A large group of friends and I woke up early and went to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The mausoleum is only open from 8am to 11am, so we got up about 8am and hung around the guest house waiting for everyone to slowly trickle down to the lobby.
We decided to walk which was interesting because we had to walk around a giant military base that sprawled over several city blocks.
To actually get into the Mausoleum was a chore as well because there were several armed guards that would not let us take the most direct route and cut across the courtyard in front, so instead we had to walk a few blocks out of the way and enter the grounds from the opposite side.
No cameras, bags, or anything else of the sort was allowed inside. We passed through metal detectors and a brief pat down.
There was a long line to enter the building with guards standing by physically pushing people if they stopped or stepped out and broke formation. The line moved very quickly and constantly. Entering the mausoleum we were greeted by a gust of cool air rushing outwards that felt great after standing in the heat for about 30min.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
We circled around the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh. Very spooky and surreal. He kind of looked like a small and feable Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. His lower body was covered in a black blanket because, so we've heard, his body is slowly decaying from the feet up.
After seeing his body we took a brief tour of the grounds where he lived in a very simple house on stilts. We also walked by and saw his office, but it was incredibly hot so we didn't linger.
From there we walked back to meet James and Nick at the Kangaroo Cafe. We ate lunch and then James, Andy, Susan, Michele, and I went to the Ho Lan Prison.
The Ho Lan Prison was originally built by the French and used to hold Vietnamese rebels, but during the 1960s it was used to hold American prisoners. The most notably prisoner of Ho Lan was Senator John McCain. We saw his flight suit and pictures of other American pilots that were held with him.
James & Andy in lockdown
I found the prison interesting because it made the French out to be very brutal towards Vietnamese prisoners, but Vietnamese were very considerate towards American prisoners. Possibly propaganda.
Later that night the English Premier League soccer season started, so a majority of our gang (especially Nick) were chomping at the bit to watch the Tottenham/Liverpool game. We went to an Irish pub that televised the game. The game was a draw much to the delight of all the Tottenham fans.
After leaving the pub, James went incognito
James and I left just after halftime to meet the girls of our group and go see a water puppet show. Very entertaining. There was a pool of water instead of a stage with a very ornate Asian house set as the back drop. To the left of the stage were several musicians that played traditional instruments and narrated the puppet show.
Water Puppets
Water puppet holding a bong during the show
We then walked back to the pub to meet all the other guys who were playing pool and watching more soccer. Eventually we left and took taxis and scooters to a river boat that had been converted into a bar called the Titanic. It seemed to be the late night hang out in Hanoi with a very diverse clientele. Russians, Europeans, Americans, and Vietnamese. It was kind of a sleazy place, but we had such a large group it didn't matter.
The Fellowship: One Love
Today I spent most of the day walking around the Old Quarter and shopping for pirated DVDs. I bought a rough copy of Will Ferrell's newest movie Anchorman, another movie called Elephant that's supposed to be paraphrase of the Columbine High School shootings, and a comic book movie called American Splendor. Each DVD cost about $1.
Tonight we are heading south to the city of Hue by night bus. We plan to visit the demilitarized zone that separated north and south Vietnam and take a tour of some of the tunnels used during the war. It should be interesting.
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