Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum: A couple of the people on the trip with us wanted to go see the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum. Peep had seen it on previous trips to Hanoi, and instead went directly to the trade fair while I went along to the tomb, even though I personally had little interest in seeing Hồ Chí Minh himself.
I had to turn in my camera bag upon entering the complex and, later on down the line, my camera as well, which was not allowed in the mausoleum. Shortly thereafter, I realized I had an opportunity to step out of line, but wanted to be sure there would be no issues in retrieving my camera, so I continued on with the rest of the crowd toward the mausoleum entrance.
Hồ Chí Minh had requested he be cremated upon death rather than placed on display, as Lenin had been, but the powers that be went against his wishes and built a grand mausoleum and interred his body there upon its opening in 1975, six years after his death. I made my way past his body and then out of the tomb, where I was able to retrieve my camera before exploring the rest of the grounds.
Presidential Palace: The tomb sits next to the Presidential Palace, built for the French Governor-General of Indochina in 1900-1906, used for government meetings today and closed to the public. Hồ Chí Minh refused to live in the palace, instead opting first for a small servant's house on the grounds and later a humble dwelling constructed for him.
Hồ Chí Minh's Stilt House: As I joined the line to see the house, I bade goodbye to my fellow travelers, who were headed over to the exposition center to start their workday. The stilt house was small, with just a bedroom and office upstairs and a meeting room on the ground floor.
Hồ Chí Minh Complex: Also on the grounds of the complex was the Hồ Chí Minh Museum and the One-Pillar Pagoda, neither of which I chose to enter, opting instead to head on foot to my next destination. I picked up my camera bag before leaving and, after reorienting myself following a couple wrong turns, made my way to Văn Miếu Temple, the Temple of Literature.
Văn Miếu Temple: This ancient temple dedicated to Confucius was constructed in 1070 and served as the site of Vietnam's first university, the Imperial Academy, founded in 1076. Vietnamese royalty, nobles, bureaucrats and elite were educated here for over 700 years.
Temple Layout: The first two courtyards contain gardens, while the third is a large pool of water surrounded by pavilions holdings the doctor's stelae, large stone tablets containing the names of graduates of the academy. The fourth courtyard is surrounded by buildings holding altars of worship while the fifth, and last, courtyard is the site of the Imperial Academy with classroom buildings and dormitories. On the upper floor of the last building are altars to three monarchs: Lý Thánh Tông, founder of the temple; Lý Nhân Tông, founder of the Imperial Academy; and Lê Thánh Tông, erector of the doctor's stelae.
Hoàn Kiếm District: From Văn Miếu Temple I hiked my way over to the Hoàn Kiếm District, where I would be spending the remainder of the day. Once there, I walked past a couple of the famous landmarks located in the area, the Hotel Metropole Hanoi & the Hanoi Opera House, before heading back to Hoàn Kiếm Lake. It was just across the street from this lake that we attended the water puppet show the night before.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake: Hoàn Kiếm Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword) was given its name by emperor Lê Lợi, after he returned a magic sword he had received from the Dragon King to help him successfully revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty to a Golden Turtle God on the lake. Two islands sit within the lake, one containing Tháp Rùa (Turtle Tower) and the other Đền Ngọc Sơn (Temple of the Jade Mountain).
Đền Ngọc Sơn: After purchasing my entry ticket, I walked over the Rising Sun Bridge and onto the island containing Ngọc Sơn Temple. The temple is dedicated to General Trần Hưng Đạo, who defeated the Mongols in the thirteenth century, as well as Confucian and Taoist scholars. Within its walls is a glass case holding a large stuffed turtle, a specimen of the critically endangered species residing within the lake. Once my tour of the little island was complete, I headed over to Hỏa Lò Prison.
Hỏa Lò Prison: The prison was built by the French in the late 1800s to house mainly Vietnamese political prisoners, who endured overcrowded, subhuman living conditions. They were often tortured and some were even executed there.
The North Vietnamese took over the complex when the French left Vietnam in 1954 and, a full decade later, returned it to its use as a prison to house downed American pilots of the Vietnam War, who experienced the same deplorable conditions and were also systematically tortured there, leading them to sarcastically nickname it the "Hanoi Hilton".
Hỏa Lò Museum: In the 1990s all but the gate house was destroyed, which now serves as a museum. The majority of the displays in the museum chronicle the horrors endured by the Vietnamese prisoners during their incarceration. Two small exhibition rooms show the American prisoner's "...stable life during their temporary detention", and include the flight suit of the most well-known prisoner, U.S. Senator John McCain.
Chat with Students: I made my way back to the lake area, passing by St. Joseph's Cathedral, having missed in on my way to the prison. After a trip around the lake, which was busy with with people enjoying the lake side park or posing for photos amidst the beautiful scenery, I purchased a bottle of water from a vendor and sat on one of the park benches.
It was just a few minutes later when I was approached by a couple of young men who introduced themselves as students seeking to improve their English skills, asking if I had a few moments to chat with them. The older of the two, who I learned in the course of our conversation was an uncle of the younger one, did most of talking, with subjects including their home lives, interests and the importance of higher education. After about a half hour, they thanked me for my time and we parted ways.
I got up and walked around the area a bit more before getting a call from Peep. Her day at the expo had ended and we made arrangements to meet near the lake.
St. Joseph's Cathedral: Peep showed up a short time later with Dragon and the two of them headed across the bridge to Ngọc Sơn Temple to see the mummified turtle. Since I had already been there, I waited for them to return before guiding them over to St. Joseph's Cathedral, another landmark Peep had wanted to see. Fortunately, I had learned the route to get there despite having an inaccurate map of the area. Once done viewing the outside of the cathedral, which is not open to the public, we ate dinner at a restaurant serving traditional Vietnamese food on the shore of the lake.
Night Market: The sun had completely set by the time we finished eating, so we headed to the nearby night market, where the vendors were just finishing setting up their stalls on the now blocked-off street. We spent just under an hour looking at the variety of food and durable goods for sale before hailing a taxi to take us back to our hotel.