Day 7

15 Dec 2012

Too much restriction made this place a kill joy

We made a late morning visit to the mausoleum . Unfortunately, because museum closes for lunch  at 11am, we did not have much of a time to see the place except Ho Chi Minh. It was a terribly tiring start to the day because the weather had turned painfully hot. The parade square was out of bounds and we did not have much photo opportunities for all the wrong reasons.  The camera bags were detained at the entrance and we did not realize that the fastest way to get them was to get through the museum. We had avoided it having mistaken that we only had 5 minutes for the visit. It was disappointing especially so when we had been 'ripped off' by the taxi who sent us there for an exorbitant price of $6 !

Temple of Literature rooftops

Class of 2012 - celebration time!

Roll of honor

Pretty graduates and one tiny future pretty graduate

Of all the places I have been, Vietnam girls ooze the most traditional charm.

Class of 2012 - all the best to your future!

Gong for exam purpose in ancient times

A big drum - maybe in case you doze off during classes ..

One very tired kid, what with the heat.

Roses among the thorns

We walked southwards to the temple of literature, along shaded avenues. Hanoi's off city area was easy walking had it not been for the terrible heat.

The temple of literature was abuzz with young people in traditional clothes, having just had their  graduation. A young man later told me that they had just graduated that day from the university of transport and communication.  The girls'  ao dais were a sight to behold but I believe the slim figures donning the ao dais are a major contributing factor ( how can all Vietnam girls be so slim ? ) . In fact, up to the day I was in Vietnam, there were no fat girls to be found in Vietnam, tourists not considered.

The temple was a stately place of higher learning in Hanoi,  housed in a huge compound in a bucolic setting with huge trees and sculptured bushes. The names of  generations of graduating scholars were carved in stone walls in the temple. From the well preserved state of the place, I reckoned that the Vietnamese highly regarded education as a social leveler.

Food at KOTO was so-so but staff try to please

After a hot many hours, we wrapped up our visit at KOTO, where we had drinks and finger food for $10. KOTO was run by an NGO for kids at risk. Though the service staff were not experienced or competent in English, all tried to please.  Pat contributed to the effort by buying himself a cap at 85000 vnd to support their cause.

One of the better cakes in Hanoi, though it pales in comparison to SecretRecipe's

TL  , H's Vietnamese classmate in Singapore, had earlier invited us to dinner at her place. She and her dad picked us up in a cab and got us over to their place, located  just outside the city. Her home was a 5 storeyed house, kitchen on level 1 , living on level 2, bedrooms on level 3 and grandpa's office on level 4. Level 5 was TL's rooftop herb garden.

They had prepared a sumptuous spread and we did not do justice because we could not eat all that was offered. TL's grandma made the best nem in Hanoi ( seriously ! ) and I have yet to find another place that rivaled hers. TL's grandpa is an erudite poet and has many published works. Some of his works are still used as classroom text in Vietnam. How cool can that be ! In fact, he gave H his latest book that is yet to be published as a gift. We had a delightful time chatting, with TL as a translator between grandpa and us. She comes from a family of literary experts, rocket scientists, interpreters etc. I can understand why she is so driven to come to Singapore and study with the very best students in RI.

Poetry book, yet to be published

TL's grandpa is a poet. Cool !

We left slightly after 9pm, another taxi ride with TL's father back to town. We exchanged parting gifts and came back with more than we went. They have been excellent host from the beginning to the end and I'm glad H is studying with such a lively and intelligent kid.