I promised myself that I would spend my time in Hanoi doing some serious site seeing and take in some lessons in culture or history. A prominent option is to go to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which I didn't visit. I'm a bit bummed, but it was a fair distance away from my hotel and there was so much else to see. I also read conflicting reviews online regarding what I'd have access to as a Westerner, as well as what was being renovated. It seemed like a substantial commitment of time and money to go visit something that might not be really worth it. Speaking with others, I do wish I actually went to see "Uncle Ho" and spent my time waiting in like (upwards of 2-2.5 hours) to walk past his actual body lying in state. At the same time, I got to see other things that I'm glad I saw.
I should also say that it was really important for me that I take my time and sink into my vacation. So much of my life I schedule out and I don't take time to just be in the moment as much as I'd like to. I made the commitment to let each day come to me as I woke up. It was ok to make a point to see or do things I was passionate about, but I didn't need to squeeze each day packed full. I was ok with casually waking up and not getting out of my room until 10 or 11:00 AM. I was ok with calling it a night at 9:00 PM so I could fall asleep watching a movie on my computer. I let myself ease into vacation and ease into Vietnam.
First, I saw the Vietnam National History Museum, which was atrocious. It got rave reviews on TripAdvisor and I was completed bummed out. I just went back to reread reviews and I think most of what people commented on was either A) not the museum I visited, or B) a much different experience than I had. I think several parts of the museum were closed for renovation based on what other people said their experiences were like. For example, I only had access to one floor that focused primary on all of the atrocities committed by the "puppet government" (read: the US and South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War. Other people comment on the areas of the museum that addressed Vietnam's rich history before and after the war, and on multiple floors of the museum. Uh... I have no idea what they're talking about. There was another small section on 5-year plans after the war, but other than that there was nothing. It was quite cheaply done and really disappointing. It made me that much more appreciative for the Smithsonian museums.
I also visited the Hoa Lo Prison. That was fascinating, but depressing at the same time. Hoa Lo Prison was constructed by the French during their colonization of Vietnam. Holy hell did they do some awful things in this prison. On my food tour, the French woman who was part of our group talked about how some of the atrocities that occurred in the prison and in similar establishments is a source of shame for France. I felt this sense of shame later when I toured Coconut Prison on Phu Quoc Island. I'll speak to that in a later post.
One cool thing that happened at the museum was when I met a very nice Dutch gentleman named Jos. Jos and I waited for 10 minutes to listen to an audio recording that was a part of a huge diorama of the prison. We chitchatted until the headsets were available, listened to the recording together, and then said goodbye. The crazy part is that four days later we realize our rooms in a hotel in Hoi An were directly across the hall from each other. That's like meeting a stranger at the Field Museum in Chicago and then four days later meeting them again at a hotel in Washington, D.C. - crazy! We had dinner together in Hoi An and talk about our experiences traveling and home. It was great! Anyway, here are some pictures of the prison.
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| The French used the guillotine on political prisoners. Don't I totally look like a traveler in Asia in this picture?? |
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| The original entrance gate to Hoa Lo. |
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| It's kind of a hard to see, but this is a view into one of the cells. |
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| A memorial in the courtyard |
And then these are just photos of a plant I found interesting. I was trying to be artsy.
Among my wanderings was also finding St. Joseph's Cathedral. I thought there would be more to it as it was listed on a tourist map, but was when I visited it looked condemned, as if it hasn't been opened it years. TripAdvisor recommendations showed the church open, decorated, and with a festival going on. Maybe it was just closed for the day when I saw it. I don't know. It looked pretty sad, though. It probably helped that I saw it on a rainy day.
