Hue

We flew to Hue in the central part of the country  This city of 500,000 has been a main cultural,  religious,  and education center of Vietnam for centuries.   Hue is 50 miles south of the former DMZ. During the Vietnam War, it had some of the fiercest fighting during the Tet Offensive of 1968. 80% of Hue was destroyed in 23 days of fighting.   17,000 military casualties were incurred....US Marines and a combination North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong.
Historically, Hue was the home of the first dynasty during the 17th century.  The Imperial Enclosure in the Citadel includes the Forbidden Purple City which is being reconstructed after the war damage.

Inside the Forbidden Purple City

We took a boat ride on the Perfume River and famous 7-story Thien Mu Pagoda.

On the Perfume River

 

Exterior and interior of the pagoda

We then had lunch with Buddhist nuns at the Dieu Thanh Pagoda.

Some interesting details about Vietnam:
Of the 91 million population,  only 36% are Communist Party members.  Most young people are not interested in becoming Party members, according to our guide Jacky.
Education is not free in Vietnam unless your family makes less than the equivalent of 1-2 dollars per day.  Otherwise, it costs about $500 per year for students in kindergarten - high school. If a student passes a college entrance exam, tuition is about $2,000 a year.  There are more expensive private schools.

On the move

The past couple of days have been really busy. We left Hanoi and drove to Halong Bay and spent the night on a junk which is a large wooden sailboat in Halong Bay. I must say that I was disappointed in Halong Bay.  The pollution there muted the colors of the water and surrounding mountains.  There are 3,000 mountain islands, innumerable caves and soaring cliffs.

Inside one of the caves in Halong Bay

Agriculture

On our drive back to Hanoi we went through several small villages.  In one of the towns a wedding party was going on. Jacky our guide got off the bus, went into the wedding tent and asked the bride and groom if we could come in and meet the bridal couple. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. The bride and groom were very gracious There were probably about 100 people celebrating the wedding. They sat us down and gave us a complete traditional lunch which was totally unexpected!

Here are some photos from the wedding.

The bride is in the middle ensuring we are enjoying ourselves

Our group savoring the delicious wedding lunch

Invited guests posing for us

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Into the countryside

Today we visited a suburb of Hanoi and a smaller village.  Vietnam ' s population is 91 million.  75% of the population are farmers.  In the north, the farmers have two seasons for growing rice.  In the south, three seasons.  In between rice crops, they grow vegetables.

Here are photos from the market in a suburb.  The most amazing thing was that there was no odor!!!

Next, we went to a village of about 3500 that is famous for its rice paper.  We visited the mayor's home and watched his wife make rice paper and tried it ourselves.  And then he invited us into his home and served us tea and snacks.

Mayor's wife making rice paper

Mel did a good job!

Rice paper drying

 

Mel enjoying the treats

Then the mayor serenaded us.

Hanoi part 2

Where should I begin? This is my first time in Asia and everything is so different it's hard to know where to start. We're having very full days. Yesterday we spent part of the morning visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It, of course, is one of the famous landmarks in the city. In the mausoleum we were able to see the preserved body of  "Uncle Ho " .Then we traveled to the Temple of Literature and walked through the old quarter of Hanoi. The food has been plentiful and very good. Lots of fresh vegetables and little meat. If I ate this way at home, especially with chopsticks (which I'm not very good at), I would not have a weight issue.

Here are some photos from our day

The Presidential Palace

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Temple of Literatue

There's not much left of the Hanoi Hilton.  Here are some photos.

Entrance to the infamous "Hanoi Hilton"

Flight suit of a downed U.S.,pilot

Cot of a U.S. prisoner of war

Hanoi part 1

The city is the capital of Vietnam.   It has 10 million people and 6 million motorbikes which makes traffic a nightmare.  Our guide Jacky gave us lessons yesterday on how to cross the street.  When we're with him,  he calls out "sticky rice!" which means the 11 of us get close together and walk SLOWLY through the traffic.  Yikes!  Jacky told us that the Vietnamese don't want to run into foreigners because it means a heavy fine and big trouble with authorities.   I'm not sure that makes me feel any better.  :)

Jackie, our guide

Open air meat market