Rise & Shine, Let's Go see Ho

Ho Chi Minh that is. Last time we came was on a Saturday & we never found the end of the line-it was probably the longest line I've ever seen-and it was an amorphous blob of a line. We returned to Hanoi for another night specifically to get up early & get in line to see Ho Chi Minh (HCM). 

He's preserved thanks to Russian innovation & has been on display since his death over 40 years ago at the HCM Mausoleum. Droves & droves of Vietnamese come to pay their respects (we see lots of families, school groups in matching t-shirts, couples, and only a handful of foreign tourists). 

Thankfully the line is 95% in the shade. There seems to be a tiny breeze-but more importantly the others around us all have fans. When they fan themselves, if I stand close enough, I get fanned too, without any work!!

Since my shoulders & knees must be covered, I wore what felt like pajamas. I under estimated clothing got this trip. The last thing I took out was a knee length grey skirt-I wish I'd left it in. Although I have decent experience backpacking-this is the first time I have not been able to re-ware bottoms-thus I have 6 tops & only 3 bottoms. So I went to see "Uncle Ho" in my pajamas-my 100% cotton pajamas. I did notice in line that several locals were in dresses above the knee, but the "voice" at the mausoleum states shoulders & knees must be covered. 

The line moved quickly and although it was quite long-about 3 blocks, from the time we got in line to exiting out of the mausoleum was 48 minutes (yes, I set a timer). I know from seeing Lenin (and guide books to Vietnam) that the line must keep moving past HMC. The guards ensure that you don't stare too long, seeing the effects of death on a 40 year embalmed body (I actually was told to "keep moving" when I saw Lenin as I slowed down to take in every detail). This time-I spotted an older woman who was having trouble walking and we intentionally stayed behind her in line. I knew we'd get longer looks at HMC in the mausoleum as her normal pace was about 1/2 of ours. And it worked!! Not only could we enjoy the frigid temperature for an extended period of time, when she didn't want to leave-to her this was a "religious" experience, we got extra looks at Ho. I do not think Ho was as well preserved as Lenin-but that could be attributed to his beard. It looked straggly and whisp-y. Also, this mausoleum has us walk up to see HMC where as I remember walking down to see Lenin. The lights are low and the body is quite far away from the viewing procession. 

We returned to the heat & followed the crowds over to the Presidential Palace complex. This included the actual presidential palace (architecture reminds me of Soviet style).

And HCM's house on stilts where he lived a humble life. The bed reminded me of our hotel in Cat Ba. Go ahead & judge me for not living a life of "simplicity, modesty, & gentleness," I want a real pillow & bed with some fluff. 

We also paid the entrance fee & entered the HMC museum. We were both surprised to learn how well educated & well traveled he was. This was where we finally got our picture with Uncle Ho.

By this point Chris was hungry and we discovered Cong and had Ramon noodles with an egg for breakfast (and free wifi). 

Since we hadn't had any fruit we stopped & bought some pineapple from a lady selling from her bike. Chris was happy to have pineapples-and a little disappointed that he paid "American prices for pineapple."

But then we discovered this was no ordinary pineapple! It was cut to be eaten like an ice cream cone!! And the higher price was instantly worth it.

We walked back to our hotel to enjoy a few more minutes in the air con before checking out of our room & spending the afternoon as nomads in Hanoi before catching a night sleeper bus (which proved worthy of its own post).

We headed to the Vietnamese Women's Museum which was delightful. The lobby started with some cartoons drawn by locals as a part of a competition. I love that the whole world is recognizing gender inequality. 

The first floor focused on marriage & different traditions among the different minority groups. They had videos of actual weddings & we got to take our own wedding photo.

The other half of the floor was about childbirth-they started baby wearing before it was popular. This floor also had a documentary about women street vendors. Probably the most interesting part of the whole museum was to hear their stories. Many of them are from smaller villages and work selling in Hanoi for money to send kids to school or to support their family. Each woman told of a significant event in her life that put their family into poverty that she now must sell goods. The interviews included the hours worked, where they stayed & how often they returned home to see their families. Not one complained or was bitter-they simply were doing what was needed to take care of their families, even though many verbalized that they wished for a different life. 

There was an exhibition on food preparation & I got to practice carrying goods while Chris milled some corn. 

An exhibit on Mother Godess, the alters, paper votives, and dancers who portray her. 

The next floor was dedicated to women in history. Their women took a very active role in conflicts, often asking as spies at the young age of 13. Chris talked that he remembers hearing about the atrocities Americans committed against Vietnamese women & children-but this exhibit boasted of the victories against Americans committed by women & children. One woman was credited with taking down an airplane. Another one with working for the Americans & feeding information to the Vietnamese. We both thought that floor was difficult.

The museum wouldn't have been complete without a floor dedicated to fashion. We learned about batik and learned the difference between embroidery and appliqué. I was going to try on the traditional headdress-but the thought of lice scared me. 

We managed to successfully spend the day engaging in Hanoi and staying in a semi-air conditioned state. Mission accomplished. I think the guidebooks should give this museum more credit. 

We walked back to Hoan Kiem lake for a splurge of a treat-ice cream (that cost more than our dinner). It was nice to spend our last free moments in Hanoi looking out over the lake & people watching. 

We withdrew more money from the lucky ATM, stocked up on water, and got some dinner. There is a little street vendor at the beginning of the alley where our hotel was located. This place "magically" appeared one evening after we had already eaten. Twice it hasn't been there when we're hungry & three times it has been there after we've eaten-such is street food. The alley way will go from an empty street to an awning with probsbly 50 little red & blue stools. This time we planned it right & were able to partake! I'm proud that this is street food we found on our own-not mentioned in any guidebook. We had grilled pork wrapped in glass noodles (nem lui), green mango, and fried potatoes (maybe yams?). Chris got the lemon tea-which was sweet and so delicious I had to order my own glass. Although the pork wasn't 100% cooked, it was my favorite meal this far-probably because we found it ourselves-maybe I'm getting my sense of adventure back. 

We snapped a photo in front of the iconic church St Joseph where our hotel was located. Hotel Ciao Hanoi was a great launching pad for this SE Asia adventure. So we said "ciao" and headed off to the bus station for Hué!!