Anyway, I was soon distracted by the busy day we had ahead of us going to visit The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Museum, Presidential Palace, One Pilllar Pagoda, Hanoi Hilton (a prison!) and Temple of Literature, whilst avoiding the onslaught of motorbikes and bicycles every time we crossed a road! (I think it would probably be easier to swim thorough an ocean full of sharks!!)
First stop; The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum ... Where "Uncle Ho" - as he like to be referred to by his adoring people - has been Lying in State since his death in September 1969!!
His granite mausoleum was inspired by that of Lenin's in Moscow, despite the fact that he requested to be cremated after his death. State Officials decided to embalm his body and have it on display for all to come and pay their respects forever more!
There are strict rules when going to visit 'Uncle Ho'! We joined the end of the long line of visitors and were told to stand two by two and NO talking! It felt like I was going on a school outing. Then slowly we made our way inside, past the various uniformed guards, with their stern faces and clean white uniforms. They were so still that they looked as if they could have been embalmed too, that was until one hissed "shhhh" at Karen who was whispering to her neighbour and another tapped me on the shoulder and showed me that my arms had to be straight down by my side - I had dared to walk in with mine crossed!
We walked past the dead body, lying in a glass case and lit from above; dressed in simple clothes, his hair neatly combed, nails manicured and guarded by four bayoneted Military Honoured Guards. It was quite eerie, all were silent and for some strange reason I kept expecting him to suddenly sit up, start dancing and singing " Putting On The Ritz"?! (I think I may have seen Mel Brooke's 'Young Frankenstein' a few times too many?!)
Apparently once a year Ho Chi Minh's body is flown over to Russia to be cleaned and tidied up! One may wonder why all that expense to send it to Russia, why not save the money and do it at home, where he can be attended to by his own people ... Don't you just love conspiracy theories?!
Second stop; Ho Chi Minh Museum ... It does everything that it says on the tin! A museum to reflect the life of the big man himself and his struggle to lead the revolution in Vietnam.
The building was filled with interesting facts and displays, which would probably make more sense to those who have studied the History of Vietnam and therefore have more back ground knowledge, particularly those that have studied it all over here?
Stop three; the Presidential Palace ... Originally built by the French Colonialists, Ho Chi Minh refused to live in the main building, though still receiving state guests there. He had too many memories of French overlordship. And so he chose to stay in the palace electrician's former quarters behind the building, where he lived from 1954 to 1958, until finally having a traditional Vietnamese stilt house which allegedly reminded him of the houses he used to hide out in from the French during the revolution.
Fourth stop; (are you tired yet, cause I was knackered by this point!) the One Pillar Pagoda - one of two Iconic temples in Vietnam. Built by the Emperor Ly Thai Thong, in 1049, in the shape of a Lotus Blossom and stood in the middle of a lotus pond. You see the Emperor had no children and one night he had a dream that he was visited by a Buddhist enlightened being, sat on a lotus flower, who handed him a baby boy.
A short while later Ly married a peasant girl who bore him a son.
Fifth stop was the infamous Hao Lo Prison aka - The Hanoi Hilton. Originally built by French colonialists to house (torture) Vietnamese political prisoners, then later POWs from the Vietnam War. As we walked around this large complex, we were all quite shocked and appalled at the pictures and information given about the torture and executions of all the Vietnamese prisoners. Many of them were women. The guillotine took pride of place in the main hall, next to which was a photograph of three executed Vietnamese women's heads in baskets! However, once the French were ousted and the Vietnamese took control, the accommodation was made more 'comfortable' for the American POWs caught during The Vietnamese War and there was no more mention of torture or executions being performed(!?)
And finally after a lunch of energising noodles we went to visit The Temple of Literature - Vietnams first National University, dedicated to students of Confucius.
The temple layout is similar to that of the temple at Qufu, Shandong, Confuscius' birthplace. Covering 54000 square metres; the Literature lake, Giam park and the interior courtyards - surrounded by a brick wall. Four pillars are stood at the front gate, on either side stand two commanding horsemen. The gate then opens onto three pathways travelling through the complex: The centre path was reserved for the monarch, the left for the administrative Mandarins and the right for military Mandarins. The interior of the site is divided into five courtyards. It kind of makes Middlesex University where I studied, seem like a little shack!
Having practically worn my feet to the bone with all that walking. We rushed back to our hotel, again avoiding all the charging motorbikes and cars, to get ready for our thirteen hour over night train ride to Hue (pronounced Huay) ... at least we were booked into first class ...
FIRST CLASS?!?! I hate to think what third class was like?
We had to stock up on snacks before hand as Sam had advised us strongly against eating any train food - apparently it's worse than that in the UK! And so I climbed on board with my bulging back pack strapped to my back, my day pack filled with overnight necessities including the Tibetan blanket I had bought in India strapped to my front - Sam had warned us that the sheets and pillows were probably not the cleanest to be found - and a carrier bag filled with crisps, chocolates and biscuits to accompany my Vietnamese style falafel sandwich that I had bought earlier.
The cabins slept four people and I shared mine with Nicola, Jamilla, Caroline and a cockroach called 'Stupid Bastard sat behind me at the water puppet show' or 'a*%e hole' for short!
And so, it was finally goodbye to Hanoi ... Not sure I would rush back there again ... The rain was starting as the train set off down South, hopefully to a bit of sunshine and friendlier people - but then again, this wasn't Laos ....
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