Hi to Uncle Ho

Jean writes: 

That's not an insult to Vietnam's most famous person/politician - Ho Chi Minh is often known affectionately as Uncle Ho.  

I'll start with a mini-quiz, though.

1. To what does the term 'Happy House' refer?
2. What does the saying, "He'll end up on top of the wardrobe!" mean?
3. What is the Hanoi Hilton?
Answers at the end.

Early start, as ever.

The morning was spent at the Ho Chi Minh Quarter.  

First stop was at the Mausoleum where Uncle Ho's embalmed body lies.  There are several rules to be observed:
- no backpacks or large bags
- no cameras
- no water 
- no food
- no hands behind your back
- no hands in pockets
- no talking
- single file as you walk round
There may be more that I've forgotten! 

The Presidential Palace was built for the French Governor-general of Indochina.  Ho Chi Minh refused to live there as he saw it as a symbol of colonialism, and no-one lives there now, although the building is used for diplomatic meetings. 

Ho Chi Minh's presidential house is also in the complex.  It is large, and he wasn't particularly happy about living there so a house on stilts, similar to the one in which he grew up in the north, was built for him close by.  

When he grew old and was unable to manage the climb, another smaller house was built at ground level.

We moved on to Hoa Lo, which originally was a small village inhabited by people who made ceramics.  The French turfed them off the land in 1896 as they wanted to build a prison there.  Hoa Lo means Fire Kiln.  

Many of the inmates were political prisoners, both men and women.  Often they were treated harshly and some of the punishments/methods of torture were barbaric.  

Other prisoners had been sentenced to death - and one of the two guillotines in use was on display.  After one uprising, six women were executed and three of their heads placed in baskets and displayed as a warning to others.  Twentieth century?  It seemed Mediaeval. 

Buddhism had been the main religion in Vietnam but King Ly Nhan Tong wanted something more relevant to himself, and Confucianism fitted the bill as it involved a sense of order and hierarchy. The Temple of Literature was built by him in 1070 and was dedicated to Confucius.  It includes the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university, which was set up to educate the brightest young people in the land, rich or poor.  

The temple itself is beautifully decorated throughout, and impossible to describe accurately in brief.  Apart from the walls, hangings, pillars, gold, bright colours and offerings of fruit and flowers, there were with many statues, carvings and other decorations.  

The crane seems to be a symbol of many virtues/traits, including harmony and freedom.  Here a huge bronze crane is standing on a tortoise, the symbol of longevity.  There are several different legends about the crane and the tortoise, most of them illustrating a moral.   

Dragons are also in evidence at the palace, not least on the roof of one of the pavilions.  There are four sacred animals, according to Vietnamese beliefs, the dragon for power, the unicorn for intellect, the tortoise for longevity and the Phoenix for nobility.

Answers to quiz:
1. Happy House means the toilet.
2. "He'll end up on top of the wardrobe!" means that he'll be dead.  Traditionally the Vietnamese revere the ancestors and have a shrine to them in their houses.  These days, though, with some apartments being very small, people have to place the shrine and offerings on top of the wardrobe - i.e. items relating to the dead.  The reference may therefore be to someone who is driving recklessly!
3. Hanoi Hilton is the Hoa Lo Prison, as described above.

Dave writes:

Give us our sword back

Ran round city centre lake for 20 minutes from 0640. 

Perfect time on a morning, missing the mad and noisy traffic which even on a Sunday remains a phenomenon.

The lake is named after a story involving the fifteenth century Emperor Le Loi, who fought off invaders with a magic sword given him by the deities.

Later while boating on the lake, a golden god popped up and snaffled it back, like they do. 

Le LoI's statue overlooks the lake, known now as the Lake of the Returned Sword, but interestingly there's no longer any boating.

----

Highway Code Hanoi style

As in many Asian capitals where motor bikes and scooters reign supreme crossing the road is a nightmare. 

But with the help of our trusty tour guide we are getting there. 

The secret is stick together, go slowly and don't stop. 

Thus, our bold party of six links arms, agrees the best possible, or least worst time, and then ventures into the fray. 

It works, or has thus far, possibly because bikers and motorists just see us as another item of traffic to negotiate. 

But as with wild bears one should never run. Equally a sudden stop or about-turn is not to be recommended. 

I reckon the best overall advice though is go out early. About 3.0 a.m. should be fine.