Saturday, May 12, 2007

First day in Hanoi







I arrived a day or two ahead of the rest of the Rotary Club Hanoi group, so I spent my first day in Hanoi exploring. There's a huge market just next to my hotel. So that, of course, was my first destination. Most stalls sold food -- beautiful produce, noodles, and meat, including many stall selling whole roasted dogs. That admittedly was a jarring sight.

My hotel is near Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the three lakes within Hanoi's borders. So I walked to the lake, which seems to be a particularly popular destination for couples. A storm blew up suddenly during my wandering -- very heavy rain and high winds that blew branches off the trees that surround the lake. I didn't have rain gear with me, but not to worry -- within just seconds of the first raindrops, street vendors pulled out their supplies of plastic raincoats for sale. I purchased one -- essentially a garbage bag with arms -- for about 30 cents.


I spent the afternoon at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology -- a great destination. It is devoted to the history and culture of Vietnam's many ethnic groups. An outdoor exhibit (akin to Old World Wisconsin) contains 13 buildings that have been taken from various settlements around Vietnam and reconstructed at the site by residents of the village from which it came, using traditional building methods and tools. There is a photographic record of each project, and written explanation in Vietnamese, French and English about the life of the ethic group represented by the house. Volunteer guides, mostly young women who are studying English at the university and want to practice, are generous with additional information.
Exhibits continue inside the museum. My favorite was a multi-room display about life in Hanoi from 1975 to 1986, a period of extreme rationing of food and other necessities of daily life. Ration coupons were distributed on the basis of rank; each family fell into one of 14 categories, and the differences in allotments were stark. The exhibit contained interviews with many Hanoi residents recalling their struggles to get enough food to eat and clothes to wear, and the ingenious schemes on which they embarked to make extra money to allow black market purchases. People depended on having friends or family members who worked or studied abroad, because they could bring back goods that weren't available in Vietnam (like a TV set or fan). One man recalled how he used to dream about having a fan. Another woman said that, "If you went to the Soviet Union and didn't bring back a TV, that means you never went to the Soviet Union."
Time to head for bed; I've signed onto a small group tour tomorrow, and I've got an early hotel pickup.



1 comment:

Jennifer Brown said...

Hi Martha, I'm so glad you're doing this! The photos are beautiful. I was just wondering whether you'd left yet, and now I have the answer. Thank you so much for the package you sent us all for Mother's Day - how you manage to do all these things is quite beyond me.
Much love and enjoy your trip - and hope you packed some antibiotics and never need them!
Love,
Jenni, Noelle & Ella