7-12 Hanoi - Day 2

It was cozy in our room, but we slept well and were ready to take on a full day in Hanoi. After a good session of chatting with the girls, they served us breakfast of eggs, baguette, cheese in a foil wrapper, cucumber, and tomato. We gave up waiting for Mike so we took a taxi to the Vietnamese National Museum. Our taxi was actually Thon, who is the brother of the girls. We were in a hurry because all government-run institutions, including museums, close 11:30am to 1:30pm for lunch. Not 15 seconds after stepping out of Thon's car we found ourselves at what we thought must be the front gate as it was closing. An old man motioned for us to run for it, so we did, along with dozens of other tourists. With just seconds remaining, we crouched down under the arm of the guard as he closed the gate. We were part of 100 people that made that mad dash, which was pretty fortunate.
First stop was the masoleum of Ho Chi Minh: the iconic socialist leader of the 50's and 60's...in the flesh. Security was tight, leaving little chance to pics or video. Guards in white military uniforms watched from all angles and patted several people down as we followed the long lineup inside. The narrow hallway opened up into a room 20m x 20m x 10m high and we slowly walked along a raised walkway on the outer perimeter. In the center of the room was a glass case containing "Uncle Ho". 4 guards stood alongside. He's been dead over 40yrs, but the embalmers have doen a great job keeping him looking his best. Each year he spends 3-4 months in Italy or Moscow getting routine oil change and tune ups. Seeing him was every bit as creepy and fascinating as you might think. Afterwards, we checked out the national museum. We only made it to one exhibit building before getting kicked out at 11:30am. It focused heavily on the history of the Vietnamese revolutionary struggle and the external cultural influences over the past century. There were many documents on display, such as turn of the century French Colonial news clippings and most notably, the United States treaty signed by Bill Rogers, ending the Vietnam War.
We spent some time at the Hanoi Hilton in town, which is a prison dating back to the 1800's and was a POW prison for downed US pilots, most notably John McCain, who spent 5 years there. His flight suit, photos of his capture, and return visit a few years ago is the centerpiece in the American POW display area. Afterwards I got Thon to take us a few miles outside town to O Sin, a restaurant in the "Snake Village" area. Snake, namely King Cobra, is not a traditional meal and many have never tried it. In a back courtyard, an old woman sat with a mesh bag containing a King Cobra. the hard sell was on-- she wanted $75 to prepare a 6 course meal, all based off cobra. An old woman casually handling a King Cobra just a few feet from you is not my idea of an environment for fair dealings! We tried to get an agreement on 800k Dong ($45) but in the middle of negotiations, she grabbed it's tail, then in one motion, let go of it's head and sent it swinging head-first into the concrete. Two whacks did it in. With a small razor, she gutted it and removed the still-beating heart, then drained its blood into a bottle of rice whisky. We went upstairs and alternated Bia Hanoi with shots of the snake blood & rice whisky concoction. Over the course of 90 minutes in a private room, myself, Mike, Matt, Chris, and Thon ate all sorts of snake dishes. There was stir fry, snake egg rolls, snake wrapped in cabbage, crispy snake, and even fried snake skin. I had initially volunteered to be the guest of honor, which entails taking a shot of the bloody rice whisky concoction with the still-beating heart in it. For some reason the heart never made it to our table, so I opted no to do it when we finally got the old woman to bring it out. She probably dug it out of the trash, but Mike didn't care. Mike dropped the heart into about two shots of rice whisky and with a big cheers, gulped the whole thing down, barely able to fight off gagging. Overall, it was a decent meal, one worth the story, if not for the unique taste of snake. Out front the restaurant, we checked out embalmed cobras in large jars. A King Cobra can grow to over 5m long, so you can imagine how big they get!
That night we attended a Water Puppet show. It's a puppet show that takes place on a stage of water. The puppets dance across the water, suspended by bamboo poles and operated by people hidden away behind stage. It was in Vietnamese, but was still entertaining. We were in the mood for some good food, so we wandered around the lake until we came across I-Box, an expensive French/Western lounge & restaurant. We got a bottle of wine, some scotch, ans some delicious steaks, rack of lamb, and fish. The deserts were passed around and were outstanding. We all got Vietnamese coffees, which were thick and delicious. Total cost for the meal: $30 each. We found out that Vietnam is the #2 exporter of coffee in the world. Vietnamese preparation makes your average cup of joe incredibly strong...jam packed with caffeine. That night we were all tossing and turning until 5am. We joked, told stories, and goofed around, making it a memorable night.