This morning came with a downpour which left me a quandary. I hired a bike last night in anticipation of an early ride. What to do? So I waited while Lisa hit the gym. Then we had breakfast...and then I couldn't wait any longer. Fortunately the rain had stopped...almost. And off I went for a crazy pursuit around Westlakes with a mission to return in an hour. It was great fun. Dodging cars, puddles, stray dogs and those motor scooters. Slipstreaming behind scooters, slipstreaming cars, overtaking scooters, chasing down scooters, swerving oncoming traffic. I must have looked like a crazy westerner...was! Picture shows the end result. Looks like something out of Paris-roubaix.
For our first visit today we set out for the National Museum of Vietnamese History. Mainly tells the story of their unrelenting resistance to Chinese, Mongol and Cham invasions over 2,500 years. They take credit for defeating Genghis Khan (or was it Kublai?). Makes the American War look like a picnic! The museum had some incredible artefacts...see pictures. Great dioramas, epic paintings, statues, pottery, etc. Loved all the Indian influences (Garuda, Shiva and Buddha) through the love/hate relationship with the Cham people.
All this fitted well with the Water Puppet show we went to later that night. Full of folk stories from the different tribes and people's of Vietnam. While the theme of unity amongst all this diverse heritage was overdone, it was fascinating to watch.
Apart from some more walking around in the Old Quarter, shooping and swimming, that was it for Day 3. We're still really tired so off to bed early again.
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