So Jennie and I were visiting Hanoi's #1 tourist attraction, The Temple of Literature, on Saturday (I think Jennie will post more on that later) when we had a pretty weird experience. The compound is a series of temples, and in one of the temples I turned around and saw a group of about 10-12 Asians being led around with a formal tour guide and interpreter. There were also several photographers and cameramen in toe. When the group got real close to where I was standing I leaned over and asked one of the photographers in Vietnamese who was the leader of the delegation. He informed me that it was the North Korean Foreign Minister (Pak Ui Chun) who was visiting Hanoi. Boy was I surprised to be that close to one of the leaders of one of the few countries deemed part of the "Axis of Evil."
I was also frankly quite surprised that he didn't seem to have any security with him and that they didn't clear out the Temple of Literature for his visit. Tourists were allowed to mingle around in the same areas and we were just a few feet from him a couple of times just checking out exhibits. All tourists are treated to a musical performance at a certain point in the tour and he received a special performance that they let other tourists also attend. At the end of the performance, they invited him and another North Korean up to the front to wear enormously hideous bamboo hats (about 4 feet around). Both dutifully donned the hats and smiled for the cameras. Unfortunately, all of our pictures turned out blurry. Before concluding his visit, he was guided over to the a big temple drum and invited to bang on it. Afterwards, he was ushered out of the temple from a side exit and into a nice new Mercedes flying the North Korean and Vietnamese flags - perfectly befitting every totalitarian dictatorship that spurns capitalist overindulgence.
