Today at the Museum of Ethnology… It is a very in-depth collection of artifacts, tools, clothing, bowls, baskets and every other imaginable piece of daily life used by the 54 ethnic minorities that are represented in Vietnam. Information boards, videos and photos tell the story of their history very well. Also at least 17 recreated houses are on the grounds that you can walk through and visualize the manner of every day life. What was fascinating to me was that many of these minority ethnic minorities are spread all over other parts of Asia and I have been fortunate to have been in many of their actual villages. Proof of that is seeing some of the same house styles here at the Museum, at least a few of which I have actually slept overnight in during my other cycling trips. So that was kind of an interesting connection…

Paul is a guy from Nashville that I’ve ridden with in Asia before. A collector of antiques, he always seems to find interesting shops. Somewhere he found a mention of a place called 54 Traditions, which is an antique gallery here in Hanoi. So, we find our way out there after the Museum of Ethnology and the place looks closed. He knocks on the door and the owner comes out and greets us. Mark is a retired pediatrician from New York; came to Vietnam after the war and fell in love with the culture. He began to collect various antiquities himself and would obtain really interesting shaman pieces, many other art and clothing pieces which are difficult to find anymore due to the transition from the old ways to new by many of the minorities. So with no expectation of what was to come, we started a three hour tour of his shop with him telling us in-depth information about almost every piece in the place, and it was more as if we were visiting a museum with a personal guide than a shop with items for sale. It was actually a fascinating and enlightening window into the lives of many of the ethnic minorities in the area over the last 50 years, and how they have been changed by the inevitable march of so-called progress. Mark the pediatrician, had worked with some of the tribes on medical issues over some of his career, that is how he ended up having an involvement here. For example, he said that prior to 1985, it was extremely rare to see motorized vehicles of any sort in Hanoi. Everyone used bicycles, Cyclo’s which are the three wheel version with the wagon or seat on the back, or Ox drawn carts. A motorized vehicle was extremely rare sight, and in a way it is hard to imagine a culture just so few years ago being so incredibly behind in that aspect. I believe it was in the 90s when Vietnam Communist Party here decided to adopt what has become a common model for most remaining communist nations, adopting a market economy and eliminating most of the collectivism that was the prior model. The theory is that people will work harder when they are working to make money for themselves versus making money for the state and everyone else. Seems to be working if a measure is how many cars, motorbikes, and clothing stores there are… Do that was our education by Mark today! BTW, Bill Clinton is a regular customer at the store apparently. Ps; I regret looking now that I failed to get a single photo of Mark’s place!!!

The rest of the day was uneventful, out to the night market after eating dinner at “Gecko Cheap and Cheerful Restaurant”… Tomorrow we move to the group hotel and meet the gang in the evening. Itching to get biking! (And itchy ankles from Mosquitos as always…😃)

Forgot to mention…
Art Hotel room 703 has a great roof deck to see the city from sipping a homemade g&t with Bombay gin liter for $15us. Also, we stopped at a “via hoi” local beer ace, had two large steins of beer for $1.60 total! Gotta love that!!