Hanoi

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We arrived in Hanoi on the 4th of July and not surprisingly there were no big fireworks shows scheduled for that night. On our first full day we took a walking tour of the city and really loved what we found. It was a large city, but much more walkable especially on the west and south side of the old quarter. The old quarter is centered around a large lake that holds an two islands, one of which you can reach by bridge to visit its pagoda.

As twilight approached we ran into dozens of badmitton games being played all over the city parks and squares. It seems like almost every area large enough for a court had lines painted and nets put up. Others played board and dice games that looked new to Allison and I. All together it made the city streets feel very lively.

We also stumbled on what I think is one of the newer malls in the capital at one corner of the lake. It was similar to a mid-sized indoor mall you'd find in the states. Our favority feature was the blaring A/C that was a welcome break from the 90 degree heat outside. There was even a coffee shop on the 3rd floor complete with frappacinos and other fancy drinks. Funny enough, they charged US prices also.

We were craving western food in Hanoi and found it on our first day in the form of KFC. While Allison wouldn't eat anything, she was very happy with our large soda with tons of ice. Again... more A/C was great. We also ate at a very fancy french restaurant that was in an amazing old colonial house complete with garden. Le Pub was another favorite as it was more british pub than french with fish and chips and great drinks.

One of the several museums we visited during our stay was the Hoa Lo Prison more infamously known as the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam war. The museum was mainly dedicated to the years before the vietnam war when it was french run. There was a small area dedicated to during the war when american pilots shot down over Hanoi were kept here. The exhibit was biased to say the least in stressing how well cared for the Americans were during their "temporary" stay. They displayed a volleyball net and cards they were given to entertain themsleves... the medical checkups they recieved...etc. Suprisingly, none of the prisoners were smiling in any of the pictures. We saw two photo's of John McCain here. One from when he was a prisoner and one from 2002 when he returned to Vietnam to visit. While this reminded us again of the recent history between the US and Vietnam it was a very interesting place to visit.

As much as we liked Hanoi, we were looking forward to our 2 day side trip to Halong bay, about 3 hours from Hanoi. This trip did not disappoint.

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