Sunday, March 9, 2014
We arrived in Hanoi to overcast skies and cold damp . Everyone’s
first question was where is the heat? The weather was a balmy 55 degrees and
with the added moisture, it was chilly. I had only packed one pair of jeans and
quickly decided they could be wore again for our day in Hanoi. After navigating
the arrival terminal, we proceeded to immigration. We had filled out visa
applications before our trip and presented them to the tour group director. He
carried our documents over to immigration and then we were motioned to a tall
set of counters. I presented my passport to the official and the check in desk
was so tall the only part of me the official could see were my eyes and top of
my head. He gave me a quick glance and stamped my passport. I think he thought
he had allowed midgets into Vietnam but upon careful observation, I seem to be
the average height. I came to this conclusion after observing the Vietnamese
women surrounding me in the baggage claim area. I have never been in an area
that I could look most of the population eye to eye besides that of a preschool
in the States. Once we collected our baggage, we headed to the bus and our
guide Bac, introduced us on how to cross the street once we arrived in Hanoi.
How do you describe Hanoi? One word: Crazy!!
Crossing the street in Hanoi is a challenge and a leap of
faith all at once. You start walking and then keep walking while traffic
adjusts to your speed and direction of travel. You just have to go for it and
see what happens. I have heard it is worse in Siagon but we won’t get to
experience this area of Vietnam. After cruising around the city in our motor
coach, we stopped at the Hanoi Museum. It is a museum designed to enlighten
visitors about the victory and the struggle the Vietnamese faced in throwing
off French Colonialism and their final war with America. It has several
American implements of war that were taken when South Vietnam fell to North
Vietnamese forces in 1975. I enjoyed UH-1 Huey helicopter, tanks, M-113 APC, a Chinook
helicopter, two prop driven airplanes that I need to identify and multiple artillery
pieces. It was strange to see another country’s version of a war I have studied
from the American perspective. I have recently begun reading Vietnamese
accounts of the war but I admit, I am bias to the American cause and tactics.
There were multiple misspellings of American military pieces and the Vietnamese
perspective was interesting but completely bias to that of the communist ideology.
Hanoi is bathed in this ideology and the people are
constantly exposed to propaganda posters and billboards. This propaganda was evident
at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton Prison” museum. It has a fancy French name for
prison but it escapes me as I type this late in the evening after spending all
day hiking in and around the city. Our guide told us torture was used by the
French on the Vietnamese freedom fighters, so when the Vietnamese used torture
on the prisoners from the American War, it wasn’t bad torture but it was ok to
do these horrible things to other human beings. No matter how you present the
infamous Hanoi Hilton Prison, it was a dreadful place and it gave you the
creeps walking through it. I felt as if the ghosts of all those people were
watching and asking are you here to hurt me?
I went through the tour quickly and exited the gift shop
without even looking at the available souvenirs. I wanted to get on the bus as
fast as I could and leave this place of horror. How John McCain and the other survivors
of is dreadful place survived, I can only say their resolute determination carried
them through these horrible halls of terror.
Even though Hanoi had places of skewed history and torture
it also had amazing shopping deals if you know how to bargain. If you have the
guts to go head to head with the business women of Vietnam, who do not take no
for an answer, more power to you! I picked up a new North Face backpack for $15
bucks off the street after a somewhat heated battle of wills between my wallet
and one determined lady. When I got back to the hotel, I looked up this type of
backpack and it was near $100 bucks online. It has been a life saver on our
field excursions as support and portability are key to our trip along with good
food.
For dinner we left the Gondola Hotel and began our journey
to the restaurant and was not disappointed as dinner was truly good. Our
adventure back to the hotel was journey of skirting sidewalks, vendors, people
squatting to eat, play, cards, drinking, burning their trash on the street, cooking
in a pot, etc. The Vietnamese cook and eat on the street, literally, using tables
and chairs for toddlers. They squat everywhere and are constantly watching
Americans stare at them as potential ATM machines. Everyone will approach you
and ask for money. Don’t make eye contact or you are gonna be offered a
services, products, items, etc and they want the almighty dollar or Vietnamese
dong.
Trust me, we have had a lot of fun trying to figure out the
exchange rate of the dong and saying you have a pocket full of dong cracks me
up every time. We are on the move almost every day during this trip and will
visit no less than 10-15 large cities, so stay tuned to our adventure in
Vietnam as I post pictures and other items. Tomorrow we south fly to Quang Ngai and begin working our way back north.
Check out the places we travel at www.maps3.murfreesborotn.gov/Vietnam
No comments:
Post a Comment