Hanoi II - Back in the Capital

After our day at Halong Bay, we had a few more days in Hanoi to hang around the city and get to know the locals. We also toured the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, where we saw his preserved body on display. That was also interesting, but a bit creepy. It must go with being a big communist leader, because apparently Lenin and Stalin are also preserved and on display in the same fashion in Moscow. We also visited the Army Museum, which had a host of exhibits, most of which had to do with fighting in WWII and the wars against the French. There was some American military equipment on display though. Besides dropping into some random places around town, we lastly popped in to see a Vietnamese water puppet show. Accompanied by traditional music, the water puppets were cool to see. They are controlled by sticks, hidden under water, rather than by strings like traditional marionettes, so they appear to be moving a bit on their own. It was really neat to see.

After a wonderful and relaxing few days, we head on to Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. Enjoy the pictures!!

Laura in line to see "Uncle Ho"
Eric in front of Uncle Ho's Masoleum

Laura and Eric in front of the "One Pillar Pagoda"

Go ahead! Take foreigner's luggage!

Eric and a Mig at the Army Museum.

Laura and a bust of Uncle Ho

Eric and some medieval swords

Laura and a large painting of a sea battle

Eric and a watchtower

Laura and some guns

A steel french helmet. The caption said "Evidence of the failure of the French."

We must save Hanoi!!!

Eric and some Cannon

Eric and the watchtower

Laura and a Huey Helicopter

Eric and a crashed US F-111 albatross fighter/bomber

Eric and a US navy plane

Eric and a US Airforce plane

Eric and Tank 843, which was the tank to break down the gates of the presidential palace of South Vietnam.
Carrying a bazooka on a bike cant be safe.

Go Air Force!

Go Army!

A woman carrying baskets of goodies.

A tank we saw on the way to the airport.

Part of the water puppets show. The YouTube video is below...

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