Hello from Hanoi!

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Dear all of my adoring fans (only kidding - hi everyone)

Well, here I am, Hanoi, Vietnam. This really is it, the beginning of my gap year away from the creature comforts of the western world! Hanoi is certainly a beautiful city, despite first impressions to the contrary. It may be riddled with dangerously unregulated traffic that seems to believe honking horns is the primary form of communication, be a little dirty and shrouded in a blanket of unseasonable fog, but it has a vibrancy that is hard to deny. Almost everyone I've met so far has been really friendly, from Vietnamese people on the streets to those on organised tours to the hostel itself. The two central districts, the permanently hectic, claustrophobic but traditionally fronted old town, and the sultry baroque streets and wide planted boulevards of the French districts so reminiscent of old New Orleans are spectacular. Just walking around Hanoi is an experience, and one you need all yor wits around you for. So far I've been to see quite a few temples (all extremely ornate - the gilded and red-laquered finish grants them a feeling of being uniquely Vietnamese) all of which are beautiful and which seem to have an attached fable such as being founded on the back of a tortoise in Hoam Kiem Lake which swallowed a golden sword used to fight off the Chinese. I've also seen the HUGE market, where I was able to buy a lovely hat to replace my cool military style baseball cap that I had grown quite attached to, but which I unfortunately lost at Hong Kong airport. I had wanted to buy one of those traditional Chinese-looking conical hats, but none of the men in Hanoi seem to wear them. Instead, they all wear 19th Century style explorer's hats in imitation of "Uncle Ho" (Ho Chi Minh, communist movement leader). Thus I came up with the ingenious idea of combing the two designs in a sort of super-hat I'm sure will one day rule the world!... At the HUGE market (no, this repetition is not hyperbole, it was enormous and had at least 3 levels) I found an explorers type hat woven in straw. No one in Hanoi seems to have one, and although it seems to have elicited laughter from quite a few Vietnamese people in the street, it's also quite a good conversation starter and a great conribution to my collection of hats - and best of all, it only cost 30p! Yesterday I was also able to visit the museum of the Vietnamese Revolution - very interesting and educating on the evils of colonialism, despites lightly biased labelling such as "shoes worn by French spies" and "puppet regime held up by American aggressors" -all a bit outdated now, as they are fast friends. Also visited Lenin park, where it was great to see normal Vietnamese people unwinding and playing badminton. This city has loads to see, and a simple walk just proves it.

Today I went on an organised excursion to the Perfume Pagoda, which was great - the tour group was lovely, and included Aussie Vietnamese expats and a large but really fun Thai family, as well as a Canadian couple who were oginally from Nottingham and Hong Kong - so I am definitely meeting a variety of people! After driving for 2 hours we arrived at the town and took a huge metal punt to the beginning of the temple site (the pagoda itself being a hearty trek into the mountains), which was infintely more fun because they overloaded our punt so it was riding low in the water. As we pushed off this became painfully more evident, and as water began almost splashing onto the deck the Thai woman began hugging her evidently afraid but unamused 15 year old son and yelping that her children could not swim. Of course it was all a bit ridiculous - we weren't actually that low, but it was quite comical to behold and in fact our tour guide had to sequester another boat for half the party. The Pagoda itself was packed - and with virtually no western tourists there it was a crazy but great experience, particularly when I was desperate to find the path up the mountain amidst entirely unintelligible signs! Anyway, I made it in the end, taking the cable car and admiring the spectacular mountains, which were completely ignored by the pilgrims but which were one of the most beautiful sights I've so far seen. The pagaoda itself was a sort of trippy buddist grotto in the mountain, and was amazing. The only negative point was trekking down the montain - infinitely harder than up, because of the wet slippery mud.

Tomorrow I'm off to see most of the major sights of Hanoi, but I'm particularly excited about Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum - like Lenin and Stalin before him and Mao after, his body has been preserved in a glass case - sorta morbid but really interesting. Even Vietnamese food has grown on me - many of the other backpackers are snobbish about it, but compared to the ultra-subtle (read mainly vinegar and mustard flavoured) Japanese food it is turning out to be quite delicious. Anyway, I can't wait to sample more that Hanoi has to offerand to meet the street-children I will be working with. Hope to be able to write soon,

Much love to you all,

Richard

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Comments

[sue Heap]

More please...
Richard Thanks so much for putting in all these miles . What was your accomodation like in Hanoi ? And are there many other gap year travellers on the same route ? I'm looking forward to hearing about your visit to the HO CHi Minh Masoleum. Sue