The Museum of Ethnology

This was a nice museum that was focused on the many, many different ethnic minority groups in Vietnam and many of the other countries in SE Asia.

It was set up a bit like Old World Wisconsin. The inside had a section, it seemed, for every ethnic group represented, and the outside had buildings and areas set up like the different villages you would find in the extreme rural areas of SE Asia. The only picture I took of the inside was a picture of the different guitars. Go figure.

The outside was much more interesting. 

It was essentially a massive photo shoot for the women of Vietnam once again. When people claim that the pictures didn’t capture the essence of the event, this is also true. At every turn, there were photo shoots. They were everywhere, but they also quickly moved out of the way if asked. It was quite a phenomenon.

The rest of the place was fascinating. Climbing into the houses on stilts and hoping that my 200-pound frame wouldn’t crash through the bamboo floors was exhilarating. 

Did I mention the handles on the stairs? 

This is a funeral/tomb area celebrating the the cycle of life.

Falling through this floor would be quite the morning wake-up. No fun stair knobs at the top of this one, though. What you don't know is that I had to wait quite a while for the photo shoot to end so that it was a clean picture. 

Thang Long Water Puppet Show

We left here in an Uber (Grab) an hour before the show, and what was a 15-minute ride to the museum turned into an hour-long ride back. We arrived 2 minutes after the start of the show and made it just as the intro music had begun. 

Basically, what happens is that there are about 6 or 7 skits that are performed by wooden puppets in a pool of water. There is a band on the side providing theme music and some vocal actors providing the dialogue. Here is a short example. 

I mean really, it was an hour of our time, two if you account for the travel, but totally worth it. So fun to watch and to see the different instruments being played and well just kind of campy fun. 

The puppet masters taking a bow.

The Food Tour

On the way back to the hotel to get ready for the food tour, we came across a person burning fake money in the street. This was happening all over the city. This is the first chance I had to get a video.

The belief is that the spirit world runs parallel to ours. Burning paper items “sends” them to ancestors or wandering spirits in the afterlife. If ancestors are comfortable and cared for, they look out for the living. If spirits are ignored, they may cause bad luck. 

What gets burned: Fake money (for prosperity), paper clothes, shoes, houses, phones, motorbikes, even paper iPhones and passports. The offerings are often burned outside homes, shops, temples, or on the sidewalk.

The 1st and 15th are thought to be moments when the veil between worlds is thinner. People make offerings to reset luck, ask for smooth business, health, and protection. Businesses are especially serious about this because bad luck = bad cash flow. 

Our food tour was great. We met some other travelers and had some beef noodle soup (not Pho), Bahn MI (a sandwich on a baguette), a spring roll (pictured below, as is our guide), some fish something that was neither of our favorites, some Egg Chocolate (Delicious), and finished up with some ice cream. I was too busy eating and chit chatting to take too many pictures. 

 Museum of Fine Arts

We are considering ourselves pretty fortunate because today was the first day of rain (possibly acid rain) since Hong Kong, which was a mere month ago. (Wow, only a month?? Feels like it has been forever.) We trudged through the rain and very light traffic to the museum. The museum was organized chronologically and was a gem. We thought that it was well thought out, organized (except for where to start), and just really well done. 

Looking at our hotels in Siem Reap. We picked a hotel and went out for our first Korean meal of the trip. This is what travel is all about. We arrived at the table with food on it and later found out that these are the sides for whatever we order. 

I ordered what essentially was a beef short rib soup, and Kerry had a Bibimbap, which luckily Joel walked me through before we left home. 

And then they came out with the egg soufflé, which was also complimentary!

It was tons of food and very nice service. At times we were really fish out of water, which is what travel is all about.  

I woke up this morning to the NFL jingle in my mind. As I write this, the Seahawks are up 3. Another rainy day here, but maybe not all day. 

Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

Well, let’s just say that it wasn’t a pleasant place to stay. It appears that Senator McCain didn’t have a particularly enjoyable time as a prisoner of war. While the exhibits in the prison suggest that the men and women engaged in activities like playing basketball, celebrating Christmas, joking around, having family dinners, and sending and receiving mail from home, that is propaganda and this was a prison and they were prisioners of war. 

It’s a former French colonial prison in Hanoi, built in the late 1800s to lock up Vietnamese political prisoners. 

Later, during the Vietnam War, it was used to hold American POWs. Today it’s a museum: small cells, iron shackles, guillotines, and interestingly, plenty of info about French brutality and resistance. 

Women's Museum

This museum gave a very nice history of the people of Vietnam and their customs. It focuses on women’s lives across Vietnam—family roles, marriage, childbirth, fashion, work, and especially their roles in war and resistance. 

IIt was a pleasant experience because it offered a glimpse into Vietnam’s daily life rather than focusing solely on emperors and generals. 

This perspective prompted me to reconsider my approach to exploring new cities and countries. It wasn’t until now that we discovered a museum like this in Hanoi. 

As we travel into cities and countries, particularly the first city we visit, We’ll make it a point to find a logical list of museums that can guide us through the cultural nuances of the respective countries. 

This approach should help my understanding of the people and their way of life. 

Hoàn Kiếm Lake at night

We found out two things yesterday, one was that the French Quarter is a lot easier to walk around than the Old Quarter. 

Secondly, the streets around the lake are closed off to traffic on the weekends and you are able to promenade around the lake and enjoy the lights and other tourists walking around.

Additionally, I suppose a third thing is that the city appears to be less crowded on weekends. The roads are not as congested, and even the Old Quarter is not as challenging to navigate. 

A bit of foreshadowing 

The Imperial Citadel 

Kerry and I navigated through the smog and traffic, making our way to the Imperial Citadel in Hanoi. This ancient walled palace area served as the residence and workplace of Vietnam’s rulers. 

It’s more than 1,000 years old and used to be where the rulers of Vietnam lived and worked. We walked through large gates and wide open spaces, following stone paths past old ruins with a few renovated areas. When we were there, they were getting ready for Tết, so people were planting lots of flowers and setting up a folk fair. There were booths from all over Vietnam selling local food and products from their home regions.

It’s much quieter than the busy streets outside(more on that later), so it feels like a break from the chaos. A lot of it was under construction for Tết, and just under construction in general. Some areas were blocked off because they’re still doing archaeological digging and working on the site.

There were exhibitions that showed the different dynasties, which were done really well, and then the surprise Vietnam secret bunker where they planned to defeat the Americans. This was a super interesting exhibit which was taken from a different perspective than we know it. It was pretty weird walking through the bunkers that were used during the Vietnam War. 

Back to the Turtles!!

And Back to the Traffic!!

While fun, the traffic poses a constant feeling that you are going to be hit or otherwise injured. This makes walking here very stressful and tiring, once we arrive to the location we are looking for, we are fine. It just makes us very tired by the end of the day, as does the smog. Clouds = Smog 

 Hello Vietnam!!

We are now in Hanoi, and what a city! I am still suffering from my illness, though I thought I was all better in the morning and tried out some Vietnamese coffee, and it put me on my back the rest of the morning. 

We got started slower this morning, but still managed to walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, see some sights and get some more rest. The streets are very chaotic and we have been enjoying the busy vibe and learning to cross the street. The air was rough, though, and a reminder that clean-air standards matter. 

Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the park around it are in the middle of Hanoi. The lake is famous for the legend of a giant turtle that took back a magical sword from an emperor after a war, which is why the lake’s name means “Returned Sword.” The small temple on the island, Ngọc Sơn Temple, is run by local authorities and honors a mix of traditional beliefs and a Vietnamese national hero. It’s not really a place for deep religious practice, it's just a deep lake with a scary turtle. 

Maybe not so scary.

All along the lake for Chinese New Year are women dressed in traditional outfits having their pictures taken. 

We made it all the way around the lake and back to the hotel. 

We took a rest and went out to the train street to sit at a cafe and have a train crush our toes, but we learned that the bridge was out and no train for us. We are here for a while so we will see the train. It was fun to just sit and take in the vibe. 

The Temple Of Literature

The Temple of Literature is one of the few quiet places in Hanoi built almost 1,000 years ago to honor learning. It became Vietnam’s first university, where top students studied to become government officials. Today it’s a calm spot with courtyards, gardens, and stone slabs listing the names of scholars who passed hard exams. and a whole bunch of these girls getting their photos taken. 

The stone turtles carry tablets carved with the names of scholars who passed the royal exams hundreds of years ago. The turtles stand for wisdom and long life, while the inscriptions celebrate learning and hard work. 

The temple follows Confucian ideas, which stress education, respect, and moral behavior as the foundation of a good society.

Of course, Col. Sanders watching over things, wait, is that a hammer and sickle?

So let's take a second and address the girls around the lake. While you didn’t see any in the pictures above, they were all around the Temple of Literature. There are troops of girls with photographers and usually a person with a reflection screen for the perfect light. I understand that it is a recent happening, probably a combination of Instagram, tradition, and influencers. They can hire a photographer for between $40.00 and $80 a day and a make-up artist at 6:00am for the big shoot. I will post a picture later to show the gravity of it. There are so many, one can barely get a picture off or move through an area without getting into someone's picture. In fact, it is many times difficult to move through an area because there are so many pictures being taken.