Mary
Longaker left us today as this is the end of our official group tour...so we are now on our own with Tara, for one day. Today’s
touring started with a visit to the Ho Chi Min memorial and some nearby
buildings where he lived and worked. The
memorial itself was closed for routine maintenance.
Next stop was the Presidential Palace, built in the early 1900's by the French.
Ho Chi Minh chose not to live in the Presidential Palace but instead built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house on a carp pond.
Interesting "roots" that are growing out of the ground around the carp pond.
We then stopped at the Quoc Tu Giam University. This was Vietnam's first university, built around 1070 AD.
It is no longer used as a University but many graduates gather here after graduation to receive merit awards. We saw a number of students in graduation robes.
Next stop was the Single Pole Pagoda, so named because it was constructed on a single pole (duh).
Also in the complex was a miniature landscape constructed on a couple of very interesting rocks.
Next stop was the Presidential Palace, built in the early 1900's by the French.
Ho Chi Minh chose not to live in the Presidential Palace but instead built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house on a carp pond.
Interesting "roots" that are growing out of the ground around the carp pond.
We then stopped at the Quoc Tu Giam University. This was Vietnam's first university, built around 1070 AD.
It is no longer used as a University but many graduates gather here after graduation to receive merit awards. We saw a number of students in graduation robes.
Next stop was the Single Pole Pagoda, so named because it was constructed on a single pole (duh).
Also in the complex was a miniature landscape constructed on a couple of very interesting rocks.
After
lunch Tara and Mary did a bit of clothes shopping while Paul stood around being
bored. We then went to a Vietnamese
cooking class where we first hit the local market for produce for our class. We made fresh spring rolls, fried tofu in
tomato sauce, taro (with potatoes and sweet potatoes) patties, smoked eggplant
(Tara’s favorite vegetable), banana blossom salad and an omelet made with a
very bitter green (not so good). Mary
and Tara had a good time with the preparing ingredients. Paul participated minimally and was, again,
bored, but took photos.
We then
got to set down to eat our meal but we had tasted everything as we cooked so we
were all pretty full.
Tara and
Mary then headed to the night market to do some more shopping while Paul had
had it with shopping and went back to the hotel.
The streets around the market and Hoan Kiem Lake are closed from Friday night to Sunday night and it turned out to be a fascinating walk back to the hotel. There were people playing Vietnamese Chess, Hacky Sack, tug of war, jump rope, kids were blowing bubbles and riding hover boards, and musicians were playing for tips.
It seemed like the entire city was out on the streets having a grand time.
The streets around the market and Hoan Kiem Lake are closed from Friday night to Sunday night and it turned out to be a fascinating walk back to the hotel. There were people playing Vietnamese Chess, Hacky Sack, tug of war, jump rope, kids were blowing bubbles and riding hover boards, and musicians were playing for tips.
It seemed like the entire city was out on the streets having a grand time.
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