Pagoda and Lake
We went to Northern Vietnam after a trip to China a few years ago. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go as my brothers fought in the Viet Nam war and I can clearly remember those days when every day brought news that thousands of our young men (58,000 to be exact) had been killed there.
We visited the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” where Senator John McCain was held prisoner for 5 1/2 years. We saw the cell blocks where the floors were on a slant and men were handcuffed to the floor with their hands shackled to the floor behind them. That way they could not lie down. They had to sit with arms angled behind them, elbows straightened, their legs stretched out at a downward angle resulting in their swelling to grotesque proportions. Their backs ached from constantly leaning back. Maybe you can’t get a mental picture of this but I have never forgotten my mental image from that day. The rooms were dark and hot and to be held in one for 5 1/2 years was really torture.
We kept thinking about and asking questions about the Viet Nam War, but our guide concentrated on the atrocities he said were committed by the French against the Viet Namese. It seemed to me that ‘our’ war was insignificant to him compared with the battle for independence from the French. He praised Ho Chi Minh as if he were the Viet Namese version of Chairman Mao.
He and many other young men we met were disillusioned with the communists. They saw their parents, now old, who had served without pay in the army, but now had no pension or home. These men were eager to start their own business and hoped that other countries would invest in their economy. I think they looked at South Viet Nam with envy.
Politics aside, Northern Viet Nam is interesting and beautiful. The town of Hanoi is changing, though. The streets are named for what was sold there in times past, such as Silk Street, Gold Street, Pearl Street…well, I don’t know the names of all of them, but I definitely remember Silk Street. They still sell silk there and prices are very reasonable…oh, I remember a shopkeeper riding his motorcycle into the store, down the narrow aisle to the storeroom. The motor was chugging away as we jumped to the side to let him pass!! Should have had my camera ready, but my hands were full of silk blouses.
More on Northern Viet Nam on another day.
A note on photography: This photo looks stylized because I used Poster Edges filter in Photoshop to make it that way. It lends a graphic look by emphasizing edges and flattening colors. (At least, that is what I think it does!) I do love the vintage poster look and even though I didn’t add any advertising text, I think this looks vintage.