Making Plans and Museums
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2011
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Trip End
Dec 15, 2011
Where I stayed
Hanoi Rendezvous Hotel
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
My plan today was to see some of the museums that I wouldn't see on the City Tour tomorrow, I also booked some trips to Sapa, Mai Chau and Halong Bay, as well as a cooking class and a massage tonight.
I got a moto taxi to the French Quarter where the museums I planned on seeing where based. The chaotic nature of the scooters is still a bit hair raising when you're a passenger, but we arrived intact. It took me a little while to find the first museum as I as took a bit of an unplanned detour. First I stumbled on the geological museum, which was full of rocks and fossils. After a quick spin round there I found the history museum which wasn't bad. Across the road was the museum of the Vietnamese revolution. However, it didn't reopen until after lunch at 1.30, so I sat at a cafe on a corner with the locals and had some beer and rice with chicken. I have to say that giving you chicken on the bone, and only a pair of chopsticks to attack it with, is a little unfair. It takes about an hour to get through your food!
After lunch and a couple of beers I was able to get into the museum and look around. The one thing that struck me was how subjective it was and anti American and finger pointing. There were plenty of photos of 'look what atrocities the Americans did to other humans' and 'look what the Americans destroyed' accompanied by photos and objects of temples, hospitals, railway stations, harbors and civilian areas. I've attached a few photos.
Next was the womens museum, which was quite interesting as well, and talked about the lives and difficulties of some of the women here.
It's very hot here, and after all that museum time I felt I wanted to go back to the hostel, freshen up and cool down ready for my massage at 9.
The massage was amazing, a bit pricier than it should have been, but still soo good
Best: massage
Worst: being tooooo hoooottt
Biggest Item on a scooter - a fridge!
