This morning we met in the hotel lobby with Mr. Ruby Le, the tour operator who arranged all our land details in Vietnam. I explained my problem with my camera and since we are going on Wednesday and Thursday to Halong Bay how much I need my camera operating.
He said that he felt it would take more than a day to repair my Nikon, as it appears to be an electrical or computer problem. So he offered to loan me his camera body (also a Nikon) and I would be able to attach my lense. That way, I can get my camera fixed when we return to Toronto. Seems like a good solution to me.
We also discussed the kashrut situation in Halong Bay. When we arrive in Halong Bay Wednesday afternoon after a 3 hour drive from Hanoi, we will board a two bedroom Junk for a 24 hour overnight cruise in the bay. Of course food is included in the trip. There are junks in the bay that hold 10 couples, 20 couples etc. We specifically looked for the smallest junk we could find, cuz this will then make this cruise private. The only passengers on this cruise will Nachum and Sandy and Fran and me.
When I booked this junk thru Ruby Le, I asked him whether they could provide kosher food. He obviously did not know what I was talking about. So I explained it to him and he then emailed me that he googled it and now knew a lot more about our specific requirements. I asked him to purchase for the cruise a new wok, a new soup pot, a new knife, new cutting boards, new utensils etc. I then gave him a very specific list of the kinds of food that we could eat. I also insisted that he speak with Rabbi Hartman of HCMCity and find out which fish in Vietnam were kosher. We also told him that we would have to work in the kitchen alongside the chef because of bishul akum and hashgacha issues.
He agreed and did all that he had promised. Now this morning, he wanted to review with us the details of kosher. He had a number of questions which we answered. He told us that carp is a fish readily available. He is very excited about this prospect of providing kosher on the boat as he thinks that this will open the door to new clients.
So far everything sounds interesting and good. We will report back after the cruise to let you know how smoothly this went....we are hopeful.
After we finished discussing with Ruby Le, we headed out thru the busy streets of Hanoi, a city of over 6 million people. The city is over 1000 years old (much older than HCMC which is only 300 years old) and is quite green with a number of large lakes in the centre of town. it is the capital city, so you see many government buildings and officials....and oh, yes, many motorcycles.
Our first stop was to view Ho Chi Minh, who died in 1969. He has been preserved and lies in a huge mausoleum in the centre of town. Thousands of people visit ever day and file past his bed where he can be viewed thru a glass enclosure, like Lenin in Moscow. It is quite an eerie scene. As we entered, soldiers along the route asked that we remove our hats. I complied and had my kippah on underneath. Sandy would not remove her hat and let them know that this was our religion and that this was the way that Jews showed respect, by leaving their hats on. About 8 soldiers along the route asked her to remove her hat, but she was steadfast and patiently told each of them that she could not.
Last time I checked, Sandy was not yet arrested.....
From there we walked thru the huge government complex and viewed HCM's house, the beautiful grounds and the hall where he greeted visiting dignitaries. His house was very modest, because he felt that living in a presidential palace would be insulting to many poor Vietnamese. And so he remained his entire life in very modest surroundings. Btw, he never got married and died in his late 60's.
Across the way from the complex was the Canadian Embassy, so we walked over to visit and take a picture of our government's home in Vietnam.
This took most of the morning and we headed over to the Museum of Vietnamese Minorities. This museum is dedicated to the 54 different ethnic groups that make up the almost 90 million Vietnamese. The museum displayed different ethnic dress and customs. When we completed the indoor tour, we headed outdoors for the displays of ethnic homes.
Btw, today was teacher appreciation day, which means that teachers are visited by their students and are presented with flowers. At the museum there were a number of groups of students accompanied by their teachers. Many of the students were dressed in their traditional Ao Dais, the silk trousers and coverup that is worn by traditional Vietnamese women. It was very colourful and interesting to see the interaction between the teachers and their students.
A number of the students were looking at us, because we were non oriental and obviously foreigners. They asked if they could pose for pictures with us....we agreed.
After a quick lunch we attended a water puppet show. This is a very traditional show of puppets that tell a story in a pool of water. You sit in a theatre and watch the performance which is accompanied by a live orchestra playing traditional Vietnamese instruments. Great music and very interesting production. The puppeteers actually emerge from behind the curtains at the end of the show...they are behind the curtain in the pool as they manipulate the puppets which are attached to poles underneath the water.
We then headed over to the Temple of Literature which is a memorial to the wisdom and philosophy of Confucius. Parts of the complex were built in the 10th century and it is a very revered site in Vietnam, in fact part of it appears on the 100000 Dong bill. There is a celebration of Confucius as the person who pursued knowledge and conducting his life with good ethics, and that is seen as a very noble pursuit. Confucius lived about 2500 years ago and it is in this temple of Literature that vietnam's first university was established hundreds of years ago. There are massive stone tablets with the names of graduates and doctors etched in Chinese script.
When we finished our tour, we hopped on the van and asked the driver to take us to one of the stores that caters to westerners, L's Place, not far from our hotel. This store carries many western products for ex-pats who live in Hanoi. So many of the items carry a hechsher and are familiar to many of us. We bought some New Zealand UHT milk, some crackers with a London Bais Din hechsher, some Voortman wafers made in Burlington, Ont with an OU, some Kikoman Soy Sauce for our cruise, and two Haagen Daaz bars OU...total about $25. Quite expensive.
When we returned, we had dinner....we tried a La Briute meal of Schwarma and potatoes, and it was surprisingly tasty, along with a Taste of Asia Noodle Soup (it is a new line available from Sobey's...comes in its own plastic bowl), also quite good.
We spent the evening relaxing in the hotel and packing for our adventure on Wednesday. I also spent a little time downloading some photos on the hotel's computer and may be able to send some out in the next day or so.
Hope all is well...more tomorrow
All the best
Fran and David
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