Hanoi day 2

June 14

I will post June 13 once I finish writing writing it. I will try to post things when they are written whether or not it is in order. Sorry for bombarding you with a million really long posts all at once and then giving you nothing...

5:24pm Vietnam time

Oy. I am so tired. My new roomie for the rest of the 10 days just arrived. Her name is Melissa and she is from New Zealand. She's 25 and she quit her job to go traveling. She's been traveling for about a week now. She was in Kuala Lumpur for 2 days and then came to Hanoi for 2 days and went to Halong Bay. She did the overnight cruise and said that she didn't do too much more than we did so I guess we didn't need to do that. She seems really nice and down to earth. She is heading to Europe after this and is going to travel there as long as she can and end up working in Britain. She was an accountant.

Today we had a great breakfast. It's been the best one in Vietnam so far aside from the homestay I think. Literally, no matter where you are you just stuff your face at breakfast because we usually eat around 8 or 9am and go go go til 1 or 2pm when we finally have a lunch break. It was a good American breakfast though.

We headed out around 8:30am with Matt. We did a lot of walking yesterday and today. Literally covered Hanoi by foot. A lot of people are complaining their feet hurt. Mine haven't been too bad (I always have some normal foot pain thanks to my shitty feet) but my "runners" have been really nice.

We started off heading to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This is basically a huge building devoted to HCM, their demi god. And when I say huge building I mean pretty big haha. It towers over what is around it and has "President Ho Chi Minh" inscribed on the top. There is a huge grass area in front as well and the Vietnam flag on the top of the building. When we got there it looked closed and it was supposedly closed because of a conference.

Matt took us around to another area in the back. When we walked in it was full of white marble buildings and statues. Matt led us around to an area where the one pillar pagoda was. We weren't able to go into the pagoda. Most people go in here to pray to have boys. It is over water and is supposed to resemble a lotus flower. There are some lotus flower statues around the area as well (carved out of white marble, surprise!). The lotus flower is a representation of a human. it starts growing in the water and is blind and cant see like a baby in a womb and then as it grows it blossoms into a beautiful flower like a human would when they gain knowledge and wisdom. There is a tree behind it that is also supposed to be a representation of the lotus flower. It is literally on one pillar rising from the water.

After that, the road led us right back to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. I didn't mention this before, but HCM originally wanted to be cremated and have his ashes spread across 3 different areas of Vietnam but they went against his wishes and instead preserved his body and placed it within this building. You can go look at it normally, but we couldn't see it today because of the conference.

I already talked about HCM earlier in my blog but I'm just going to talk about him again because I don't remember what I said exactly and I'm too lazy to go back and find it. I write too much ha! He spoke 7 languages and he lived and worked in the US, and Britain. He then attended school in France and this is when he joined the underground communist party. Then I think as I mentioned before he became Lenin's right hand man and translator for him for the French and later Americans. He then started the Indochina communist party. This happened before the French came back and the 9 year war started.

Matt said that HCMs body is removed ever October-November and shipped to Russia because they are experts in the embalming process. Some people believe it is his real body still, others think it is a wax model. Matt personally thinks it is a wax model. He thinks HCMs real body is either on a military base somewhere or that at some point they messed up the embalming process.

We then headed to the area within the HCM complex in which HCM used to live. He was a simple man and his living situation really show cased this well. When you first walk in, there is a huge yellow house which is where he was suppose to live. He instead lived in a smaller yellow house off to the side. The large yellow house was still used but only for meetings. We saw his cars (he had 3) and the yellow house he started living in had 3 rooms. There were photos of Marx and Lenin in his study room.

He only lived in this yellow house until the construction for his real home was done. He wanted to live in the electricians house so they made a replica of it for him to live in. It is green and is on stilts so you have to take stairs to get up to the one level. There are 2 small rooms here. One is a study where he conducted his education classes for the children and right next to it was a small bedroom. Basically it fit a bed and a dresser or desk. I can't remember. It was very small though. Next to the house there was also a small shed. This had a liked door in it and the door leads to underground tunnels just incase he needed an escape route. Unfortunately, you can't go in the room or the tunnel.

We then headed out to the Museum of Literature. This was actually really cool. I think it was the first national university of Vietnam. Study here began in 1076. During the course of study, the students paid extra attention to literature and wrote poetry. They studied here from 3-7 years. They had small exams every month and 4 large exams a year. They had to get high scores on these and then they could go to national exams and then from that could qualify for royal exams. The royal exams were given by the king to each individual and he ranked them according to their performance.

It was full of beautiful courtyards and pagodas. It was a really beautiful area. While attending the school they read a lot about Confucianism. This is essentially the theory on the ethical behavior of a gentleman: educating the self, organizing the family, governing the state, and ruling all nations. The most important contribution was that it made feudal society orderly and lawful by teaching people how to behave and educate themselves, and take responsibility for their family and society.

There were a lot of pagodas with people praying as well. I think graduation may have happened as well? There were people in really nice dresses and taking photos. The colors in the praying areas where so intense and bright. There were lots of sunflowers as well. I think this was for sure my favorite place in Hanoi and it may be one of my favorite places in Vietnam. It was a really cool garden area. Lots of Chinese characters all over as well.

We went to lunch at a place called KOTO which was very similar to New Hope in Cambodia. We didn't have a big tour or anything but the money from people eating at the restaurant goes to helping train new people each year as chefs or servers. I went for Vietnamese food and I'm so glad I did because it was amazing. I had rice noodles with peanuts and lime and chili and beef and garlic and a lemon sauce. Alyssa, you and Matt should definitely eat here. Matt warned us it would be a little expensive and my meal with a smoothie and a sprite came out to $9. So, I think it was okay considering an expensive meal at home would be $30+. President Clinton also ate here.

While we were walking we saw a lot of bird cages on the street. I asked Matt about it and he said it is part of feng shui. Most people have a dog, a fish, and a bird. It's just what you do here. It seems like a lot o people live where they work. Around dinner time there are a lot of families eating family dinner in their restaurant.

There are also train tracks going directly through the city. Like between 2 buildings. I have no idea if they are still used or not. It's pretty strange but makes for some good photographs.

We then got tickets to the Hoa lo prison. There are only some remains of it left. It is right around the Hanoi Towers, a huge building. The building was literally built right where the courtyard of the prison used to be so the remaining part lines the side of the building.

Hoa Lo prison was built in 1896 by the French colonialists and was one of the biggest prisons built by them in Indochina. It was transformed from a famous trade village into a prison and many leaders of the government and Vietnamese Communist party were imprisoned here Many soldiers ended up escaping from here as well. In October 1954, after the north was liberated, the prison was used for the Vietnamese government to keep law breakers. From August 5 1964 to March 29 1973, it was used to hold American pilots who had been shot down or arrested when bombing the north.

When the French were in control of the prison, the meals were really terrible. It was old meat that was really tough. The rice was out of date and had parasites living in it. There was a time when 40 prisoners would die a month. There was a room showcasing men in shackles on long benches and there were 2 Asian style toilets in the same room in front of everyone on a platform.

There was also a dungeon area on which prisoners who acted out would be placed. It was called "hell of hell". There was a lack of light and air so their bodies were covered in scabies and they were placed in small rooms by themselves. There were people creeping through underground sewage doors to escape.

Women were kept in an area that was 270 sq meters and there was a time there were 300 females in the prison. The conditions were horrible as well. No running water, not enough food, not clean...

There is also a wall that is a memorial area dedicated to those soldiers who were patriotic and died in Hoa Lo.

When the Vietnamese used it later to house American pilots who had been shot down from planes, I was surprised to read that the pilots were actually treated very well. The Vietnamese government made sure the pilots had the best living conditions. For the Americans, going to Hoa Lo prison was actually pretty good. They weren't chained up, there were even photos of them having a huge feast at Christmas dinner. They had regular check ups from doctors as well. The area in which they showcased the part about the American soldiers was so small. Like 2 very small rooms. All the people going through could barely even fit in it. It was 2 small rooms maybe 2 times the size of my closet. And that was the only part in the whole museum they had about the Americans. Very very very small part ha.

I asked Matt if the American soldiers were actually treated as well as he said they were and he said according to what he has read from both sides yes. There was no reason to torture them because they knew why the Americans were in Vietnam. When the French used the prison it was important for them to use torture techniques because they needed to figure out strategies and who the boss was and other secretive information. The Americans were pretty just used to say okay, we have your pilots. When the US pulled out of Vietnam all the pilots were releases from Hoa Lo prison.

8:14am the next day Vietnam time

Finally, it was about 2:30pm or so, we were heading back to the hotel to take a rest. I think we were all pretty happy. Between the heat and the walking, we were tired. I used the time to blog and tried to sleep but Melissa arrived and then we were chatting.

We met for dinner with the new group going with us to Laos as well. There are 3- Bart from Holland (18), Melissa, and Laura from the US (33). There were a total of 19 of us plus Matt. We actually went to The Green Mango (we had been to the main one in Hoi An for the cooking class) and it was very classy. It was Charley's birthday so it was a good place to be. Everyone was dressed up when I came down for dinner... Make up, cute dresses... I ran upstairs to change. Just put on a beach cover up dress so I was still pretty casual, but I felt better about fitting in haha.

The menu was rather expensive. I ended up ordering a Hanoi specialty which was pretty much the same thing I had for lunch earlier but with chicken instead of beef. I wish I would have spent the extra money and gotten salmon. It was still great though.

Matt gave a speech telling us how great we are and how well miss those leaving us but were happy a few have joined. We are losing 6 people.

We also had a nice birthday cake for Charley and a champagne drink for Leanne and Andy because their birthdays are next week. We sang happy birthday to Charley... And then again to Leanne and Andy. We all got a piece of cake and a port dessert wine. It tasted pretty nutty. It wasn't my favorite. A lot of people at my table hated it and just took it as a shot. Their reactions (especially Zara, Robby, and Robyn's) were pretty funny.

The service at this restaurant was really god. My meals was huge and I couldn't finish it and they were concerned I didn't like it haha. It was basically like dining out at home. They made sure to ask how your food was (never happens here) and checked up on your drinks and asked if you wanted more. They also even showed you the water bottle and asked if they could open it for you before they opened it and then refilled your glass during the evening. I had a milkshake with vanilla ice cream and baileys before I got water an it was sensational. This was also the first restaurant I've been at in Vietnam who had brought bread and butter to the table. My meal ended up being around $14. Expensive for Vietnam! Cheap for home for a place this classy!

After dinner, we all migrated to an area in which super cheap beer is served. And by that I mean super cheap... 20 cents a beer (5,000 dong). This isn't just any old area where you sit down at a table. It was literally a little stall that gave us basically little tyke stools to sit on and 2 little tables to put the beer on. The beer was served in glasses in trays. I think it was pretty funny because the stall was pretty small and we were trying to cram 20 of us on little stools outside. But wait, it gets even more restricted. Motorbikes still go through the street so we couldn't really spread out too much. We were all jammed in close together. It was really cool and really fun.

Matt then introduced us to a man who owns the Bubble Party bar around the corner and we all migrated there. I played fuseball for a while and then went upstairs. They were playing music upstairs and it was a pretty small area to dance. It was just us though and it was pretty fun. Literally everyone was getting into it. I probably should have stayed because it was some people's last nights but Melissa was going back (I didn't want to keep her up if I didn't come back or wake her up when I did come back because we only have 1 key and you can't leave the door unlocked) and I wasn't totally feeing the dancing.

Zara, Robby, Melissa, Bart, Mars, and I ventured home. I think we got lost. Literally, this city is so confusing. The old quarter has 38 streets I think and each one is named after the thing that the street used to sell. Our hotel is on toy street. Once you find the toys, you know you're close. It's also really different walking around during the day than at night. When the shops are open you can recognize the areas. At night everything is closed up and it's hard haha. We made it back eventually though.

When we got back there was a bike lock over the door from the inside and no one at the desk. When we knocked a guy came out. He had Charley's passport and was asking if she was here. It was really weird. Mars asked if there was a Problem and he didn't really answer. I don't think he spoke English very well either. We wanted to make sure we knew what time breakfast was served until in the morning and we thought it was 10:30 but he said 10... We wrote a note to the group to put on the door but I don't even know if the guy understood what we were asking.

I kind of wish I would have stayed out but I also think I am getting sick again. I really like Leanne and we had a really fun time the first evening that they got here so it would have been fun to stay out. Things are just so complicated with the roommate situation and stuff. I was okay going back though.

So... These are the people who joined us for Vietnam only:
1. Charley and Lois. They are my age and they graduated from university in chemical engineering. They just got their marks and were pretty excited. They both have jobs to go back to so that is nice. Sidebar: the school system in Britain still confuses me. I think I have had it explained to me four times already. They are actually from Aberdeen so that was cool. They don't have strong Scottish accents though.
2. Andy. He is turning 25 (I think) next week. He works for a company that does advertising. He pretty much organizes everything from what I understand. He is from Southern London. He is funny and has a good sense of humor.
3. Leanne and Alena (Al). They are both 30... Leanne turns 30 next week and she really enjoys saying she is still in her 20s. Leanne works for the NHS and Al is a physio for a rugby team. Al basically does what I wanted to do before I got interested in neuroscience. Leanne is a manager. They are both really fun to talk to and I have enjoyed time with them. I'm sad they are leaving. They are from Whales and they said it is gorgeous. Another place I will have to go... Maybe Whales and Ireland can go a trip... See April and Leanne and Al.

Mars is leaving us tomorrow which will be weird since we have spent 20 days with her and she has been around since the beginning. We're not totally sure who will be the auntie anymore or who will always be late. Although Mars thinks it will be Robby and Zara who take over for her on that one.

Other people who joined in Vietnam but are staying through for Laos/northern Thailand:
1. Saskia. She is my age and is from Holland. She's really nice and down to earth and fun to talk to. She works a temporary job at home where she deals with insurance.
2. Katrina. She is 22. She is waiting for her university marks and if she gets a 2.1 then she will have a job at the Bank of England. She's really great as well. I don't know why I keep writing that for every person since everyone is great ha. She lives in Britain obviously.
3. Robby and Zara. Robby is 23 and Zara is 22. They have been dating for a year and a half. Zara thinks she will get a job in environmental sustainability. Robby got his undergrad degree in law and went back for a masters in business. I thought they were leaving us but they're going all the way through to Bkk with us and I'm really glad because they're really fun as well. (I new new adjectives I think). They live in Belfast Ireland.

I don't know too much about the 3 new people yet so ill have to let you know about them later. Although I've already told you about Melissa.