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Published: September 29th 2006
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Ho from Hanoi! Today is our third and last day in Hanoi. Everyday is improving and so far today, no hitches. So our attitude towards the city is slowly changing. Early this afternoon was spent walking around the scenic Hoam Kiem lake in the old quarter. The lake was peaceful and a welcome change compared to the hustle and bustle of the rest of Hanoi. The streets of Hanoi, especially around the old quarter, are narrow, littered with small shops and local vendors. It's a very colourful spectacle but you have to keep an watchful eye on the traffic as everyone fights for a space.
Our next visit was the Hoa Lo Prison Museum which was nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the US soldiers (who were held here) during the Vietnam war. It was originally built by the French to hold Vietnamese revolutionaries. Well worth the visit for those who wish to spend an hour or two in the city, with impressive artefacts of prsioners clothes, chains and a nasty guillotine. I was going to use it as a photo opportunity but Amy got scared (health and safety does not exist here!)
From here onwards to KOTO, a non
profit restaurant set up to give the local street and disadvantaged kids a chance to learn new skills (hospitality, cooking & English) and improve their lives. Worth a plug to anyone visiting, has great sambos too, reminded myself and Amy of home food, very tasty, think i'm turning veggie. For more information log into www.koto.com.au . While we are plugging, we forgot to mention a similar group in Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Starfish... http://www.starfishcambodia.org/ this group worked with disabled people, who had mainly lost limbs due to mines from the Khmer Rouge days.
On Tuesday we decided to venture to the local market to go shopping for some warm clothes for the mountains of Sapa. We came across the most unfriendly people we encountered in our whole trip. The vendors wouldn't help us out and we really wanted to buy! We couldn't understand it. We were ignored at every stall. We decided to be brave as I tried on a tracksuit. It fitted quite well, which was a bonus for me. So I enquired how much it cost including a top for Amy, and was quoted almost $40 dollars. This was extortinate for Vietnam's standards so we decided to flee. We
were really fed up with the vendors attitude and couldn't understand it, contrasting greatly with Saigon vendors (suddenly touts don't seem so bad!). We got two pairs of shoes in the end at an ok price on the streets after much haggling. That afternoon we went to the theatre to see water puppets. It's a traditional form of Vietnamese art and a very skillful talent. We probably didn't appreciate it. I caught Amy nodding off after 10 mins, I wasn't much better. Maybe we're becoming negative, onwards back to the hotel to crash and watch cable tv, better over here than back home.
On Wednesday we decided to head to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, where Ho Chi Minh rests peacefully. The building is guarded intenesly by soldiers adding to the pomp. We decided to catch a cab to the Mausoleum, we were told by our hotelier that the trip should only cost around 30,000 Dong. After five minutes we reached 35,000 dong with the metre flying up. Very annoyed we aked him to pull over and accused him of tampering with the metre, he feigned ignorance and his English suddenly became very bad. He nicely said that he would
bring us to our destination for even more money! Even more enraged we jumped out, a kilometre or two from the mausoleum. Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but we decided to dress appropriately for the occassion and I sported my new runners with socks and wore long trousers. Very soon I was boiling, Amy wasn't much better. When we arrived we discovered that Uncle Ho didn't even want to see us and had gone on a trip to see his make-up artist in Russia! The Mausoleum was closed for September. We were very confused as there were lots of people there as well just gawking at the gates. So we decided to improve our humour with a local coffee, again we were ripped off, charged double the price. Looking for more punishment we headed back in the direction of the museum to visit the One Pillar Pagoda. This was a bit of a disappointment, nothing spectacular. So our mood soured even more. However we decided to stay on the tourist trail and visit the "The Temple of Literature." This was well worth the visit with funny turtle tablets listing the attendees of the university in the backdrop of
colourful gardens. We finished the evening on a top note. Homeward bound we found an Indian restaurant, the gods were smiling as we lapped up a Mali Kofta, delicious!
One of best aspects of Hanoi is Bia Hoi, which is a ridicously cheap beer sold in stalls on the side of the street. It costs around 20 cent a glass. It's a good way to sample Vietnamese life as many locals come after work for a few swift scoops and some grub, they are alot more animated than most races when boozing, you have to shout to hear yourself speak. Myself and Amy tucked away a few before heading home, our mood much lighter, thinking maybe Hanoi isn't such a bad place.
I write as we await an overnight train to Sapa in the mountainous North West...plenty of activity awaits us (might help work off the Bia Hois!)
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