Well, it's a toss-up on which city's streets are more interesting. Hanoi's population in 2009 was 6.5 million and we saw most of them on motorcycles today! It's the current capitol of Vietnam & second in size only to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) which is 1090 miles south of Hanoi. Today's temp was only in the mid-50s, almost 40 degrees cooler than Saigon.
We saw Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body & the Ho Chi Minh complex which included the simple house he lived in as president. We saw a complex that paid tribute to Confucianism, literature & education next, followed by a quick trip to the single pillar pagoda (to Buddha), the Hanoi Hilton (held US POWs during Vietnam War). It was a prison built & used by the French when they held Vietnam as a colony. Next we saw a museum on the history of Vietnam and finally took a walk in the Old Quarter.
 |
| Ho Chi Minh's tomb & preserved body |
 |
| Presidential palace - not used by Ho Chi Minh because it was too large & elegant |
 |
| Ho Chi Minh's simple home on stilts |
 |
| One-pillar pagoda |
 |
| Hanoi Hilton from Vietnam War and earlier French prison for political prisoners = Vietnamese working for independence |
 |
| The good, the bad and the ugly |
 |
| Steaming chickens (see next photo) |
 |
| We believe these are small chickens cleaned & filled with seaweed. They are steamed in recycled soda cans then added to soup & (get this) consumed! |
I thought I saw feet sticking out of those cans! Wow! Did you guys try them?
ReplyDelete