After the not-so-long flight from the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I was in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. My hotel was near the Old Quarter and like most buildings in and around this area, the frontages are very narrow but they go back a long way, kind of like slim townhouses in style, and are known locally as ’tube shops'. Unlike other Asian cities I have been to, there are loads of great examples of French architecture from it’s colonial days, low rise mansions with a fair amount of open green space which is why I knew I would love this city. However, like most Asian cities, comes the fascinating mix of watching people weave in and out of the traffic and miracously never touch each other, and those who load everything including the kitchen sink onto the back of their moped or bicycle and somehow nothing falls off! The hotel was opposite an area of open space and each morning and evening there are people, mostly ladies, doing Tai Chi with rice hats or ballroom dancing. Funny and fascinating at the same time. The outside is lined with makeshift barbers who set up a chair, an old mirror and cut locals hair under the trees.
The first stop in the morning was Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and the Presidential Palace complex. On the way, we drove through the French quarter which was full of typical french architecture, shuttered windows and small balconies, the opera house and tree-lined boulevards….you could have been somewhere in Europe! The mausoleum itself is guarded by Vietnamese guards all in crisp white uniform and it sits opposite a large open area and parkland. The building itself is quite imposing looking with a few neatly cut trees sitting outside it. The short walk around the corner is the Presidential palace and grounds. This building is beautiful, very French looking and in stunning grounds. I got to learn loads about Vietnam history here, the war and about Ho Chi Minh himself. The tour guide explained how Vietnamese people hold him in high regard and call him ‘Uncle ho’ - he changed a lot about Vietnam and was a humble person who preferred simple things. He refused to stay in the Presidential Palace so I got to see the house he had built in the grounds which is a simple teak house built on stilts. The board room where he held his meetings, his dining room and bed is all very simple and not grand at all as you would expect. The house sits around a lake and close by is the One Pillar Pagoda or ‘Love Temple’.
Next I went to the Confucius Temple which is a large temple complex in central Hanoi. It was explained how lots of students and undergraduates use this place to take pictures, or to celebrate as a good luck charm. There were several examples of this as groups of girls in traditional Vietnamese dress, some with robes and certificates would pose for pictures. Being a white guy with tattoos, I had several come over and ask me for selfies, similar to what I had in China! They were really friendly so I said sure, if I could have a selfie back with them, hence the picture below! The temple complex itself is a really calm oasis in the city and nice to walk around with lots of religious imagery everywhere.
Lunch was a street side cafe and served the most amazing noodles with lemongrass, chilli and bits of beef. We had a fried doughnut thing to dip in to the models with was nice! Vietnamese food reminds me of a real mix between Thai and Chinese. The local drink, similar to Fire Water in China, is called Rice Water. It’s like a strong shot of Tequila and supposed to help with sleeping! There is also Hanoi beer which apparently you can only get in Hanoi in the country from the local brewery.
I took some time to walk through the narrow lanes of the Old Quarter in Hanoi which has many streets historically named after the local crafts of that area, for example Silk Street, Paper Street, Baker Street and so on. Theres lots of street sellers here and I felt it a lot less pushy than say in some places like Thailand or China. Despite the chaos of people and traffic, I felt Hanoi was pretty safe etc to walk around. Even when crossing the road, unlike China where they don’t stop for people, our guide told us you find a gap, start walking slowly and the traffic will stop or move around you. It does actually work! Somehow there is this harmony that it all juts flows and works together. I hopped on a rickshaw ride late afternoon and again, the same thing. I took several pics below but even one of them, a lady with a huge amount of clothes on a rail, was casually pushing her goods down the road weaving in and out the traffic without a care in the world.
In the evening I went to see the famous Water Puppet show which has been exported to other cities around the world. I can only describe it as a bizarre, camp, funny in part, musical using puppets on water. The puppeteers are behind a curtain and use them to move them around and interact in the water while a small band and singers sing in Vietnamese. I understood it in parts, was a fun thing to do but I wouldn’t necessarily go back. The theatre is located near one of the large lakes in Hanoi, the one with the Red Huc Bridge, which is a great spot at sunset.
Loved Hanoi, one of my favourite cities so far in Asia.
