Our last day in Viet Nam and we packed In a lot of fun. Our hotel arranged a student guide for the morning. Student guides are English students at the university who want to practice English, so they provide free guide services. Our guide was very fluent and quite charming. We visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum and it was really interesting. Uncle Ho is pretty much regarded as the George Washington of Vietnam. In many ways it is true because his mission was to gain independence and unification of the country. One thousand years under the Chinese, 100 under the French, and then the "American" War. Next we visited the Museum of Literature and the first university in Vietnam (founded in 1075). Traditionally the students believe that if they pray to Confucius they will do well in exams.( Our student didn't think so, but her mother asks her to pray anyways- mothers! They never change.)
Our student had to leave us to go to class, so she wrote down the name of a locals' fish restaurant where we had a fabulous meal. We didn't have to read the menu because they only make one dish. It was delicious and we were the only westerners there.
We went to the museum of ethnology which is in the suburbs. It took us 3 different cabs, a group of giggly school girls and a nice man on the street to finally find our way there, but it was worth it. The museum has authentic houses from about 7 of the ethnic minorities represented in Vietnam as well as an indoor museum. The ethnic homes were disassembled and reconstructed on site by the people themselves. Some photos show two of the homes, an iron forge and two tombs. Note that one of the tombs is surrounded by symbols of fertility( pregnant ladies) and fertility ( you figure it out).
Off to Bangkok and Greg and Bonnye tomorrow .
Well. I guess fertility is basically assured!!
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