chinaadventure (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chinaadventure) wrote,@ 2006-02-16 19:15:00 |
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Hanoi to Hue, Vietnam - oh choi oy!
After finals ended in January, I took a much-needed vacation and traveled with my mother to Vietnam and Cambodia for winter break. After meeting with the ten other people in our tour group, our adventures began in Hanoi with a tour of the city, which has some of the worst traffic I have ever seen (and this includes Taiwan, Bangkok and Los Angeles). We spent some time the first few days learning to cross the street without being flattened. We also learned some phrases in Vietnamese, including "Oh choi oy!" (Oh my God!) In Hanoi we were also able to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which was impressive and quite well-guarded. Our tour guide Quang told us there that the mausoleum was contrary to Ho Chi Minh's last wishes - he wanted to be cremated and to have his ashes scattered in the rice paddies in both the North and the South. We also visited the Hanoi Hilton, where we could see John McCain's flight suit on display, as well as photographs of American pilots and descriptions of their experiences as prisoners of war. Although there were plenty of descriptions and photographs, stories of the prison with which Americans are more familiar were noticeably absent.
While in Hanoi we also took a day trip to an isolated rural village called Tho Ha. Rice paper production is the major industry in this village, so everywhere we went we could see sheets of rice paper drying on bamboo racks. We were invited into a home and served homemade rice wine while a former North Vietnamese Army soldier entertained us on his musical instruments. Although I couldn't match his skill, I was able to try playing a bamboo flute, probably one of few opportunities I will have to play music with an NVA veteran.
After a few days in Hanoi, we spent one day touring Halong Bay and visiting the caves. The stalactites were stunning and the views of the bay from the boat were very impressive. We then hopped a plane to Hue, home of a famous Buddhist pagoda called Thien Mu. We also visited the Care Orphan institute and spoke English with some of the children there. They were very friendly and had many questions for us, mostly about where we were from and what each of us did for a profession. These are the first phrases that many people learn when they study English so we heard them a lot while we were in Vietnam. We visited the Citadel in Hue, which was where a great deal of fighting occurred during the Tet offensive. The Chinese-style architecture and beautiful carvings were elegant, but the impression was marred by the bullet-holes in the walls.
Although the Tet offensive is long past, for me Hue became a source of new misfortune. While in the city, I learned via email that my classmate Haoyu Wang was killed in a car accident in Tainan on January 17. Although I only knew him a short time, he will be remembered as a lively and sociable student, and he will surely be missed by his many friends.
Photos from Vietnam: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
After finals ended in January, I took a much-needed vacation and traveled with my mother to Vietnam and Cambodia for winter break. After meeting with the ten other people in our tour group, our adventures began in Hanoi with a tour of the city, which has some of the worst traffic I have ever seen (and this includes Taiwan, Bangkok and Los Angeles). We spent some time the first few days learning to cross the street without being flattened. We also learned some phrases in Vietnamese, including "Oh choi oy!" (Oh my God!) In Hanoi we were also able to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which was impressive and quite well-guarded. Our tour guide Quang told us there that the mausoleum was contrary to Ho Chi Minh's last wishes - he wanted to be cremated and to have his ashes scattered in the rice paddies in both the North and the South. We also visited the Hanoi Hilton, where we could see John McCain's flight suit on display, as well as photographs of American pilots and descriptions of their experiences as prisoners of war. Although there were plenty of descriptions and photographs, stories of the prison with which Americans are more familiar were noticeably absent.
While in Hanoi we also took a day trip to an isolated rural village called Tho Ha. Rice paper production is the major industry in this village, so everywhere we went we could see sheets of rice paper drying on bamboo racks. We were invited into a home and served homemade rice wine while a former North Vietnamese Army soldier entertained us on his musical instruments. Although I couldn't match his skill, I was able to try playing a bamboo flute, probably one of few opportunities I will have to play music with an NVA veteran.
After a few days in Hanoi, we spent one day touring Halong Bay and visiting the caves. The stalactites were stunning and the views of the bay from the boat were very impressive. We then hopped a plane to Hue, home of a famous Buddhist pagoda called Thien Mu. We also visited the Care Orphan institute and spoke English with some of the children there. They were very friendly and had many questions for us, mostly about where we were from and what each of us did for a profession. These are the first phrases that many people learn when they study English so we heard them a lot while we were in Vietnam. We visited the Citadel in Hue, which was where a great deal of fighting occurred during the Tet offensive. The Chinese-style architecture and beautiful carvings were elegant, but the impression was marred by the bullet-holes in the walls.
Although the Tet offensive is long past, for me Hue became a source of new misfortune. While in the city, I learned via email that my classmate Haoyu Wang was killed in a car accident in Tainan on January 17. Although I only knew him a short time, he will be remembered as a lively and sociable student, and he will surely be missed by his many friends.
Photos from Vietnam: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
