Back from Nam

I promise that this is the last time I say Nam even though it's still funny to me.

It was great to get away from the largeness of Bangkok and flee to a smaller and greener city for a few days. I was hoping for cooler weather, as anything more hot and humid seemed impossible. But boy was I wrong. Going to work today I was thinking that Bangkok isn't so hot after all.

Ho Chi Minh, on the other hand, is comfortably resting in his air-conditioned mausoleum. He looks as fake as Lenin, though pale in comparison. The mausoleum itself is pretty impressive. The reason this fascinates me so much is that this whole embalming procedure was developed solely for Lenin. A leader dies, the people decide despite his wishes that they want to keep his body forever and on public display nonetheless. And so they order a scientist to figure out how to do it. And he does! And then, they proceed to embalm other communist leaders.

Some highlights:

Gazing into the well of heavenly clarity at the Temple of Literature: It had cute little fishes swimming in it.Being scared by a mannequin in a dungeon of Hoa Lo Prison (also known as “The Hanoi Hilton”): In my defense I was completely alone in the dungeon section of the prison and it was a little creepy… I decided, I wouldn’t want to be locked up in there with my feet shackled to the bunk.Hanoi is definitely noticeable poorer and less developed that Bangkok. And as soon as you get outside the main touristy area people stared at me as if I was a circus freak, though I'm pretty sure I still have the required number of all body parts... no more, no less.