Hanoi
As our flight to Tokyo was not until midnight we still had a full day to explore Hanoi. We left our bags at the hotel and headed off for what would be a long day’s walk around some of the main sites in Hanoi.
Our first visit was the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. This is an ancient complex of buildings dating their origins back to before the 10th Century and contains many ancient buildings and relics which enlighten on Vietnamese history. There are many places to explore in the complex and it was very interesting.
We then walked to the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh which is a huge edifice standing in the middle of Ba Dinh square. Around it are similar Stalinesque type buildings which are all military in purpose. We walked around the Mausoleum but I think it was closed, although I didn’t feel like asking one of the many soldiers stationed around the building. A very imposing structure to commemorate such an important figure in Vietnamese history.
Next we went to the Temple of Literature which served as a Confucian Temple and place of learning, serving as Vietnam’s first national university. The area consists of gates, pavilions, halls and statues. The audio guide was almost essential here as there was so much to see in each of the different courtyards and the buildings and temples within them. This was possibly my favourite place in Hanoi as it really showed the historical links between Confucianism and learning and was a serene oasis of calm in the middle of the bustling city.
We then walked on to the French Quarter, with a short stop at a café on the southern shores of Hoan Kiem Lake for drinks and something to eat. Given the French occupation of Vietnam from the early 1800’s to 1950’s it is not surprising that there are still many remaining buildings in the grand, French colonial style and obviously there are many in the French Quarter, including an opera house based on the Paris Opera. We walked through the streets looking at the buildings and noticeably more affluent boutiques and then entered the Vietnam National Museum of History. The museum covers Vietnam’s history from pre-history through to the revolution in 1945 and is incredibly interesting with many ancient relics and treasures as well as a clear view of the timeline of the different peoples that now make up Vietnam.
We headed back up the east side of the lake, stopping for some more food at a Banh Mi stand and ate it sitting at the edge of the road.
We continued on and bought some tickets for the next Water Puppet show. While we were waiting we had a drink at a rooftop bar above a busy road crossing and passed the time watching the continuous ballet of cars, mopeds and pedestrians below, all without injury.
We then went to the Water Pupper Show which comprised of puppets representing people, spirits and dragons on a pool of water and moving around to the sound of live, local music. Even once it became obvious how the puppets were being moved it was still difficult to see how the puppeteers did not get tangled up with each other. It was a really enjoyable show despite getting splashed in the front row.
As time was passing we had a final walk around the lake as darkness fell, eating the obligatory ice-cream before heading back to the hotel. The hotel staff could not be nicer and allowed us to use a shower as we had been walking in the heat all day. The taxi arrived and we headed to the airport for the next leg of our trip to Japan.
As I had said previously Vietnam was a bit of a revelation to us. We did not really know what to expect but we were completely amazed by all that there was to see and the friendliness of the people. There is so much more to see in Vietnam than we were able to and I am sure we will be back.
