A Vietnam Airlines stewardess waits by the ramp for her passengers to board. You see women everywhere wearing these conical hats and our first two guides explained to us that although they do provide shade from the sun, the principal reason for wearing them (and facemasks, too, in many cases) is to keep their skin as pale as possible, which is considered to be a desirable feature. Darker skinned people are considered inferior. Awful, but true. Funny how we Westerners go to great lengths to get tanned, and here it's the other way round. Yesterday, we visited a few shops to try and find some make-up remover for Jen, and although we found many different brands of cleansers, every single one carried a label explaining that the product was a whitener as well as a cleanser! Eventually, today, our guide took us to a shop selling Japanese products and Jen was able to buy a tube of cleanser without any whitening agents, but it was horribly expensive.
A few minutes after the photograph above was taken, we were on our way to Hanoi. Our latest guide - a lad named Kinh, pronounced King - met us there and we were immediately driven off to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. I wanted to go in and view the body, but Kinh explained that the mausoleum is only open in the mornings, Monday to Thursday, and by the time we got there it would be too late. The mausoleum was built by the Russians in 1972, three years after Ho Chi Minh died, and they were also responsible for the embalming, which the Vietnamese were unable to do. The building is on one side of a vast square, and the whole thing does have a bit of a Soviet feel about it. It was Ho Chi Minh's wish to be cremated and for his ashes divided into three portions and placed in three different locations - north, central and south Vietnam - which reflected his lifelong desire to see Vietnam as one country free from foreign invaders, but his wishes were not respected.
Leaving the square, we first went to see another old pagoda before being taken to the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam's first university, established in 1070 and only closing its doors in the 1970s. The gardens are very peaceful, away from the noise of the city, and at one point a group of lovely girls appeared from nowhere. Our guide said something to them, and the next minute they were posing happily for photographs with me!
Our next stop was supposed to be a museum, and were offered the choice of the Army Museum, the Art Museum or some other museum, but we told the guide that we preferred to go to our hotel and relax before visiting the water puppet theatre later in the afternoon. Our hotel here is the Sofitel Metropole, which is very French Colonial in appearance and very comfortable. Only last year they rediscovered the bunker in the grounds where guests and staff would shelter when the Americans came bombing, and they are currently refurbishing it so that modern-day guests can visit it. During various bombing raids in 1972 and 1973, both Jane Fonda and Joan Baez took shelter there, and they have the photos to prove it!
Kinh picked us up again at 4pm and we drove over to the old quarter for a walk round. Fascinating, but noisy, FULL of traffic and people and quite difficult to walk around. Crossing the roads is a real challenge, but we are getting the hang of it. You just have to step off the kerb and walk slowly, which gives the traffic a chance to judge your progress and avoid you. Other than that, you just have to hope! This picture gives an idea of what it's like...
The most disconcerting feature is that everybody parks their motor scooters on the pavement, so pedestrians have to walk in the road. We asked Kinh about this, and he just shrugged and said, "Well, this is Vietnam!"
Heving survived the old quarter traffic, we went to watch a water puppet show. This is a form of entertainment which is apparently unique to north Vietnam. The stage is occupied by a large tank of water. Across the back is a screen, behind which the puppeteers stand waist deep in water and manipulate the puppets, which are on the end of wooden poles. Clever articulation of the puppets' limbs and special effects including smoke and fire all add to the spectacle, and a live orchestra on one side of the stage provide the accompaniment.
We left the theatre and wandered around by ourselves for a bit, but couldn't find any likely-looking bars or restaurants, so returned to the hotel for a snack and a night-cap. Can't remember what Kinh has in store for us tomorrow....!
Jenny's bit: Another city, another guide. I'm now remembering fondly Hai's (Saigon) habit of closing his eyes and saying 'I mean' several times before coming up with anything English. Then there was Ahn (Hue) with her 'stant here, tek photo!' but a good heart and a constant desire to give me strepsils whenever I coughed. Now Kinh... Vietnam's answer to the Fonz. I am desperately trying to look knowledgeable when he says 'you unnerstan'? No doubt we will reach an understanding before the end of our time together.. Jx
Bet you wouldn't have stopped to pose with the girls if Arsenal had been on the telly! Had any genuine Vietnamese nosh? Michelle & I used to frequent a Vietnamese restaurant in Victoria in the 1908s (it's still there) but I've no idea how authentic it was.
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