February 17 - Hanoi, Vietnam

Today our A&K tour began. We woke early at 6:00 AM for breakfast on the seventh floor at 7:00 AM. Our group would meet for the first time in a hotel conference room at 8:30 AM. Our group numbered seventeen people – all Americans, including five from the Bay Area. Our resident tour director is named Phan Tai Tho (first name, written last, pronounced “Ta”). He provided a good overview of our tour with population statistics and currency translations. Each person introduced himself before taking short break and then boarding our tour bus. We also met our local guide for Hanoi named Loc.

On the bus, Loc delivered some information about Ho Chi Minh and the Ho Chi Minh Complex, located at Ba Dinh Square, which was our first stop on our tour today. In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh is considered to be a “god.” He died in 1969 and is the only Vietnamese person who was embalmed after death. This was against his wishes, which was to be cremated according to his will. On the way to the complex, we passed Sword Lake (where we had walked yesterday) and a park with a large statue of Lenin. We also learned that Buddhism is the prominent religion in Vietnam and also that the current times are considered to be Vietnam’s “best time,” which is not hard to believe given all of the wars endured by this country in the 20^th century. Loc told us some of Vietnam’s history. The country was a French colony from 1858 until 1954. The French ruled a region called Indochina, which also included Laos and Cambodia. In 1954, the era ended when Ho Chi Minh “evicted” the French.

Arriving at the complex, we departed the bus and passed through security. Immediately we saw the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which was closed on Mondays (otherwise we would have seen long lines of Vietnamese people waiting to enter). We got the impression that visits by foreigners may not have been welcome. On either side of the mausoleum were large signs. On the left, the sign read (in Vietnamese) “Vietnamese Socialist Republic lives forever.” On the right, it read, “Ho Chi Minh lives forever.” The Vietnamese people don’t believe that Ho Chi Minh is dead, just having a “long sleep.” All Vietnamese people will visit the mausoleum at some point, we were told. The actual building was constructed from 1973 until 1975, designed by a Russian architect.

Across a wide expanse/square we could see the impressive People’s Assembly building.

Ho Chi Minh had a very interesting life. His original name was Nguyen Sinh Cung. We would learn that Nguyen is a very common surname in Vietnam; roughly 30% of the people have it as their surname. Ho Chi Minh would come to have 130 different names in his lifetime. The name Ho Chi Minh means “Light of the Revolution.” He is now affectionately known as Bac Ho, which means “Uncle Ho.” Ho traveled the world as a young man (using several names). He left Vietnam in 1911 and visited both the United States and Europe. He lived in France from 1913 until 1930. Many accounts of his early life are inconsistent or unclear, so it is not possible to know every detail. He returned to Vietnam after time spent in the USSR in 1941 to lead the revolution movement against France. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh read Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence.  Then shortly later, the Japanese occupation was defeated by Chinese (communist) and Vietnamese forces. (Important historical note: up to two million Vietnamese people died of starvation during Japan’s occupation.) Our guide told us that Ho Chi Minh’s revolution was successful for three reasons: (1) he promised land for farmers, (2) there was no banning of religion, as in other communist movements, and (3) he promised equal rights for women.

After World War II, however, the strife in Vietnam would continue. The newly liberated French quickly reasserted their control over “Indochina,” and prolonged warfare continued until a peace accord was signed in Geneva in 1954, which also partitioned Vietnam (supposedly temporarily) into North, led by Ho Chi Minh, and South. The agreement also provided that elections would be held at a later date in both North and South Vietnam regarding reunification. The South Vietnamese government, supported by the United States, however, did not allow for such an election to ever occur. Then in 1959, the Vietnam War began. North Vietnam initiated warfare to “liberate” the South. The North Vietnamese people were told by their government that the South Vietnam state was a French puppet government that intended to invade the North. Also, it was told that the North had an obligation to rescue the people of South Vietnam from the horrible consequences of capitalism. Then, in 1965, the war escalated when the first United States troops were sent to Vietnam, and the rest as they say is history.

Ho Chi Minh did not live to see the end of the war, dying on September 2 (Vietnam’s Independence Day), 1969, after a two-week illness. His funeral was large and well attended (even the president of South Vietnam came!). Regarding his personal life, he never married or had any known children, although there were/are rumors. There are two rumors in particular that have gained currency. The first relates to the presence of a French woman who came to attend his funeral and then promptly disappeared. The second related to a nurse with whom he had a relationship during World War II and who had a son that bears a remarkable resemblance to Ho Chi Minh. The government strongly discourages, however, any discussion of Ho Chi Minh that varies from his official biography. At one time, this alleged son was asked by a BBC journalist (live on Vietnam’s national television) if Ho Chi Minh were his father. The answer was, “Like all Vietnamese, I am a child of Ho Chi Minh.” From that day until now, the BBC is banned in Vietnam.

Not too far from the mausoleum is the building known as the presidential palace. It is now painted a yellow color with a red roof, the colors of the Vietnamese flag. It was built by the French in 1901 in a European style for the French governor of Indochina. Officially, Ho Chi Minh never lived in the palace but did use it for official government receptions. When Ho Chi Minh died, the interior of the palace was closed permanently. It sits in a lovely park like setting with many trees that are not native to Hanoi. In the distance, we could see the old French government building.

 

Also in the complex, is the “stilt house,” where it is said Ho Chi Minh actually lived (although our guide pointed out that the house did not have a bathroom or a kitchen, so perhaps it was more of a retreat for Ho Chi Minh rather than an actual home, but that would be contrary to the official propaganda).  The stilt house also afforded the opportunity to look into the large windows and see the inside. It is made of teak wood and is quite lovely. At the stilt house, “Uncle Ho” was known to visit the pond for fishing. He would stand at the yellow step and clap to attract the fish. You can still see fish in the pond today.

We passed a more modern building called the “tile house” where Ho Chi Minh lived prior to the construction of the stilt house, which did have a kitchen. Here we could see into the windows and also the garage with three cars used by Ho Chi Minh. The complex also has a bomb shelter that we passed. As we exited, we asked about the beautiful, large trees covered in orange blossoms that we had seen throughout Hanoi. Our guide googled this and told us they are African tulip trees.

After this we walked another short distance to see the One Pillar Pagoda. This place is considered the birthplace of Vietnamese Buddhism, which is a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The pagoda was built in 1049 AD by a king who had a vision of the pagoda in a dream. In his dream, the king, who was childless, was presented with a son. Later, after having realized his dream of a real son, a monk told him to build the pagoda that he had seen in his dream. The pagoda has a single stone pillar in the middle of a lotus pond with a wooden structure. It is not large. Unfortunately, the current pagoda is a reconstruction, since the French destroyed the original when they departed Hanoi in 1954. Our guide informed us that the word pagoda in Vietnam is a word for a place to worship Buddha. The word temple is used for places that worship any other deity.

We then returned to our bus to visit the Temple of Literature, a real highlight of any visit to Hanoi. Built in 1017, it housed the Imperial Academy, the oldest university in Vietnam. This is a temple dedicated to Confucius and is a series of five courtyards, separated by gates. The construction is based on the principles of feng shui.  An image of the temple is featured on one of Vietnam’s bank notes. At the entrance there is a marker that served as a sign to horsemen that they needed to dismount and walk their horses, not ride, past the entrance to the temple. The first two courtyards are quiet areas with lawns and trees where students could relax. There are three paths that proceed through the courtyards. The middle path is the best and was reserved for monarchs. The left path symbolized “brains.” This would indicate that the temple provided education for the smartest students, regardless of wealth. The right path symbolizes “virtue.” We saw the Great Middle Gate, which had images of carp trying to jump a waterfall. This symbolizes students trying to pass their exams. There are many inscriptions written in Chinese figures, which was what had been used in Vietnam. Today Vietnamese words are written in Roman figures, modified with many markings. The French introduced this Roman style of writing in Vietnam in 1930.

A real highlight of the temple is the stelae with carved inscriptions of the names of the students who passed their exams, about 1,200 names in total. The stelae rise up from giant figures of turtles, a symbol of long life. These stelae and turtle figures are behind fences today because the turtles’ heads have been significantly eroded from people rubbing their heads.

In another courtyard we saw statues of the combination lion/dog creature, which is a sacred animal along with the dragon, the tortoise, and the phoenix. There are also bonsai plantings in pots with small human figures.

Finally, we entered the actual temple where we can visit god “in person.” At the entrance there were two large brass cranes sitting atop tortoises, the symbol of intelligence (crane) atop the symbol for long life. 

Inside is decorated with a lot of the color red, which means happiness. There is an altar with the four disciples of Confucius. There is also a giant golden turtle.

A bomb hit the temple in 1972 since there was a train station targeted nearby. Thankfully, only a side building was demolished. We saw three newer buildings in the back which are used for offices, formerly used for studying.

For lunch, we stopped at a very nice restaurant called La Lua or Wild Rice. Our next activity in the action-packed day was a bicycle/rickshaw ride through Hanoi’s old town. Each of us got our own rickshaw and bike pedaller! Hanoi’s old town dates from 1100 AD, and one million people call it home. Needless to say, it is densely populated. We saw the typical narrow houses (taxes are based on how much street footage each house has). Each street has a name that begins with the word “Hang,” which means “street selling … (fill in the product).” Mainly, though, we experienced the crazy motorbike traffic. My driver immediately asked me to exchange his ten-dollar bill for ten singles. Not sure why, was his ten a counterfeit bill? I declined.

Our final destination was the Hanoi Hilton, which is the nickname American prisoners of war gave the prison where they were incarcerated during the Vietnam War. Its most famous prisoner was, of course, Senator John McCain, captured in 1967. There were two hundred total Americans imprisoned here during the war (1964 to 1973). The prison, whose official name is Hoa Lo Prison, was built by the French in 1886. A sign over the entrance says “Maison Centrale.” Its original capacity was four hundred inmates, but it had as many as three thousand prisoners at one time. Now it is a museum to show the suffering of the Vietnamese imprisoned here by the French, many of whom were communist revolutionaries. Women were held here, also. Interestingly, only one small room in the museum is dedicated to the American prisoners. Some of the group were dismayed at how the exhibit stressed the supposed humanitarian treatment of the Americans by the North Vietnamese, although we know that severe torture and abuse had been administered. Most of the prison, located in central Hanoi, was torn down in the 1990s to accommodate the construction of the Hanoi Tower. We took notice of the broken glass embedded in the tops of the walls, ostensibly to prevent escapes.

Our day ended with a happy hour at the hotel’s seventh floor lounge (which Rob skipped to recover from a bout of vertigo), followed by dinner at the hotel’s Spices Garden restaurant. We started with a mango salad with prawns (similar to Thai papaya salad) followed by a delicious fish steamed in a banana leaf – really good! Then to bed.