Hanoi
il 24-25 novembre
A Welcome Dinner last night and the camaraderie began as we all look forward to exploring Vietnam and Cambodia together. It rained today and we stood in line outside Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum wearing plastic ponchos and getting moderately wet. No pictures were allowed inside and walking past his tomb was eerie. Four guards stood at attention and looking at the body of someone who was the “enemy” for many years quickly brought back the past. A few of us visited Hoa Lo Prison later in the day (“Hanoi Hilton”) and it was sobering, to say the least. Built by the French colonialists in 1896 and holding thousands of Vietnamese revolutionaries through the years, the conditions were absolutely abysmal and I could understand “Uncle Ho’s” rise to power as an inspirational leader fighting for independence. On the other side of the spectrum, however, and also very disturbing for a different reason, were the pictures of American POW’s cleanly dressed and at play at this very same prison with the captions under the photos detailing the excellent treatment of these men, coupled with lots of anti-American propaganda. We know from Americans who survived incarceration there that this was clearly not the case.
Turtle Tower
A radiant bride and groom
Street scenes
Hanoi Opera House
A rainy day through the bus window
Business continues
Mausoleum in the rain
Temple of Literature - Home of the Confucian Imperial Academy
(The university for the country's elite from 1076-1779)
Getting ready for graduation
Prison cell at Hoa Lo Prison (most did not have windows)
Air raid shelter at the Metropole Hotel Hanoi - used during the Vietnam War
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