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Published: December 6th 2005
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The trip back to Hanoi from Cat Ba was very enjoyable (a cruise through Halong Bay and a minibus ride from Halong City to Hanoi) and we arrived in the city around 5pm. We walked the streets for about an hour in search of a suitable guesthouse and landed at the Mingh Vihn for $11 per night. We enjoyed a nice meal and a few beers before hitting the sack for the evening.
I'm glad to be back in Hanoi as it is a beautiful city which we did not explore last time we were here. I woke up early and strolled around the lake which is situated in the Old Quarter (where we were staying). Tamar finally got out of bed so we plotted a walking tour towards the Ho Chin Minh mausoleum that would take us past Lenin's statue/park and the military museum. Near Lenin's statue, a young girl and old lady were playing badmitton. I asked to try and found the game a bit awkward as you can swing very hard but the "bird" does not go far which is the point. Tamar then took a try and she was horrible. The young girl laughed as Tamar
attempted to hit the "bird". I snapped a photo of me and the young girl laughing.
We then walked a bit to the Ho Chin Minh mausoluem (very large and fitting for the legendary leader) and the large open square that surrounds it. We ran into unfortunate bad timing as the HCM museum was closed for renovations. So we continued our walking tour of the area past the Temple of Light (it was closed) and then, as it was was almost 5:30, we enjoyed our first Bia Hoi (fresh brewed beer...a favorite activity in Hanoi). The tall glass of cold beer was very refreshing and at 1,000 Dong per glass ($.08), a real bargain. We then headed to Little Hanoi restaurant for "make your own spring rolls" (very tasty) where we chatted with three Swedish girls at our table. We exchanged Vietnam travel tips before parting ways.
At night, the streets around the Old Quarter were flooded with people on scooters carrying Veitnam flags and celebrating their country's win over Myanmar at the 2005 Asian Games in the Phillipines. That night we attended the famous Hanoi Water Puppet show which was entertaining but a bit underwhelming after the
"must see" comments from some of the older tourists in the city.
The next day Tamar and I then rented a scooter to see the various sites of Hanoi. There are three wonderful lakes within a few kms of the city center and we strolled around each while enjoying the sights and sounds of this bustling, modern city. We got to watch a few locals try their hands at catching fish from the lake. One lucky youngster pulled in a very large fish and allowed me to take his photo. We then got a bit lost and stumbled into the Thun Lee zoo where we became the main attraction as lovely old Vietnamse ladies wanted to take photos with us and kids laughed as we walked by. The zoo houses many monkeys from the region as well as an elephant, two tigers and a black jaguar. Strolling through the zoo grounds was a slpendid way to spend two hours in Hanoi.
We had a late lunch at KOTO, a restaurant where the funds are used to educated Vietnamese street kids in order for them to get jobs. We returned the scooter, after having survived the wild streets of
Crossing the tracks
The beginning of our walking tour of the day took us over these tracks towards the Ho Chin Minh mausoleum. Hanoi, and looked forward to a night out in Hanoi. We tried the Baracuda bar which was recommended to us but it was an Aussie run bar full of Aussie travelers. So we left and were approached by two Vietnamese guys who offered us their motoscooter taxi service. I asked them "where can we go to experience a Vietnamese type night in Hanoi. They responded with "we take you place good, ok?" We negotiated a price of 10,000 Dong per person ($.60) and Tamar and I jumped on the back of the scooters. I was a bit concerned as these guys were taking us kms out of town but hey, it's all an experience. Our scooter taxis zoomed through the streets and even got onto a semi-highway as the drivers took us to our mystery location. After 10 minutes, we pulled up through a back alley and presto.....we were at the Hanoi Marriott! Tamar and I could not believe this was what the guys thought we wanted. We laughed as they drove away. We hopped on another two scooter taxis for a ride back to the Old Quarter where we found a nice little local bar to chill in and
Badmitton
I join a badmitton session in Lenin park. laugh about our recent travels.
The next day we took another walking tour around including a stop at the military museum which unfornuately was closed (just my luck) but I was able to sneak around a bit and snap a photo or two of some of the hardware they showcase including a Russian MIG fighter and tank. Determined to find an OPEN attraction, we headed towards the Temple of Light to enjoy a quiet afternoon strolling through its gardens. Afterwards, I tried to get a train ticket for the next day to Hue but they were sold out. So I decided instead to purchase a Bus Ticket which would allow me to go all the way to Saigon while jumping off at various cities along the way. In the late afternoon, we again enjoyed some Bia Hoi with the locals before washing up and spending our last night Hanoi.
Tamar caught a taxi to the airport the next morning while I got a shave, hair cut and pedicure before catching my overnight bus to Hue at 6pm.
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