22nd - 23rd October Hanoi (Big Trouble in Little China)

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After the relative quiet of Northern Thailand and Laos, Hanoi was a shock!

Of course, we'd been to Vietnam before, and certainly knew what the major cities were like, having negotiated the streets of Saigon a few years back. I had memories of dodging several of the 9 million motorcycles and praying every time I stepped on to the street. I had naively expected something similar in Hanoi but felt I was up to the challenge this time. Nothing prepared me however for the chaos! While there were still several million motorcycles taking to the streets in blatant disregard of any possible road rules, the age of the car had well and truly hit Vietnam. And these were not small city run-abouts. These were large luxury SUVs that had no respect for stop signs, traffic-lights, pedestrian crossing... or pedestrians for that matter. On several occasions we found ourselves stuck in 6 to 7 lanes of traffic (no mean feat on a three lane street) while everyone refused to give way. And the highways were no better. On more than one day trip out of the city I suspect the passengers weren't the only ones closing their eyes as we overtook trucks - I'm pretty confident the bus driver had his eyes shut as well!

Despite the traffic madness, there are a few notable things of interest on any tourist's to-do list, and we dodged traffic long enough to take in some of the sites as well as a couple of trips out of Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

In the centre of Hanoi, a large area is devoted to Ho Chi Minh. The centrepiece is a large mausoleum, a memorial to the Vietnamese leader, where his embalmed body lies in a bier inside a glass case. It is located in the centre of Ba Ðình Square, which is the place where Ho read the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Uncle Ho, as he is affectionately known in Vietnam, left directions for his cremation in his will. However, at the time of his death in 1969, the year after the Tet Offensive, the war was still raging and morale was low. Communist Party chiefs recognised his iconic status and overrode his wishes.The embalming process was undertaken by Russian experts – each year in early autumn, his body is flown to Moscow for three months for maintenance. He was off on his annual Russian "holiday" during our visit, so we were unable to see him.

The grandeur of the mausoleum is a strange contrast to the simple stilt house where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Built in the style of ethnic minority dwellings, it overlooks a large carp pond and is a calm sanctuary. Visitors can look through the windows to see the austere furnishings and his few personal possessions. On his desk each day is a vase of his favourite blossoms, hoa hue trang, a sweetly scented flower rather like a tall white bluebell.

Nearby is the magnificent Presidential Palace, once the palace of the Governor-General of Indochina during the colonial period. Unfortunately, it’s not open to the public.

In the opposite direction, the Ho Chi Minh Museum provides a comprehensive overview of the man’s life and work and his vision of peace and happiness. It’s informative, but understandably overlooks some of the more risqué episodes in his life. Ho has an almost god-like status in Vietnam, one can't help but feel the propaganda machine at work when walking through the museum.

Water Puppet Show

One of the final activities on our tour was a visit to Thang Long Theatre, to see Mua Roi Nuac, or water puppetry. It is an art unique to northern Vietnam and originated in the 10th century as a form of entertainment for the farmers in the rice field. Modern, water puppetry is performed in a pool of water with the water surface being the stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. The puppets are carved out of wood and often weigh up to 15 kg. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers of Cheo (a form of opera) with origin in north Vietnam sing songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets.

Hanoi was the finishing point of our Intrepid tour and sadly this is where we would be saying goodbye to our traveling companions of the last 15 days. On the final evening we had a decidedly western dinner at a little Italian restaurant close to the hotel. It had been two weeks of sharing amazing experiences with a group of like-minded people from all corners the world and it was in some ways sad to move on. However we all had our own further adventures calling us, and as it turned out, was not the last we were to see of Paul at least, running into him again a cou0ple of times in Vietnam and again back in Sydney! Just goes to show, it really is a small world.

Ninh Binh

We had an extra day to kill in Hanoi before heading off to our trip around Halong Bay so decided to do a day trip to Ninh Binh, about 90Kms south of Hanoi. The region is famous of the Tam Coc cave, rice fields and Cuc Phuong National Park. The roads were exceptionally well constructed. Winding through the rice paddies, it was obvious that within ten years there would be mass strip development opening up the area to the tourist masses.

Tam Coc is one of Vietnam's most spectacular sites, and is often referred to as Halong Bay on land. Now it is much less touristy than the bay but with the investment in infrastructure it won't be long before it's opened up. The way to see Tam Coc is to hire one of the rowboats, paddled by the women, usually with their feet. Beware however, once you get through the caves, you are sure to be accosted by floating drink sellers. On the trip back the rowers suddenly turn to pushy sellers, insistent on you selling their (usually poorly) handmade, embroidered tablecloths. It's been recommended in the past to insist on a boat that does not carry a large metal handicraft box. It turns out this is pointless advice. They simply row up the river and take delivery of one out of another boat, once you are on board.

And here in lies my dilemma with Vietnam. It's very much a love-hate relationship, that I think most tourists share. The country itself is stunning, with some of the most amazing scenery. Capitalism, however has hit Vietnam with a vengeance. We've travelled extensively through SE Asia and Bali and so are used to the barrage of hawkers trying to haggle a sale, but Vietnam is the only place we've ever felt truly intimated, harassed and scammed - not a good start to building a strong tourist industry.

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Photos

The Water Puppets
An art-form unique to the delta area of northern Vietnam

Final Dinner
Sadly it was time to say goodbye to our new found friends