Vietnam

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Welcome to Vietnam -- at least Northern Vietnam -- where we spent a short, but happy week!

We arrived in Hanoi at 2 am after leaving Laos on a bus at 6 am the morning before. We were happy to finally make it! Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and is a fascinating blend of East and West, with Chinese influence from centuries of dominance, and French design from its colonial past. Hanoi retains much of its older colonial charm, and, if we can find one positive side effect of war, it has kept Hanoi largely free from ugly modern architecture. As a result, few buildings in the city center area are higher than five stories and the colonial architecture remains well-preserved on narrow, atmospheric streets.

Hanoi is built around a couple of lovely lakes, which provide nice places to people-watch. We enjoyed starting the day with a coffee and croissant on the edge of Hoan Kiem Lake. There are a couple of pretty temples built on tiny islands in the middle of the lake and we visited one of them as well. More than anything, however, we just enjoyed the vibe sitting there and watching the people pass.

We didn´t see traces of the war that we would have encountered if we had traveled in the South (e.g. Ho Chi Minh City -- previously known as Saigon). However, we did stop at the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, which was known as the "The Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam war era and where many US POWs were held after they were shot down. Little emphasis is given to this period however, choosing to focus on the period it was used by the French to imprison Vietnamese freedom-fighters.

We took one side trip to Halong Bay on the Gulf of Tonkin. It is a beautiful area with 1969 limestone islands jutting imposingly upon the skyline. Unfortunately the place is a bit of a tourist trap and the unique panorama is spoilt by a tremendous amount of "junks", or Chinese-style boats, carrying tourists around the waters. Still, it is the only way to get out on the water and closer to the gorgeous scenery, which made it worth it.

Stay tuned -- next stop -- Hong Kong!

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Photos

Hanoi
Hoan Kiem Lake, with one of the little temples

Hanoi
We really noticed the Chinese influence in the old statues -- most of them had very characteristically Chinese faces/features.

Hanoi
Bridge to one of the little temples on the lake.

Hanoi
Temples galore....

Hanoi
One of the grand old buildings in the Old Quarter

Hanoi
´Hanoi Hilton´- prison that became notorious during the Vietnam War in the US. In Vietnam, that period of history is barely represented.

Hanoi
Hanoi Hilton

Hanoi
Hanoi Hilton

Hanoi
Typical street scene with woman carrying food

Hanoi
Another view of the pretty lake!

Hanoi
The ´Temple of Literature´, which also served as the country´s first University, dates back to 1070

Hanoi
Temple of Literature

Hanoi
Inside one of the temples....

Hanoi
Typical street scene -- Motorbikes are omnipresent in Hanoi!

Hanoi
Typical lazy charm of a street in the Old Quarter

Hanoi
The Catholic Cathedral

Hanoi
Sunset on the lake...

Hanoi
Water puppetry is a popular folk art.

Hanoi
Live musicians accompany folk legends from Vietnamese history, told with wooden men, women and dragons, dancing and splashing on the face of the water. The narratives are sung in Vietnamese.

Comments

[Aunt Joan]

Natural wonders . . .
Hello, Heather Lee and Florian! Such natural wonders interspersed with significant culture, but, alas, singed with regretable history -- and yet the people go on . . . . Thank you for helping us see and understand. We await more sharing.... Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Joan

[Tom Kinberg]

What an adventure
What an adventure. I hope that you have stopped at every postoffice and picked up new issue stamps and will stop in lincoln city, oregon and drop them off in person. Hope to see you both when you get back to the states. Tom

[travelbugs]

Left Vietnam
HI Tom, Greetings from Zurich/Switzerland. Our blog is a bit lagging our movement :). We are currently in Switzerland and Heather has started a job. Any plans to come to Germany and pay us a visit in Switzerland?