It’s our first visit to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam for over a thousand years, a fascinating city with roughly the same population as the Big Apple, with a strong French influence thanks to its years of French occupation. With only a few days to spend here on our maiden voyage, and one of those days already consumed by stormy weather, we have several must-see sites we want to cram in. And we mange to hit at least three of them on one day.

First up is the mausoleum of Ho Chi MInh, or Uncle Ho as the Vietnamese call him. Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was a revolutionary who became Chairman of the Workers’ Party Of Vietnam and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, of which he was the first president. The mausoleum is on the site where he read the new nation’s Declaration Of Independence in 1945.

The striking mausoleum, a structure that incorporates Vietnamese and Russian classical architectural elements, is open to the public free of charge daily. Well, except on Mondays and Fridays. And since this happens to be Friday, we’re out of luck. Not that we’re particularly keen on viewing corpses, but hey how often do you get such an opportunity? If the building had been open today, however, we would have had to negotiate lines of epic proportions, as the corpse-viewing is an extremely popular draw. What we do get to witness is the changing of the guard, with soldiers in uniforms as stiff and white as candles.

As a consolation prize, we get a look at two very different structures, two religious buildings that are also very different from each other. One is St. Joseph’s Cathedral, a neo-Gothic church completed in 1886, when the country was under French rule. Its architecture was somewhat inspired by Notre Dame de Paris, though without the gargoyles.

And we get an even better look at One Pillar Pagoda, a Buddhist temple originally built in stages between 1049 and 1105, that stands adjacent to the mausoleum. It has been restored, rebuilt, refurbished, reinvented and reincarnated several times since then, thanks to the fact that certain individuals like to destroy things, which is why it’s so hard for the human race to have pretty things. The little pagoda stands on — would you believe — one pillar. And that pillar is in the middle of a little pond. At least that’s the most iconic part of the pagoda. But this little feature, known as the Lotus Station, because of its design, resting on a single pillar in the water, was inspired by a lotus, the sacred flower of many Eastern spiritual paths. The idea for the temple, according to legend, resulted from a dream about a lotus that an emperor had a millennium ago.

The pagoda is actually a complex consisting of more than one structure. One of the most interesting features we found was a display of cartoons depicting bad behavior and the karma they reap. Sort of like Buddhist “Do Bee” and “Don’t Bee” illustrations.

Another interesting feature seems to be more incidental than deliberate, but we can’t help thinking it must have some kind of spiritual significance somehow. And that was a tree growing in the middle of the bathroom. Which came first? Why would anyone choose to build a toilet around a tree? A mystery to ponder.

Speaking of trees, the grounds of the pagoda boast a special bodhi tree that was a gift from India, and was grown from the very same tree under which the Buddha is said to have sat when he achieved enlightenment. This was in Bodh Gaya, India; and when we were there three years earlier, we toured the temple on the site, and saw another bodhi tree taken from that same original tree an the very spot where it once stood, and where The Buddha once parked his butt. So they say.

Another historical site that we pass by is the Imperial Citadel, originally constructed in 1010, but mostly demolished et cetera over the years. (See above.) One conspicuous feature still standing tall is the flag tower, built in 1812. Since we are eager to get to other locations higher on our bucket list, we put the Citadel on hold for another day.

Because what we have next on our agenda is perhaps the most enticing lure of all for us: a prison. Or rather, a former prison. Officially called Hoa Lo, it was constructed between 1896 and 1901 by the French occupiers, who gave it the name Maison Centrale (central house), a common designation for prisons in France; the name still stands on the entrance. The French used it to detain and torture Vietnamese rebels. Then decades later, during what folks around here call The American War, the Vietnamese became the jailers instead of the prisoners, using this facility to stash American POWs — who sarcastically dubbed it Hanoi Hilton. Their numbers included some individuals who later became well known, including former Senator John McCain, who as a naval lieutenant had his plane shot down over Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake — which we pass in our amblings. It seems especially appropriate that we’re here to tour this facility on July 4.

The main part of the prison museum is devoted to depicting the period when the Vietnamese themselves were held captive. You enter a large cell where dozens of them were kept chained to the wooden platform on which they slept, and there are some very realistic mannequins impersonating the prisoners. It’s a rather grim, dimly lit chamber, made even more somber by the moody music playing. There are plaques explaining that the inmates hid papers in the latrine, and that some of them escaped through a sewer pipe — sections of which are on display

You can also take a peek at the solitary cells, where not only were inmates chained to their beds, but those beds were angled with the feet up, which caused health problems in the long run. Elsewhere, there are a guillotine and various implements of torture, a grim testimony to man’s inhumanity to man. And woman — one section focuses on the treatment that some female prisoners were subjected to, and it wasn’t pretty.

Near the end of the tour, we finally come to the American section, which features photos, uniforms and other relics. The official word here is that the American POW’s were treated quite well, as if the label of Hanoi Hilton (which the placards have no problem repeating) were closer to literal than ironic. And to substantiate this, there are photos and film clips of these prisoners playing soccer, decorating a Christmas tree, and just having a grand old time. There’s even a photo of an elderly John McCain returning years later for a visit, and grinning as if fondly recalling his residence here.

The prisoners themselves, however, presented a unanimous, detailed and consistent account of torture, abuse and deprivation. So who you gonna believe? POW’s? Or government officials? A government would never lie to you, would it? While it appears that the Vietnamese treatment of them did soften and improve over time, there’s no doubt that the horror stories are real. The unfortunate fact is that virtually every nation abuses POW’s. And the Vietnamese already had the facility and the tools for torture, as well as extensive first-hand knowledge of how to use them ; it would be naive to think they didn’t do so themselves.

After such a sobering attraction as the Hanoi Hilton, we’re in the mood for something more light-hearted. Fortunately, we have just the ticket. Or at least we know where to get the tickets. Our next stop is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre.

Water puppetry is a tradition in Vietnam dating back a thousand years or so. There was always a big festival at the end of the rice harvest, with music and dancing and — eventually — puppets shows, performed in the rice fields flooded with water. The art form become so respected that it was presented before royalty. Nowadays, the puppets, which are made of fig wood, have been promoted from the paddies to comfy air-conditioned theatres, where their stage is flooded with water. And one of the five major theatres offering these performances is here in Hanoi, within walking distance of Hoa Lo.

In this theatre, there are ten puppeteers, standing in the water but concealed behind a screen. And on either side are musicians and a couple of singers, with traditional instruments and traditional attire. It’s a compelling performance, exactly the kind of cultural immersion that we hope for and seek out in our travels. Despite a couple of noisy kids seated behind us, we thoroughly enjoy the show, and are spellbound for its duration of an hour or so. Oh, we don’t really understand it fully, of course. Being a traditional art form, there are no subtitles. But we sort of follow the general gist of the 17 skits, with characters including fishermen, waterfowl, and a dragon or two.

So, having experienced puppetry, pagoda, prison, and presidential tomb all in one day, we’ve had an initial discovery of Hanoi that has been most fruitful and memorable indeed.

Events occurred 7/4/205