Hanoi, Vietnam Part 1

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Hanoi, Vietnam—Part One

As you can tell from this blog entry, we are a few weeks behind in providing timely updates. We will be providing several back to back updates to bring you up to speed.

We depart Bangkok Thailand on Thursday, 30 September. We would have stayed in Thailand for much longer, but our 30 day visa was expiring and we had to move on. Our plans are to return to Thailand. Our new game plan will take us to Hanoi in North Vietnam then we will work our way south to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). Our visa will be valid for 30 days in Vietnam.

Due to our new selected route, we decide to fly to Hanoi then travel south using overland transportation. We had arranged a ride from the airport in Hanoi to our when we set up our reservations. We booked two nights into the City Gate Hotel based on guidebook recommendations and other online reviews. It was a cheap option and located in the old French Quarter.

Upon arrival in Hanoi, it is raining steadily. On the ride from the airport we notice the huge amount of manufacturing plants in multiple industrial areas. I was really surprised with the number of international corporations that have set up shop in Vietnam. I guess these corporations have taken advantage of the cheap labor in this country. We saw plants for companies such as Canon, Panasonic, LG, Honda, Yamaha, as well as many Asian companies. The steel industry also has a huge foothold in Vietnam. I have to shake my head because America had the foothold in the steel industry previously. Where, oh where did we go wrong in America?

Our driver takes us to the hotel which is located down a side alley near the old east gate. We check into the hotel and the rain continues to pour down in buckets. Our room is equipped with a computer right in the room and also has free Wi-Fi. We dropped the bags in the room and the rain lets up for a brief time. We work our way down the streets to get a bite to eat. After a quick walk, we return to the hotel. One thing we immediate noticed about this city is the noise and amount of people zooming around on motor scooters. Now, we have traveled to many cities that have a large amount of motor scooters, but Hanoi appears to be the motor scooter capital of the world. People insistently honk their horns and weave in and out of the sea of scooters like a precision dance routine. This city is loud and busy and we have only scratched the surface. Hanoi boasts a population of about 3.5 million and there is equally the same number of scooter running around.

The following morning we woke up and the rain subsided long enough for us to take another stroll. We headed down to Hoan Kiem Lake. We walk the streets among the sea of street vendors. People dump their trash right in the road and periodically, a cart rolls by ringing a bell and the attendant cleans up the discarded trash.

Crossing any major street in Hanoi is extremely intimidating at first. Traffic signals appear only to be suggestions because many people pay them no mind at all. We sit back and watch how the locals cross the streets. It’s amazing, but they slowly step off the curb and proceed. Amazingly, all of the scooters work their way around pedestrians. We watched an elderly man with a cane make his way across a busy street. He took one small step at a time and didn’t even look up at traffic. I think we finally cracked the code so we give it a try. Wow, it works—it really works. We make it across the street as the scooters move around us in all directions.

While walking around the lake, we notice a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). We both looked at each other and knew we were both ready for some American fast food. While walking around, the rain comes and goes. Sometimes it pours and all of the street vendors rush to protect their goods. When the rain subsides, they pull off their tarps and proceed with business as usual. They appear to have this routine down to a science.
We walk around the old quarter to look for alternative accommodations, we set our sights on the areas right around the lake because of availability of western conveniences. We find a place called the Royal Hotel and book in for the following day. The room rate was a few dollars more, but they also had free Wi-Fi. The rain becomes relentless by late afternoon. Although we are wearing our rain jackets, we are soaked to the bone from the sweat inside the jackets. All of the locals are wearing full length ponchos and some of the tourists have followed their lead. People on scooters were even wearing their ponchos.

As we make our way through the streets to the hotel, we are forced to take a few detours because the streets have now become flooded. After walking around several blocks, we soon realize that the flood waters are rising and shops along the streets are now becoming flooded. We are forced to wade in knee deep water through the streets just to make it back to the hotel.

We make it back to the hotel and notice the river of water running through the lobby. The water isn’t from the flooding, but from the leaks in the building. We decided that we made the right decision in changing hotels. The heavy rains have shut down all internet connections in the city and power outages were common throughout the city. We soon learn that this is the worst flooding Vietnam has seen in over 20 years and we were stuck right in the middle of it.

We spent one day in the room and never left it except to go across the street to get a bite to eat. It was actually quite relaxing to get away from the noise and confusion of this busy city.

Naturally, we had to make a visit to the infamous Hanoi Hilton. This prison was originally built by the French who occupied Vietnam and it held political prisoners. Most of the prison has been demolished but, they have maintained a small part of it as a tourist destination. The Hanoi Hilton, as we Americans know it was made famous during the Vietnam War. This is where the North Vietnamese held American pilots and aircrew. One of the Hanoi Hiltons most notable prisoners was John McCain. His pictures while in captivity adorn the walls. All of the displays absolutely turned my stomach because of the twisted propaganda in their displays. They certainly point out about the American saboteurs and how they launched air raids on Vietnam. They point out that these American pilots were detained and they show glamorous staged photos of life of the detainees. The show photos of prisoners enjoying Christmas, playing basketball, volleyball, chess, and even tending to gardens. I had to bite my tongue as I walked around and read all of this bullsh!t propaganda. Sure we have all heard of the harsh conditions John McCain suffered while being held captive, but I have other personal accounts to reflect back upon. I think back to listening to real heroes like George “Bud” Day and his personal accounts of his time in the “Hilton”. Although I had mixed emotions about visiting this site, I am glad that I got to witness this type of propaganda first hand. This is the same type of propaganda that traitor Hanoi Jane believed when she betrayed our brave men who were being held captive and being brutalized.

While in Hanoi, we would be making a side trip “blue blaze” to Ha Long Bay. We had done a little bit of research and talked to a few folks who have taken the trip to Ha Long Bay. Although all of the hundreds of tour companies offer tours to Ha Long Bay, many folks have said to go with a reliable company and pay a few extra dollars to ensure you get a quality trip. We had been warned that you get what you pay for on these trips. We decided to go with Ocean Tours for a three day—two night trip. Sure we paid a few extra dollars, but we would soon find out that it was well worth it. We find the Ocean Tour office which was only a block away from our hotel. We book the trip for the following day and inform our hotel that we will be returning after our trip to Ha Long Bay.

On Thursday, 6 November, we head out for our adventure on Ha Long Bay. Stay tuned for our next update from Ha Long Bay.

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Photos

Wear your helmet
It's the law

Entrance to Hoa Lo Prison
AKA--Hanoi Hilton

Prisoners playing basketball
Check out the brand new sneakers