Special Feature:  Interview with Thai Anh, Deaf Tour Guide in Hanoi

Video produced/edited by Niven

Hola!

I woke up in the early morning wondering how time went so fast from the first day when we were all so excited to fly to Vietnam and spend the first day in Vietnam to the last day touring around the amazing country.

I got up and got ready for the last day in Vietnam. We were required to wear pants to show respect to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. The Ho Chi Minh Museum places Vietnam Ho Chi Minh’s body in a museum and buildings where he lived and worked as the president of Vietnam. They don’t allow people to take videos or pictures of Ho Chi Minh until we get out of the Ho Chi Minh building. I did not realize how serious they were until Niven filmed for a vlog before the security line, and a man tapped on his shoulder really hard, like all of us can see that. He looked angry as he told Niven not to film. 

We were in a two-hour and five-minute line to see the body of Ho Chi Minh for only ONE minute. Also, we navigated through crowded lines, and many people tried to get in front of us. As we waited in line for 2 hours, many elementary children were there on a school trip and they were happy to see us. They constantly waved at us. Anyway, I did not realize how many people came to Ho Chi Minh just to see a body, which means that he was an important person and he had a big impact on those people. 

After spending a long time in the line, we finally entered the room and saw Ho Chi Minh, who many people came to visit. I looked at that body, and it did not look so real to me because it seemed so perfect. The blanket that covered him looked so perfect without a wrinkle. I found it very fascinating that the body in a glass will go down and close at noon. Then, it will be in a cold temperature room to preserve the body so it will last longer. Also, they put a tube inside the body to keep it from decomposing. Ho Chi Minh’s body tends to be shipped to Germany every two or three years to restore it by adding some makeup to keep it in its original condition and more. 

After spending a long time at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, we hurried to get in the van and get to the train place. There are many different shops, including coffee, smoothies, tea, and many others. Many tourists, including ourselves, went there just to see a train pass through. So we sat near the train rail and ordered drinks as we waited for the train to come. People who worked there told us to stand up by the wall. I was wondering if it will be that really close. Then, finally, the train passed us, and WOW, it was really close, like one foot away from us. I can feel the train swooshed by. 

After the train went by, we got in a van and went to our tour guide, Thai Anh’s workplace. It was a very cool place to work because the buildings were pastel colors: green, pink, blue, purple, and yellow. We went to a restaurant, where all the workers were deaf, and there was a cool view of the river, and it was right next to our table. The view almost looks like Venice, Italy, with people in a boat through the river. Then, we went on a scavenger hunt. We had to find another restaurant that had deaf workers. We also made our rolled ice cream by ourselves, which was so cool. The rolled ice cream tasted really delicious, and the mango & raspberry flavor is a perfect combination with sprinkles; and, of course, it must have chocolate syrup on it. I would recommend that you all try it. 

After all the fun times at that place, we went to an old quarter in Hanoi. It was our last opportunity to buy something for ourselves or our family members for the last time before we leave Vietnam for America. 

See ya soon!

McKenna