Hanoi

Sing chow (hello) from North Vietnam. Twenty years ago we couldn’t have imagined that we would be stepping off a Vietnamese plane in Hanoi. No words or pictures can recapture our otherworldly experience here.

We checked into the Sofitel Legend Metropole in the French Quarter of town, a more affluent section of Hanoi.  Built in 1901 the grand hotel has been the choice of visiting dignitaries.  In fact, the staff was preparing for the arrival of John Kerry the day we departed.  This area has preserved the French colonial style.

To read the captions, click on the first picture and use the arrow keys to navigate the gallery.

Although January is the dry season, it poured for 3 days; but we braved the elements by going full native in our pastel ponchos.  Our first stop was Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton),  the prison the French built to house political prisoners during its colonization of French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos).  Because Vietnam is rich in natural resources and links the east to the west by way of the South China Sea, France wanted a foothold on the trade route. From 1862 to 1954, the Vietnamese were taxed heavily by the French. When dissidents objected to the taxation and lobbied for home rule, they were thrown into this dank slammer. They eventually fought for their independence during the First Indochinese War.   Later during the Vietnam War (called the American War or the Second Indochinese War by the Vietnamese), captured American pilots were detained here. John McCain was one of those prisoners.  A tad biased, this museum recounts the atrocious treatment of Vietnamese prisoners by the French and the humane treatment of American prisoners by the Vietnamese. Many former POW’s visiting Hanoi have begged to differ. Our guide Rose was diplomatic and said she understood multiple perspectives after ushering many former American soldiers through the prison.

Next we visited the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. The people of North Vietnam call him “Uncle Ho” because he initiated communism in Vietnam.  Rose explained that although Uncle Ho was childless, “We are all the children of Uncle Ho’s family.”  Ho Chi Minh wanted to be cremated, but the party wanted the public to remember his contributions and had him embalmed like Lenin in Moscow. So much for private desires in a communist state.

We also visited the Temple of Literature, which is dedicated to Confucius and Confucianism. Vietnam, unlike modern China, is still a paternalistic society with a Confucian social hierarchy, where woman are low on the totem pole and are expected to be quiet and servile. Loyalty, familial responsibility, respect for elders and authority are paramount. As a result, homes here are three stories (each floor being about 100-200 square feet) to accommodate 3 generations of a family. They pool their resources for the greater good of the family.

A wife lives with her husband’s family and has to serve her mother-in-law.  Even though her own mother lives alone, Rose serves her husband’s family before her own.  She told us a funny story about her husband, a concierge at a fancy hotel, who earned a reward on his job – an overnight stay at the 5 star hotel. Rose was excited to spend a romantic evening, but out of respect for parents, her hubby made her share the staycation with his mother. She says that women just learn to swallow (disappointment). A move out of a husband’s family home or a divorce must be approved by the local party authorities and is a frowned upon act.  Saving face is all-important. The younger generation of women is voicing a need for change as women are getting a taste of the burgeoning free enterprise system and liberation.

In the evening we were taken by rickshaw to the old section of town, built centuries ago by the Chinese. The ride through town was like the wild ride of Mr. Toad. The drivers are out of their minds and rules of the road are nonexistent.  The biggest and fastest vehicle wins the right of way in a daily game of chicken. Watch the video for a real thrill ride.  Later in the evening we attended a traditional water puppet show.  The puppets are controlled by people submerged in water. Enjoy the video clip.

Tomorrow we depart for Ha Long Bay in the infamous Gulf of Tonkin, where we will spend the night on a traditional junk.