Odd that I am getting my regular emails from the high school, the hockey club, chamber orchestra changing their rehearsal times. I guess I really can be anywhere in the world and still conduct business, or sign-up for teacher appreciation dinner, or get a joke email from my mother.
However, I haven’t been able to make many connections with my family. I think part of it is that we used to have schedules that gently collided and now they are totally out of sync. The times I can easily get them are around 6-7:30 at night. They could get the calls just before they left for school or work. (Ethan is already at school so that won’t work). The other time is between 6-8 in the morning, and that isn’t working either. My frustration is the limited contact I have had with my family. My joy is in discovery and becoming a competent international traveller.
The book Hanoi & Halong Bay Enounter is an excellent guide to Hanoi. It is very small and comes with a discreet map. The author Tom Downs has a wry sense of humor and an updated understanding about his hometown. It was invaluable as a guide and source of translated information.
Today we toured Hanoi with a group yesterday which is the fastest and cheapest way to do it. While these tours can be long, you are able to transverse the city and get in and out of the attractions without having to continuously hail a ride. The total cost, and the amount of time spent on the tour makes this an efficient and effective way to catch the sights. We went to see Ho Chi Minh in repose which was an eye opening trip back in time to what communism might have felt like even Fifteen years ago. We arrived and waited in line and were continuously repositioned so that we would be two by two. We entered and exited the screening area which was similar to that used in airports. The standing in lines got more rigid after that as we just about marched into the mausoleum. The guards in white uniforms were tasked with keeping us erect, silent and respectful. My hands were at my back and I had to put them to my side. Once in the mausoleum, even though there was signage everywhere, I was completely unprepared to actually see Mr. Ho Chi Minh lying in an open casket surrounded by four guards. We walked around the perimeter of the room under the watchful and continuous gaze of the armed guards, and we watched the changing of the guard. Like Buckingham Palace, the changing of the guards is one of those must see events. The men changed positions with amazing precision and extraordinary peripheral vision.
I go into a description of this mausoleum at length because it is the crown jewel of the communist party here in Viet Nam, and sets the tone for what I thought I would see here. However, I am wrong and confused. It’s hard for an American to fully understand today’s Viet Nam communist party, and I believe I will be discovering that it is hard for others as well. (P.S. Notice we are completely bundled up for this trip to Hanoi, although I hear its -23 back home so I won't be getting much sympathy!
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