Adventurers Are Us
Transportation began at 6:00 a.m. in rickshaws or cyclos. The city was awakening with the parks already filled with people exercising, dancing, aerobic dancing and playing badminton. This group was playing badminton with their feet.
Locals in the park invited us to dance with them and the sight of tens of thousands of people walking, jogging, exercising and riding bicycles just after sunrise surprised us. There are local food, produce and other vendors everywhere,
Typical is this scene of local residents eating at low lying plastic tables and chairs on the sidewalk.
At another stop, we drank a flavorful cup of egg coffee.
After a brief respite at the hotel, we boarded our bus to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum where the former president's embalmed body has been displayed for more than fifty years. "Uncle Ho", as he is affectionately called by the Communist citizens. Our guide told us, "We are a communist country and as you can see, everybody is happy". No unhappy people were revealed to us- most are likely confined in some way. Vietnam is a Communist country with a capitalist economy. We next visited Hao Lo Prison
During our walking tour in the afternoon, we again stopped for coffee. Below are more photos as we soaked in the culture. 
(Hanoi Hilton) where American prisoners were tortured and kept in horrific squalor. However, the authoritative government has changed the narrative to portray how well American soldiers were treated. Photographs of American soldiers enjoying fine meals, drinking wine and even decorating a Christmas tree hang on the prison walls. Does this remind you of anyone currently in the U.S. constantly lying and changing the facts of history?
More time to relax at our hotel in the afternoon was necessary for our next adventure.
Ruth Ann with her driver, Mia, ready for our four hour nighttime Vespa tour of Old Hanoi. What a wild ride! There are tens of thousands of motor bikes with very few traffic lights and stop signs. Drivers maneuver their way through intersections and u-turns by crowding into a who got there first kind of common law way. Miraculously, we saw no crashes and no clashes. The most frequently replaced item on their motorbike is the horn. At one stop, I thanked Mia for taking good care of Ruth Ann. Mia responded with, "Is this your girl?". I said, "Yea, she's my girl" I fell in love with my girl all over again seeing her enthralled with our exhilarating joyride. At another stop, Ruth Ann declared, "My mother would not approve of this".
Train Street could be our most unusual experience ever. As we rode the train through Thailand and passed through small communities and villages, as in Viet Nam, there were often shacks next to the railroad tracks occupied by people who could afford nothing better. Hanoi turned this situation into a tourist attraction whereby tourists and locals who are either brave enough or stupid enough, sit on either side of the tracks within inches of the passenger train as it zooms by on the tracks. Shops serve food and beverages while the crowd socializes on the iron rails waiting for the next scheduled train. When we sat down, we were told to move our knees away from the tracks- good advice. I wish I could post my video to this site. 
Later, we feasted upon more authentic Vietnamese dishes outside at this local establishment.
Those were the highlights. Whew! What a day!
Kyle David Watts sings in It's a Miracle;
All that I know is nothing's as good as this feeling
For the warmth of your love gives me a home
Tomorrow this day will be gone and so will this feeling
But I will remember this time for the rest of my days
It's a miracle
What a day in deed.... WHAT is egg coffee, I wanted to ask
ReplyDeleteDelicious!
DeleteWow! This was a fun one to read. 😄
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to post this memory.
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