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Showing posts with label Vietnam - Hanoi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam - Hanoi. Show all posts

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Hanoi, Vietnam - Temple of Literature

I visited the peaceful Temple of Literature, built in 1070.


Temple of Literature HanoiTemple of Literature HanoiTemple of Literature Hanoi
Temple of Literature Hanoi
Temple of Literature Hanoi
Temple of Literature Hanoi
Temple of Literature Hanoi


Temple of Literature Hanoi

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Ho-Chi Minh Museum

Outside the Ho-Chi Minh Museum there were some North Vietnamese war veterans and I shook their hands and congratulated them on all their victories. They were very pleased. I'm surprised at how small the Vietnamese are, even tinier than the Taiwanese, with waists the size of a grasshopper. If you visit the underground tunnels that made up the Ho Chi Minh trails, you'll see what I mean. Only a stick figure could fit in them, hence their making the entrances bigger for tourists from the west.

Ho Chi Minh Museum

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Ho-Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

I went to the Ho-Chi Minh (Bringer of Light) Mausoleum, a pilgrimage for most Vietnamese, akin to the Russians visiting Lenin's tomb, or the Muslim's pilgrimage to the Haj. It was hushed going into the mausoleum with no one uttering a word - no cameras, no pagers, no cell phones, double file, don’t step off the red carpet, no loud voices, no laughing, no stopping, no bare feet, no sleeveless shirts, and no hats. It's a massive granite and marble structure to revere the hero of Vietnam, the liberator from its many invaders. I choked up a bit going in I was so overcome by the reverent and hushed ambiance, with everybody bowing as they shuffled slowly past Ho-Chi Minh's incubator. And I see why there's no stopping, it would have been a one-hundred car pile-up - the place was packed, with a line-up going out the door and down the street. I admired Ho-Chi Minh and the love he had for his people. And what's more, he knew how to fight a war, with help from his General Giap.



Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum