Hanoi

We went on a luxury bus to the Ho Chi Minh complex.  Lots of Vietnamese visiting and seemed to be great reverence for him to this day.  His body lies in a glass sarcophagus and the body-he died in 1969! -Goes to Russia for two months for his embalmed body for "maintenance".   We were admonished not to talk, or put our hands in our pockets.  Ho's deeds and accomplishments are emphasized in their schools.  We saw a humble stilt house has been preserved just as he left it and the bomb shelter where he had gone during US bombing.  

After that the group was taken to the Temple of Literature.  Well preserved example of traditional Vietnamese architecture.  The temple honors the principles of Confucianism.  Students visit to celebrate educational achievements.  

We went to lunch in a very lovely old building with very pretty old deco lighting and antique French touches.  

The afternoon tour took us to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.  Tribal art, clothing and artifacts were displayed from the Vietmese minorities communities and traditional village homes from various tribes.  A beautiful craft shop featured crafts from ethnic communities.

The last stop of the day was the Hanoi Hilton, only a small portion of which is still standing.  The photographs show content looking American pilots playing basketball and volleyball, eating well and celebrating Christmas while the people of Hanoi were suffering bombing and the horrors of war.  Not exactly a fair account as we know stories of torture and depravation that John McCain and others suffered.   Certainly the "American War" destroyed many military targets in Hanoi, and civilians were killed as well, but the story told here bears little connection to the reality.  Even our guide could not keep a straight face as he related the party line to us.