March 20, 2012

Our trip to Hanoi was to attend the 4th Mid-Year Enrichment Conference for U.S. Scholars and Students in Southeast Asia. We met attendees from Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. I'm used to going to conferences with Ron, and they are always Military, War, or International Relations related. But these scholars represented disciplines from Science, Business, Arts, Technology, and Social Sciences. Over the 2 days we were there, we heard lectures about so many diverse subjects such as: Amazonian and Malaysian Practices of Arboriculture; Vietnamese Foreign Brides in Mekong Delta; K-12 Education in Vietnam; Assessment of Children Exposed to Sex Trafficking in Cambodia; and even one on Sustainable Lobster Aquaculture in Vietnam. 

Fulbright Scholars and Students

Ron's lecture was entitled "Teaching the War in Vietnam...In Vietnam." He did a great job and included PowerPoint slides about the war. The conclusion of his talk was about how when Vietnam students are asked what they think about when they think about the U.S.A. they say Hollywood, Rock-in-Roll, Hip Hop; but when American students are asked what they think about when they think about Vietnam, they say WAR! Hopefully, over time, that will change as more and more people visit this country and discover how friendly it is and how the people love America.

The receptions, breakfasts, and luncheons were all spectacular spreads of food. Consequently, Ron and I found the work-out room at our hotel - the Hanoi Hilton - and ran on the treadmill every day! 

Friday was the last day of lectures, and there was a reception at the Vietnam History Museum and the food and drinks were served in a courtyard outside the museum. There was traditional Vietnam music being played by a "band" and even though it was a misty evening, we had a good time. In fact, the weather was cloudy and misty for the entire weekend. The people who live there said the sun has shone maybe 4 days since they all arrived in January! During the day we walked down to the Hoa Lo Prison Museum. During the war, US POWs nicknamed it the "Hanoi Hilton" and ironically that's the hotel where we're staying this weekend! Those incarcerated at the prison included Senator John McCain and Pete Peterson, who later became the first US Ambassador to a unified Vietnam in 1995. This prison was actually built in 1896. There were gruesome exhibits in dark chambers including a guillotine that was used to behead Vietnamese revolutionaries during the colonial period.

Saturday, we toured Hanoi's Women's Museum. It's relatively new with some powerful tributes to women soldiers of the revolution and great exhibits from the international women's movement protesting against the American War. 

These women had more than one child killed in the war.

Sunday we walked down to pay our respects to Uncle Ho (that's Ho Chi Minh). He's laid out in a huge Mausoleum and the line to get in stretched for about a mile! I had to check my camera, and there were no hats allowed, only long pants, no talking, hands at your sides, double file lines, and absolutely no photography inside. Outside it was really hot - inside it was freezing! He's laying in a glass sarcophagus, and there are armed guards dressed in white military uniforms everywhere. The crowd is very respectful. 

The museum was closed by the time we saw his body, (it closes from 11:30 - 2:00) so we walked down to the Temple of Literature founded in1070 and dedicated to Confucius and honors Vietnam's finest scholars. It has beautiful well kept landscapes and courtyards and was a welcome retreat from the busy Hanoi streets.

 Then we walked back to the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is a huge concrete building dedicated to the life of Ho Chi Minh. There are some fascinating photos and mementos of his life.

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Maxine & Uncle Ho

Behind the museum was Ho Chi Minh's house where he lived on and off from 1958 to 1969. It's in a well-tended garden next to a carp-filled pond. It's not really known how much time he actually spent here because it would have been a target for US bombers had they known where he was.

Ron and our guide who was practicing her English.

I liked Hanoi and want to go back someday to see the Museum of Ethnology, the Museum of Vietnamese revolution and shop in the Old Quarter.