Hanoi – The Paris of South East Asia

We pulled into the train station at 4:10 a.m. after a rather hot trip from Hue. The train was on time – it was a 13 hour journey. While the kids got some sleep, both Kristen and I were a little worse for ware. The most disturbing thing for me was the mouse that crawled across my arm at 11:30 p.m. and that was it for sleep for the rest of the ride….

Arriving in a hot, dark and deserted city at 4:10 in the morning is an interesting experience with a family of five. It was completely closed up – not that we expected anything different. Even the hotel was locked up but we managed to wake the two security guys and we deposited our luggage in the lobby and then began to aimlessly wander the streets of the Old Quarter. We had read that if you want to watch this city wake the best place to go to is Hoan Kiem Lake…and they were right. When we first arrived there at 5 a.m. there were a few people walking around the lake. By 5:30 a.m. there were thousands of people doing aerobics, tai chi, praying, stretching…there was a makeshift gym with benches and weights and of course people trying to sell you something – water, fruit, kid’s toys etc. Somehow the family stilled looked OK after the sunrise but that did not last....

By 7:00 we were finished…everyone was exhausted. We wandered back to the hotel (after several wrong turns) and sat in the restaurant and waited for it to open. We ate and then the hotel staff offered us another room to “rest because you all look very tired” (which was a kind way to say that we looked like crap!) before our room was ready…thank god…Kristen fell right to sleep, the kids zoned out in front of the TV and I caught up on the blog and news. By 11 a.m. we were in our room, had showers and got ready to explore the city.

We have had five full days in Hanoi all of which have followed a similar pattern. We make our plans for the morning and by the time 2 – 3 p.m. rolls around we are back in the hotel for some air conditioned rest, showers, reading, dry clothes and journal writing. In a city that is 35 degrees each day with almost 100% humidity, we are literally soaked through by lunch. We do feel that we are getting used to the heat as we have managed to stay outside a little longer each day.

City highlights have included:

The Old Quarter



The Old Quarter is one of the original sections of Hanoi and is where a great deal of trade takes place. The streets are very narrow and change names after most corners so one needs a map to navigate!! This is the area that we stayed in. What is most interesting is that most of the streets are named after the trade that takes place on the street and this has been the same for over 600 years! For example, there is a hardware street (all hardware stores are there), silk street, kitchen supplies street, kids toy street...you get the picture. Once you get comfortable with where you are, and can read the confusing maps it is a fascinating place. The french influence is not as evident here as it is in the French Quarter except for the few french bakeries which we HAD TO sample a couple times.

The French Quarter



From the narrow busy streets of the Old Quarter, the streets of the French Quarter are wide and tree-lined with European architecture like the Hanoi Opera House (above). The ritzy hotels are in this area (which are great to sneak into, pretend you belong there and use the toilets...) as well as a scattering of old temples tucked down alleys. There are still lots of cyclo drivers offering you for rides. We spent a day wandering these streets, finding an english book store and discovering little fun spots for drinks.

Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and Museum

No one in the history of this old nation it seems has had such a profound influence more than Ho Chi Minh. He is on each and every paper currency (Dong), his statue and picture are everywhere...

This Mausoleum is a shrine for the people of Vietnam. While his will stated that his body be cremated and scattered equally throughout the country, the government changed the will to allow for his body too be on permanent display in this building. His dream of a unified country under one government was something he never saw. When he was President, he ruled the North mostly and under the 1954 Geneva Accord, the country was split. He saw his country defeat the French but his death in 1969 and the age of 79 meant that he was not around for the 1975 victory over the Americans. Flanked by the Presidential Palace, his tomb requires you to go through security and deposit your bags and cameras. His tomb is sombre but was quite moving for the kids - they had never seen a dead body before..of course perfectly preserved and reminiscent of Lenin's Tomb in Moscow for those who have been there.

After exiting you go past the One Pillar Pagoda (ordinary) and then are welcomed to the Ho Chi Minh Museum. This museum does not pretend to be objective - it is a partisan tribute to "Uncle Ho" as the Vietnamese call him. His speeches, replicas of his birth home, lots of memorabilia - it was very interesting and the kids seemed to like it as well.

Temple of Literature

After the Museum, we continued our walk to the beautiful Temple of Literature.

Built in 1070 (yes - 1000 years ago) it was originally constructed as a temple for Confucius but was developed into a university which was in operation until the early 1900s. There a fantastic buildings, gardens and turtle ponds in the middle of a very busy Hanoi. It was a peaceful place and a respite from the noise.

Water Puppet Theatre
One of the highlights that we looked forward to all trip was the Water Puppet Theatre.

This is a theatre show with traditional music (live band) and the story of the rural people - the farmers, the harvest and of course the four powerful symbols of the country - the dragon, turtle, tiger and phoenix. The story combines many folk tales that we had heard from the time we landed in Vietnam so it was nice to see them all come together. All the puppets were in the water and controlled by people from behind - they were creative and the story was quite funny (the parts you understood anyway). It was a hits with all of us.


West Lake and B52 Bomber Memorial



On our last day, we wandered to a part of the city that was not strongly recommended in the guide books. The West Lake is a large lake to the west of the city. It seemed like it was 5 degrees cooler. There was also the remnants of a B52 Bomber that was shot down during the Christmas bombings in 1972 - another reminder of the effect of this war on everyone. We had lunch at a road side "foot stall" - BBQ port and noodles for $2 (that's for the whole family!) and we discovered the Royal Botanical Gardens which were nice.

Food

Of course, we cannot talk about Hanoi without hearing from our resident food critic and food photographer, Joshua.

This plate was a highlight at a restaurant we found down a long alley that was run by a foundation that gave street kids a chance to earn a trade. The Stuffed Squid was very good - so good that he refused to share it. A picture is worth a thousand words!! His lunch cost about $3.50!!

Stay tuned for Halong Bay, the Vietnam wrap-up interview with members of the Family of Five and our early impressions of Laos!!