Vietnam, land of industrious people, motor bikes, imprints of the US war and rich history

Vietnam has had its share of "occupiers". In the 9th century it was part of China. Then, as in Laos, during the 18th century the French colonized the country until 1941. In 1945 it became a new republic and by 1954, both north and south Vietnam were united.
With 90 million people and 34 languages spoken, there is diversity yet the people seem to be united in their patriotism for The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. They are the world's biggest exporter of rice. Cannon and Samsung have the largest factories in the world here and business seems to be booming.

Hanoi, an old city with a large lake, old quarter, small streets and a mass of motor cycles that stop for no one. 

The Lake in Hanoi above and eating on the sidewalk below on tiny chairs.

 Most houses are very narrow and only windows on the front and back of the structure. The reason, you pay taxes by the width of your house. No need to put windows on the side as someone will build adjacent to your wall.

You can wait to get your sewing repairs on the street.

Seriously, the constant motor bike traffic looks like the start of a World Cup Bike Race with 10,000 bikers all bunched up together. riding through traffic lights, 24 hours a day! 

I thought the motor cycle attire was for pollution but no, it is to keep the sun away from their skin.

The sidewalk is first and foremost to park your motorbike and then pedestrians try to find space to walk.

The motorbike serves as a chair or bed as well.

Two from our group trying to cross the street!

This man is burning paper US dollars on the street. The burning of paper money is done to honor the dead.

5 types of spring rolls.

A visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is up for debate whether the body lying in state is wax or preserved but the Vietnamese will pay their respects frequently. You wait in long lines and when you enter the hall, you don't smile and your arms need to be at your sides. There are plenty of soldiers to make sure you obey the rules.

This was the car that Russia gave Ho Chi Minh. He used it maybe once. I grew to deeply respect this man. He was wise, forward thinking and lived a very simple life, dedicated to strengthening his country.

School kids on a class trip to see the Mausoleum.

Temple of Literature, built by the Chinese in the 11th century

Above is a shrine to Buddha given by a professor with his dissertation on the table. Below is an ancient student workbook and the red marks showing errors. 

This is the Buddha that one prays to if you want luck in passing an exam. Mothers will come frequently to ask for blessings for their child to do well in their courses. 

So we saw all of these "graduates" with various gowns, looking like it was graduation day. No. When asked, they said they hoped to graduate in 6 months or a year but this was a day to take photos and begin to celebrate!

Hanoi Hilton

This was the prison where many US soldiers were kept. John McCain being one of them. This shrine is to offer healing and peace. Below is a prisoner of war who then became the first US Ambassador to Vietnam.

This poster says, Nixon, you have blood on your hands.

An artisan who suffers from Agent Orange doing needle craft at a center for those affected by the chemicals.

This was a clever water puppet theater and below the very talented handlers of the puppets.

We witnesses a pearl operation. The oyster is delicately opened and a tiny marble like thing is inserted. The oysters are put on these racks and put in the sea for months and years. They are then opened up, pearls removed and their life is done.

Halong Bay, one of the 7 wonders of the world!

Our junk

Mini mart on a boat.

The captain of our junk was very talented in his cooking and the decorations to adorn the dishes.

Huge soccer field size cave on Halong Bay

DMZ
Our guides were saying that the Vietnam War should never have been. They found it crazy that on one hand there were US soldiers fighting and killing their people and yet they turned on the TV and saw thousands of people in American and around Europe, protesting this war and calling for the US to bring their troops home. 

Hue, the old capital of Vietnam

Modern bridge to look like a dragon.

This is part of the old palace and below the destruction by US troops during the war.

This is our wonderful guide with us for the entire trip. Da was kind, knowledgeable and competent. 

Motor bike trip through the narrow streets of Hue. 12 motor bikes, 12 crazy drivers and we women hanging on as city and country scenes raced by.

This was a stop on our motor bike trip. It was an American bunker perched high on a hill with a good lookout up and down the water. Such purposeless destruction of lives during the Vietnam War based in this serene landscape.

Hoi An, City of Lanterns (and tailors)

These tailors will make any type of clothes you want in 5 hours!

Hoi An market

Gigantic cinnamon sticks.

snails, crabs and periwinkles. 

Orchids seem to be as plentiful as weeds in our country.

 Below, my classy bedroom in one of our hotels.

Riding the water buffalo on land and through the water.

Bike path.

And you thought there were just egg noodles? Below are the students teaching us a cooking class.

Ever seen a water coconut?

A very common expression is "same same". You see it on tourist tee shirts. This store did one better.

This is a basket boat, used by the fisherman. 

Getting it up on shore is quite the exercise if done alone.

Often a family will buy a coffin and maybe have it in the house for 30 years until they die. It shows some status. When a grandparent or parent dies, one is not supposed to go to a big party, get married or build a house for 2 YEARS!

Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon)

Ho Chi Minh and Parliament. The architecture is from the French colonial time.

Post Office

City Hall

This is the Reunification Palace. It is the spot where the Viet Cong broke through these gates to win the war and establish the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

With most of city destroyed after the war, this new city of 8 million people is very modern and cosmopolitan. 

Cu Chi Tunnels - a testament to the ingenuity of the Viet Cong soldiers who had little resources and were fighting to keep their country on their own terms.

With this small basket and digger, over 8 years the soldiers, working at night, would dig tunnels. Eventually the tunnels stretched 250 kilometers and were 3 levels underground, down 30 meters.

Entrance to the tunnels was very small (as is their physique). They could pop up and down and to the American soldiers it looked like they were ghosts. The entrances were carefully concealed.

Bamboo traps being built by women and men.

This is an example if using any war items that had been discarded during the war. From a US tire, they made sandals for the Viet Cong soldiers, but made them backwards so from the imprint when you walked forward  looked like you were walking the other direction. In addition the straps flap on the underside gave grip when the rains came and clay soil was shear mud. 

This was a complicated system to conceal any smoke or odors from the cooking under the tunnels. 

As our trip came to an end, we sang a song to our wonderful guide, Da and knew we had made new friends.

Finally, people shots of the Vietnamese who demonstrated to us the act of moving beyond ill feeling of the Vietnam War, closing that door and living in the present.