Advertisement
Published: February 29th 2012
Edit Blog Post
We flew into
Hanoi from Hoi An and checked into Rising Dragon Estate hotel around 3pm.
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
In the North, it was misty and grey; the temperature definitely took a dip from Central Vietnam. Kostek said it felt like Seattle in November. The staff at the hotel was wonderful. They pointed out all of the highlights of the city on the map, provided hours of operation, and recommendations. They also went to the Water Puppet Show box office to get us tickets for when we returned to Hanoi after Ha Long Bay for two nights.
Because our plans were 1 night in Hanoi, then 2 in Ha Long Bay, and final night in Hanoi before an early a.m.
Confucious
Honored with offerings of rice wine, flowers, and choco pies flight out to Hong Kong, we would never be in Hanoi in the early morning. Jess, Kostek’s cousin, had spent a year in Hanoi and we were so glad to have her excellent recommendations to guide our limited time there!
We were off to navigate the streets to visit the
Temple of Literature before closing-time.
The Temple of Literature is a temple of Confucius. The compound also houses the Imperial Academy. Although several Temples of Literature can be found throughout Vietnam, the most prominent and famous is that situated in the city of Hanoi, which also functioned as Vietnam's first university. The temple was first constructed in 1070 under King Ly Nhan Tong and is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. The Imperial Academy was the first national university of Vietnam. It was constructed in 1076 during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong for training the talented men, including crown princes, for the nation. For nearly 1000 years, it has preserved its ancient architectural style of many dynasties and precious relics at the sanctuary. The various pavilions, halls, statues and stelae of doctors are places, where many offering ceremonies, study sessions and strict
Crossing the street
We braved the traffic by walking slowly and not stopping exams of the Dai Viet took place.
The temple was impressive, with multiple courtyards leading to the final structure which honored Confucius and various former kings of Vietnam. Even though close to closing, it was still abuzz with many tourists, and Vietnamese couples posing for wedding photos.
We then wandered the streets and headed off for Friday night in the big capital city. During our Hoi An walking tour, the guide mentioned a delicious and cheap ‘fresh beer’ called Bia Hoi. We found a buzzing downtown intersection with tons of locals and tourists overflowing the sidewalks on tiny plastic chairs. Just as we were about to try and vie for a seat, car sirens went off, and police cleared the area, as traffic couldn’t pass. Just as soon as the police left, everyone picked chairs back up and resumed their earlier seats. It was entertaining to watch, with police, bar owner, and patron all smiling. I was only to assume this is the standard dance they all do every Saturday night in Hanoi.
We settled into two plastic chairs on the sidewalk against the bar’s building (so not actually in the road), to take in the
Hanging with the locals
Very nice fruit vendor lent me her gear sights and try our first Bia Hoi. The scenery and people watching was top notch, the beer was probably bottom notch. After a few sips, we traded the draft brew (which Kostek proclaimed the worst he’s tried in his life), for a bottle of Beer Laure. The night ended with us taking a cyclo over to Dragonfly, where we were promised a foosball table. Although no foosball, it was impressive to see a 3 story large disco with locals singing and dancing at the tops of their lungs. We called it an early night as the next day we were off to an early start with an 8 am pickup for the 3 hr trip to Ha Long Bay.
You can read about our time in Ha Long, on our earlier post, ‘Ahoy Ha Long Bay’.
When we returned from Ha Long Bay, we got back to our Hanoi hotel around 3:30 pm, and off we set for Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and museum. Although the Mausoleum is only open in the mornings, the structure from the outside was substantial. We navigated large intersections with hundreds of motorbikes like locals, and headed to the museum with a quick
Local beer
Friday night action stop at the one pillar pagoda. I was impressed with the manicured lawns. Onwards to the museum, where we sped through the top floor as guards were closing up all displays behind us. Upon entering the museum, Kostek remarked that this is the first time he’s been in a communist country since 80s in Poland. The building struck me as very bureaucratic, and I don’t think I’ve seen so many hammer and cycle flags in one place before.
A nice stop on our way back from the museum was a little hidden-away café Jess recommended. It was great to have some hot tea and a little peace and quiet overlooking the buzzing city, especially since our throats were bothering us (my guess because of the cold temperatures, being on the boat, and general street pollution). That evening we went to Highway 4 restaurant (thanks again Jess, was very tasty), and on to Water Puppet Theater.
Water Puppet Theater is a traditional art form where live musicians play traditional instruments, and puppeteers are behind bamboo screens in water up to their waists. The main show is in front of the screens, where the puppeteers seemingly effortlessly tell stories of agriculture, love,
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
He only likes being seen in the morning and spirituality through their puppets dancing through the water.
Next stop, early morning flight to Hong Kong – where we go on straight to Macau!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.103s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0409s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb