and scooters everywhere!!! What an experience! It was tricky just to keep our group together without someone getting run over but we managed!!!
By the end of all of this we were ready to head back to the hotel for a bit of down time. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards for me! While the rest of the group grabbed a bite to eat and a rest, I met up with a local guide from Hanoi, introduced to me via travel friends. (Duyen Do for those of you that have travelled with him). He picked me up at the hotel and drove me, on his scooter, to his home to meet his wife and seven year old twins, a son and daughter. What an opportunity for me! It was a quick but awesome visit, as I had only one hour!!
I got back to the hotel at 3:00 just in time to meet my group to head to a Water Puppet Show. This is a traditional type of entertainment in Vietnam. There is a "water" stage in the centre with three musicians on each side. Each act consists of the musicians singing and playing music while the "water puppets" perform and tell a story. The puppets are manipulated using bamboo poles under the water, operated by people that are behind curtains behind the stage. It was very interesting but most of us agreed that the 50 minute show was long enough!!
We returned to our hotel for a short rest before setting out for dinner. We had a "home hosted dinner" in the home of a former Vietnamese Army General. His two brothers live in houses attached to his house and there are 4 generations living in the house. We got to have a tour of the home and he answered all of our questions, it was very interesting. Then we sat down to a lovely traditional meal. It was a wonderful experience.
Tomorrow we leave bright and early as we have a four hour bus ride to Halong Bay. Once we get there we will board our boat where we will spend the night and we will cruise around Halong Bay. This promises to be a highlight! We won't have any internet connection so I can't write again until we get off the boat.
Until then....good night!
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