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Published: April 23rd 2009
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Although Larry and I were only in Hanoi for two days, we managed to squeeze a lot in. Arriving from Hong Kong mid-day, we spent our first afternoon checking out Hoa Lo Prison Museum (nicknamed the 'Hanoi Hilton' by US POWs during the American War); fighting with scam artists (a.k.a. taxi drivers); researching trips to Halong Bay (which we would depart for the next morning) and Sapa; and touring the epicentre of old Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake. By early evening we were exhausted, but still managed to catch a performance of traditional Vietnamese water puppets. Having previously read about this traditional art form, I was curious to see what it was all about, and catching a show at the Municipal Water Puppet Theatre was definitely worthwhile. A Vietnamese art form of at least 1000 years old, seeing the puppets (which are guided by puppeteers who stand behind a bamboo screen) perform vignettes depicting various scenes and legends was enthralling!
August 28th to the 31st were spent in Halong Bay and Sapa. Four days later, after returning from our relaxing tour of Halong Bay and amazing adventures in Sapa, we returned to Hanoi for our final day of sightseeing
in the bustling capital. Knowing that we had a lot of ground to cover, we resorted to our travel bible, the Lonely Planet guide of Vietnam. Following their recommendations for 'Hanoi in a day,' we ate breakfast in the charming Old Quarter before jumping in a cab and making our way to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Seeing the embalmed corpse of good ol' Ho Chi Minh was one of my priorities for our last and final day in Hanoi... unfortunately luck was not on our side because being a Friday, it was closed! Moving on, we spent the next few hours wandering through the grounds for Ho Chi Minh's stilt house and the Presidential Palace, and then made our way to the One Pillar Pagoda where we had the option to buy "Lucky Food" (otherwise known as fruit in a plastic bowl). Although we probably did need luck on our side since we did not get to see the body of Ho Chi Minh in a glass sarcophagus, we passed on the "Lucky Food" and opted for lunch at KOTO, a not-for-profit grassroots restaurant which provides career training and guidance to former street kids. A little more energized after lunch,
Ngoc Son Temple
This small temple is on an island near the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake. we headed out to explore the Temple of Literature and its peaceful grounds, where one can retreat from the noisy streets and enjoy the beautiful courtyards and classic examples of Vietnamese architecture. Founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, the Temple of Literature was dedicated to Confucius and housed Vietnam's first university from 1076 to 1802.
After sightseeing, knowing that we had only a few hours left in the day before boarding a sleeper train for what would be our longest train ride throughout the trip, Larry and I chose to spend a few hours exploring individually before heading to the Hanoi train station for our 11pm departure.
Highlights of Hanoi: - the desserts from the restaurant with the patio overlooking the lake
- the PIZZA from the restaurant overlooking the lake
- Larry's pleasant surprise of finding that yes, beer is cheaper than water in most restaurants in Hanoi!
- the water puppets
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Uncle John
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Lots to see in a day, Great pictures, what is the lucky food?