Hanoi is hot. We’re talking over 90 degrees, from the moment the sun comes up until it goes down. And so in this capital city, the day starts early. In the days of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese people were required to exercise every day. Though it has been several decades since Uncle Ho passed (more on him later), the tradition persists. Daily, starting at about 6 a.m., the people of Hanoi — from the infants to the elderly — head to the lake for their daily exercise.
On Wednesday, we rose with the best of them and headed to Hoan Kiem Lake for our own morning exercise. We opted to take two laps around the lake and in the process, witnessed group tai chi, individual stretching, ballroom dancing, what appeared to be some kind of Asian jazzercise and several other communal exercise programs.
Many of the women do their exercise — and spend all day — in what look like silk tracksuits. Usually patterned, the matching two piece ensembles definitely make a statement. And after watching the Vietnamese women parade around in theirs, I decided I could really use one of my own. I assumed we would find them in a marketplace later in the day, but just as we were completing our second lap around the lake, we saw an older woman stake out a bench and begin spreading out her wares. The local women swarmed her immediately. So I followed suit.
I grabbed a patterned shirt I liked, found its matching pants, held them up to me and decided they would probably fit. I didn’t pay immediately because I wanted to see what a native would be charged. I knew I would otherwise get the foreigner rate. But no cash changed hands and I was forced to communicate through a series of hand gestures. We landed on 100,000 dong. Before you freak out at this astronomical price, that actually only adds up to about $5.
After a refreshing break in our hotel air conditioning and a trip to the breakfast buffet, we headed back into the heat for some aggressive sightseeing. Hanoi doesn’t have that many tourist sights — the real appeal of the city is walking its streets — and so we were able to accomplish most of our touring on Wednesday morning alone. And just to see if it made the temperature more bearable, I wore my official Vietnamese outfit.
First stop was the pretty bridge and temple we had spotted in the middle of the lake during our morning walk. We’ve gotten used to temples and altars featuring deities we are not familiar with, but the Ngoc Son temple’s display of Oreo boxes definitely won the prize for strangest religious item we’ve seen to date.
After our lakeside touring, we headed into the heart of the city, where the majority of the monuments and other must-see items can be found. First we paid our respects to Lenin. Hanoi has one of the only statues of the former Soviet leader outside of Russia, and he commands a big presence over an open plaza. In the mornings and evenings, the plaza is apparently packed, but it was totally desolate when we visited midday.
Down the street from Lenin rests Ho Chi Minh. The revered former leader of Vietnam is remembered for bringing independence to the Vietnamese people and crafting a vision to reunify the nation. In the history books, he looms large alongside his contemporaries, like China’s Mao, and in Hanoi, his presence is still felt strongly. The massive mausoleum was clearly influenced with the Soviets, with its heavy, block structure and harsh lines. For Vietnamese people, visiting Uncle Ho in his final resting place is a rite of passage and a necessary undertaking. Lines apparently wrap around the block to see him most mornings (except for the few months when the body travels abroad, a strange discovery we have not yet gotten to the bottom of). We arrived at the mausoleum after visiting hours had ended and were waved away by the armed guards.
Our next stop was the Ho Chi Minh Museum, a similar Soviet structure dedicated to the recent history of Vietnam and the personal history of the former leader. The museum was a little eerie, filled with laudatory statements about Ho Chi Minh and decorated with photos of the Vietnamese people fawning over him. The history wing was even stranger, with abstract sculptures and installations to represent different eras and events. Each was summed up on a small placard in English, French and Vietnamese. The description that struck us most was that of what the Vietnamese usually refer to as the “American War.”
While the Thai museums and their praising of the royal family had left me a little uncomfortable, the Hanoi sights were unnerving in an entirely different way. It seems as if the Vietnamese people are only exposed to a particular view of history, and an entire museum dedicated to the accomplishments of a singular individual only helps to reinforce that. (That, and a controlling one-party government system. There’s not too much room for alternate interpretations in such a system.)
Even in the Fine Arts Museum, which we visited next, the government-approved view of history seemed to pervade. We saw art and other artifacts reflecting the struggles faced by the Vietnamese people under the rule of French colonialists. In another wing, I was particularly struck by what looked to me like a propaganda statement from a communist government. It was the title of an innocuous painting of smiling women, working steadily in what looked like a bakery.
We perused the exhibits a bit more, but hungry from our walking and learning, we took a time out from our sightseeing to enjoy an unbelievable lunch. More on that delicious adventure soon…
Reflections on historical memory: Hanoi
Written by Chaz on 4 July 2011Much more so than Thailand, Vietnam seemed to wear its past on its sleeve. When you think about it, the country has had a series of particularly unfortunate circumstances, between the French and American interventions. It’s pretty easy to see how those historical circumstances could lead to a strong sense of collective nationalism, resulting in the communism that tore the country’s economy apart in the ’70s. Though the government has taken a China-like tact since then, liberalizing the economy while maintaining tight authoritarianism politically, the nation’s socialist identity was evident from the moment we got our visas, which proudly proclaimed that we were welcome to one visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. (It’s also worth noting that Vietnam was the only country that required us to get a visa.)
On our first morning in Hanoi, during our first walk through the city, we walked by a statue of Lenin on our way to a museum celebrating the great things Ho Chi Minh did for the nation, leaving there for a museum of party-approved Vietnamese art. Though we didn’t appear to have minders watching us, it was still a pretty surreal feeling. The most interesting part to me about all that is that the value system it reflects: above all else, communism — but above that, communist leaders. Sure, the nation Lenin was running didn’t turn out hugely successful, but at least everyone was equal. Well, except for Lenin, who was even more equal. It’s a different sort of truth. Uncle Ho did do great things for the country, in a certain sense. Vietnam was able to become an independent socialist nation, and if that’s your standard of evaluation, then he did an excellent job.
Similarly, at the Hanoi Hilton, the total denial that the Vietnamese soldiers did anything untoward to their American prisoners isn’t exactly doing the country’s reputation any favors. We haven’t forgotten that terrible atrocities were committed in that prison, even if the prisoners did leave alive, and lying about it is repugnant as well. I’m not exactly sure what they should say in their little museum, but perhaps that’s why you shouldn’t torture people. Much of the prison has been demolished to make way for a high-rise; maybe they should have demolished the whole thing.
Unfortunately, the country, which is the world’s 13th most populous at 90 million, appears to have remained totally underdeveloped. As soon as we drove away from the airport when we arrived, we were surrounded by rice patties separated by dense jungle reminiscent of any Vietnam War movie. Hanoi sprung up out of nowhere, starting with a few ramshackle buildings and growing into the dense center of the city, which wasn’t all that much more finished.
Interestingly, this apparently proud and defiant national identity didn’t seem to be reflected in the city’s restaurant scene. We found that the best, most authentic Vietnamese food was to be had on the streets, not in the city’s fine restaurants. Perhaps this is just because the nicest restaurants are funded by outside investors with the purpose of attracting outside tourists, but it didn’t suggest a culture of exalted national cuisine. In fact, I get that impression more from Vietnamese restaurants back home, which very much embrace the idea of bringing out the best from Vietnam.
Our time in Vietnam was fascinating in a very different way than any of our previous stops. Hong Kong and Thailand are changing, even dramatically, but neither had quite the sense of truly being at a crossroads that I got in Hanoi. As I read the latest from each of the countries we visited, I’ll have a very different perspective on all of them after having been there, but I’m particularly intrigued about what lies in Vietnam’s future. In the meantime, I’ll have great memories of some delicious food.
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Tags: Buildings, Communism, Cultural commentary, Economy, Food, Historical memory, Politics, Traditions