March 9, 2010 – Day 439 – Hanoi, Vietnam

When in Hanoi, there are two things you must do. One of them is visit the Ho Chi Minh Musuem. It’s pretty freakin’ crazy. The first floor is all photographs of “Uncle Ho” here and there with various farmers or peasants or babies with plenty of reading material alongside.

The man himself

The second floor is more like an art exhibit/experience than a museum. Plenty of socialist idealism and discussions of how Vietnam was to be the savior and bearer of peace for the whole world. A weird but definitely interesting experience.

Replica of his house

Volcano spewing Vietnamese ideals... seriously

Nuclear explosion with flashing anti-American images.....feels a little uncomfortable

With enough anti-American sentiment under our belt, compliments of Uncle Ho’s Museum, we hit the traditional water puppet show this evening. Tickets are incredibly cheap, from 40,000-60,000 dong (that’s roughly US$2-3) and the show lasts one hour. It’s a pretty entertaining little show with the live traditional music that accompanies the puppets.

Puppet boat

Dancing water puppets

The puppetiers