I Was So Rank I Could Smell Myself

August 21, 2001- Ho Ho Ho

(photos-lining up for school photo at Ho Chi Minh's Tomb &

Paper Street)

We were in a three-block long line for Ho Chi Minh’s Tomb in Hanoi early this morning. Our guide got us a special ticket, which let us cut in about one block from the entrance. Mean looking soldiers in dress whites guarded the area. The scariest one held a purple umbrella to shade himself from the sun. The line moved swiftly and steadily with an air of solemnity.

It’s a pilgrimage each Vietnamese citizen hopes to make. Many travel great distances. School children come as a reward for good work. There were many toddlers and babies quietly waiting, softly talking, or just staring at it all with big eyes. The child in front of us never stopped gaping at us. We’ve noticed how well behaved and happy Vietnamese children seem. Our guide, Sonny, said that Confucius teaches that the most important lesson to learn before you can learn anything else is good behavior. I wonder if it might also be that these children are used to waiting for everything. This is a congested part of the world and people have learned to deal with crowds and delays.

David remarked that South East Asians really know how to celebrate a yahrzeit (remembering the dead). It was an imitation of Lenin’s Tomb in Russia. A waxy looking Uncle Ho was lying in state. He was and is loved by North and South Vietnamese and was revered by workers on both sides even during the war. Sonny spoke fondly of Ho Chi Minh's teachings and desire to live like the people. He didn’t live in a palace but in a simple house I called it Ho’s house; couldn’t resist He was scrupulous about having a clean kitchen and inspected military kitchens to assure his soldiers stayed healthy and well fed.. He said he had two regrets and the people shouldn’t follow him in those ways. He smoked heavily and never married.

Writing History

We had a lovely lunch in another French house. I ate morning glory stems stir-fried in garlic. I ordered them thinking that I’d be served the flower part but got stems that tasted like green beans. David had a delicious chicken curry.

We went to a history museum and learned more than we wanted to about the dynasties. It’s true if you don’t study history, you’ll repeat it. I don’t remember the date, but when China tried to sail up a river, the Vietnamese repulsed the invasion by fixing spikes in the river mud. They lured the Chinese into the river and entire fleet sank. Years later, Mongols tried the same invasion route with the same results. I think we could have learned from this before we got involved in the war here. The Vietnamese are clever and determined. The museum’s history lesson ended in 1945 when they got rid of the Japanese and declared independence from the French who didn’t leave until much later. When I asked about history from 1945 to present he said it was covered at the military museum, which we weren’t seeing.

We asked to see the Hanoi Hilton. Time was short so we skipped seeing another temple. Aw! The entire front section of the Hanoi Hilton is standing. The Hanoi Tower, an office/condo building, replaced the rest. The Hanoi Hilton is as awful as any prison of its kind. Built by the French in the late 1800’s, when American prisoners arrived it still had guillotines in use as well as the cells, dungeons, and means of torture. One room was devoted to some American pilots who were there. McCain was one of them. There was a sign on the wall declaring that Americans were treated well and all were released from the Hanoi Hilton at the end of the war .My skin crawled,but I’m glad we saw it.

Chores Before Pleasure

After a walk down shoe street, tin street., toy street., paper street., silver and luggage streets (you get the idea) in the old quarter, we went to an internet café with such slow computers we just sent email but didn’t read any. David was online for over forty minutes and it only cost fifty cents. We ran out of time, so while David was computing, Sonny and I walked over to pick up the laundry we’d dropped off that morning. Somehow our clothes went into a grungy store and came out clean. We passed a school that was letting out for the day. There was the usual line-up of parents waiting to pick up their kids, but here parents were on motorbikes.

At night we went to a water puppet show. These shows started in the rice fields of Viet Nam. Hanoi is the only place in the world where they’re performed. It took place in an old, but air-conditioned, theater. There was live music and the musicians acted as a Greek chorus in response to the action. There’s what amounts to a small swimming pool on stage. Ten people stand in water behind a bamboo screen and control the puppets, which are manipulated much like the Muppets. I wonder if Jim Henson got his idea here. The action is fast and lively with lots of splashing, leaping dragons, and fireworks. It was a delight and an important part of folk culture

.

We walked across the street and around a lake for dinner. The food was average, but there was a traditional band. The instruments were fascinating. One was a series of bamboo tubes. The player clapped her hands in front of the tubes and forced air through them to make music.

Tomorrow we fly to Hue.

Toby