The bus trip back from Halong Bay was uneventful, with the exception of a lot of sleeping and one impromptu stop near the pineapple plantations for a fun pineapple snack. The locals chop off the skin, carve a design into the pineapple, and whittle the green pineapple top into a handle. Voila…instant pineapple popsicle. Damn tasty and a whole lot healthier than ice cream.

We arrived at the hotel, and in the lobby, we ran into the Gubanyis (Peter, Renee, Jackie, and Michelle). We made arrangements to grab dinner at an Italian place run by an expat from Naples. We love Vietnamese food, but every once in a while, a little Italian food can't hurt.

We had a nice dinner and walked through Hanoi back to the hotel. We hung out and played pool for a while before calling it a night. Peter is a hardware guy now, but he was in the clothing business for many years before that. We had a good chat about careers, doing what you love, etc.

The next day, Bev went to the Museum of Ethnology, while I had a few hours solo. I had already gone once before during another solo stint, and I told Bev she couldn't miss it. The museum has a nice floor plan. The building itself has two floors with well-spaced out exhibits. Behind the museum there is an outdoor area with authentic tribal structures (built by tribal craftsmen on site), including homes and mausoleums. The building's exhibits walked us through the various ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Exhibits ranging from tools, funeral rites, history, and more were peppered throughout the two floors, and videos of the people in their villages helped reinforce the messages in the museum.

Outside the museum, we climbed up and walked into a variety of different tribal homes, and we enjoyed the grounds very much. Inside the homes, exhibits explained how the craftsmen designed and built the structures, what materials they used, and any significant items of interest. The grounds surrounding the homes contained small streams beneath bridges that connected footpaths for strolling through gardens to get from exhibit to exhibit. It was really well done.

The temporary exhibit in the museum explained life during the Bao Cap (socialist) and Doi Moi (open policy periods). We were struck by how hard life was after the war ended. From 1975 to 1986, the Bao Cap period resulted in rationing, black markets for basic goods, a lack of money and basic supplies, dependence upon the government, and a general period of tremendous difficulty that sounded reminiscent of the early 1930's in the US. Men would wait in line for hours and hours to get bags of rice, and when the rice turned out to be moldy, they had to wait another month until they could get coupons to get rice again. People could own bikes, but if they didn't have coupons for new tires, they had to wait until the government doled out the proper coupons. Others might already have gotten coupons for tires, but they didn't own a bike. And the government forbade the guy who owned the tires to sell them to the guy who owned the bike.

The perspectives in the exhibit varied. One woman who ran the party's propaganda (er…ahem…I meant to say "advertising") department during Bao Cap said that while times were hard for some, everyone got something, and there wasn't the degree of poverty or homelessness they see now. Meanwhile, others mentioned how difficult the times were and how much better life became after the open door policy began in 1986. Artists in particular mentioned how much censorship was prevalent, and how creative expression all but died during the Bao Cap period. We really enjoyed learning more about the Vietnamese beyond the war itself, and if you are ever in Hanoi (this is for you, Tony and Traci), we highly recommend this museum.

We later found out that there would be a performance at the Hanoi Opera House that night, and we decided to get tickets. Peter and Jackie joined us. We attended a very nice performance of Bartok and Brahms, and they even added on a Vietnamese folk tune in honor of Tet. The building was really beautiful, and we enjoyed our night at the symphony.

We decided our next stop should be Ninh Binh, a small town two hours south of Hanoi with karsts that are nestled in rice paddies. We bought an "open bus ticket" that will take us all the way to Saigon with stops at key places like Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat, Nha Trang, and Saigon. We leave tonight for Ninh Binh, and we already have a guesthouse reservation. The guy from the guesthouse said he would pick us up at the bus station, but it wasn't clear from his English if this will really happen. We'll see!