Visiting Uncle Ho

January 31st, 2002 at 12:00am

My last day in Hanoi…it’s 5pm and I’m about to have a meal before getting ready for another night train excursion – this time heading south (to the warmth- hooray!) to a town called Hue. Speaking of food by the way, the Hanoi cuisine is quite good – a French/Vietnamese infusion – lots of tasty things to est (The French, in case you didn’t know, ruled in Vietnam for almost 100 years back in the day when it used to be part of the IndoChine Empire).

So today I went to see Uncle Ho – in the flesh (albeit embalmed). The Ho Chi Minh Musoleum is a big tourist attraction for Vietnamese and Westerners alike. They really, really liked their former President. So much so that they embalmed him when he died (against his wishes I believe – he wanted to be cremated) and now he’s on public display for everyone to see. You can only see him in the morning though from 8-11am – I guess they put him back in the freezer for the afternoons. Eight armed guards were surrounding the body as we walked through (in complete silence of course and with hands to the sides – no hands in pockets, too disrespectful)…a site to see indeed.

After that I went next door to the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is dedicated to Uncle Ho’s life. What I found most interesting was the exhibit of his poetry which he wrote while imprisoned in China. I think the book is called The Prison Dairy. Anyway, I managed to copy down a few:

Hard is the Road of Life

I, having Travelled over Steep Mountains and Deep Ravines,
How could I expect in the Plain to meet even greater danger?
In the Mountain I suffered no harm from the Tiger,
In the Plain I met with man and was thrown in Jail.

Listening to the Sound

Of Rice Pounding,
Under the Pestle how terrible the rice suffers!
But it comes out of the pound as white as Cotton.
In this World the same process happens to Humans,
Hard trials turn them into Diamond bright.

Advice to Myself

Without the Cold and Bleakness of Winter,
The Warmth and Splendor of Spring could never be.
Misfortunes have steeled and tempered me,
And even more strengthened my Resolve.

After Prison Practicing Mountain Climbing

The mountains embrace the clouds, the clouds hug the mountains,
The river below shines like a spotless mirror.
On the slopes of the Western Range, my heart beats as I wander,
Looking towards the southern skies and thinking of old friends.

An American soldiers jacket from the Wartime Museum

Statue of Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho

View of the lake in the center of Hanoi, Vietnam

Entry Filed under: Hanoi,Vietnam