bus tour around hanoi

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so hanoi was a fun city to do in a day. i live in nyc...it was like visiting another city but pretty fun to be a part of the majority this time. also imagine all the nyc subway riders on motos (motor bikes). they don't have much of a public transportation system so most of them travel by moto! and no joke...it's ridiculous! one day i tried to cross the street at 5pm (rush hour) and looked in just one direction and could not find a gap for at least 5 minutes. i soon found out from my cousin nguyen to "not be afraid." just start walking at the cross walk. walk slowly. do NOT stop. they will slow down for you. they expect you to keep walking so they will slow down. the next time i needed to cross instead of holding my breath i breathed consciously and slowly...and walked accordingly and somehow i made it. it was not as challenging as the day before when i was the frog in the frogger video game! brutal.

so uncle tho + aunt tuc took us all on a bus tour throughout hanoi. hoi chi minh's tomb. can you believe that they maintain his body to this day!!! no lie. "russian doctors" inject him with preservatives so that they can display his body in a national mausoleum for the people of vietnam to visit. they only open in the mornings. the afternoons is for preservation process. why not just do a wax statue of him and save some money! and effort. and time! the worse part of it is that they went against uncle ho's wishes! he asked to be cremated and disperse his ashes in 3 areas, south, central, + north vietnam. the politicians decided against it. hmmmmm. what's up with that?

anyway...we continued on to the bus tour
-Ho Hoan Kiem (Ho Guom) - Lake of the Returned Sword
-Van Mieu - Temple of Literature
-Chua Mot Cot - One Pillar Pagoda
-another buddhist pagoda (i forget the name) that separated the west lake and the lake of the returned sword.
-museum of enthnology - that was cool...mom and uncle tho pointed out some styles of houses that they used to live in before they moved to saigon and reminisced about their childhood.
-an traditional house in the old quarters. the old quarters are interesting. 36 streets with each street selling the SAME EXACT products....like one street would have 30 stores that ALL sold metal cake pans, another silks, another toilet paper, it was like one GIGANTIC chinatown. nyc chinatown multiplied by 20! no lie!

would i suggest you do the bus tour?...sure but be prepared for a FULL day of touring. make sure you get an english speaking guide (i was sure on that) and don't expect to get some real authentic food...as they stop at a more "westernized" restuarant for the tourists to enjoy. all for $25....bargain but a long day! 8am-5pm.

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website: http://www.vietscape.com/travel/hanoi/

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