Friday Dec 26

(Sorry to be delayed in posting … we've had some computer glitches and a very busy schedule!)

We started out this morning at the Museum of Women.  This museum was recently redone and had a nice display of women-themed subject matter.  The most interesting section to me was the part about the women guerrillas from the war.  It was amazing how active the women were in fighting; even some gals as young as 15 and 16 were leading guerilla cells.

Then we visited the "Hanoi Hilton" prison.  This place was interesting mainly as an example of propaganda.  The prison was initially built by the French to imprison the Vietnamese rebels.  When the museum described this part of the history, everything was terrible …. horrible living conditions, meager food, torture, etc.  Then another part of the museum dealt with the period of when the Vietnamese took it over after the French left, when the Vietnamese used the prison to house the downed American pilots (including John McCain).  Now the prison is described as a veritable spa.  The men had plenty of recreation, regular medical attention, good meals, and so on.  Hmmm.  Based on having read a report of someone who had been imprisoned in Vietnam for many years, I can tell you that the version in the museum seems unlikely to me.

We next walked to a street on the map that promised Vietnamese cuisine, but the restaurants were actually few and far between. We settled on one of the only ones, a casual place which could handle our group of 10. It was one of the highlights of the day. We had the hot pot, although we didn't really order it; they just brought food and with hand gestures tried to tell us what to do. It was a big pot of broth on an electric hot plate in the middle of the table, to which you add assorted greens, noodles, and meats. You let it cook there a while, then ladle some out for yourself. We had a blast trying to figure out what everything was, and figuring out how best to cook it.

After lunch, one group went to see the military museum, which unfortunately (as the guide book would have indicated had we read it) was closed on Fridays. The other group headed out to do a little shopping and see some art galleries, and was eventually joined by the first group to so the same. We saw lots of beautiful silks, lacquerware, and embroidery, and wandered into a few contemporary art galleries.

After a short rest we checked out the water puppet show. The puppeteers were behind a bamboo screen and standing in the water, maneuvering very elaborate and beautiful puppets in the lagoon in  front of us. They dove, twirled, spit water, fought, fished, and more. The live music was quite interesting, with some instruments we had never seen before.

Dinner was at a fancy restaurant called Pots and Pans.  It was a lovely place and a classy room, but it is pretty funny to see how they fall just short of a comparable restaurant at home.  For example, they served a crab "amuse bouche" at the beginning of the meal, but neglected to provide utensils, so everybody was struggling to eat it with a dinner fork.  Just as we all finished, they brought out a round of small spoons. 

We're all pretty tired, still recovering from jet lag.

-- Donna