Advertisement
Published: October 6th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Part two of my whirlwind trip to Vietnam takes me 700 miles north to Hanoi, the capital city. Since I only had two and a half days, I had to fly from Saigon as the train ride would have taken up to 3 days. Hanoi with 6 million people is smaller and and not as hectic (relatively) as Saigon.
I stayed at the
Hanoi Art Hotel in the old quarter amidst the tree lined rambling lanes of work shops and stores. The streets are named after individual trades (i.e. tailors, shoes, silk) and most of the stores only sell specific items. Often times the merchandise spill out into the sidewalk and mingle with the makeshift eateries. There are also many hawkers carrying bamboo poles with baskets on each end laden all sorts of fruits and prepared foods. All these makes for a great time just wandering around.
Just south of the old quarter is picturesque Hoan Kiem lake. With its green waters reflecting a small pagoda in the middle of the lake and a temple that can be accessed by a red wooden bridge, this is probably Hanoi's most romantic spot. Lovers and joggers lined the promenade which is short enough to be
covered in 30 minutes. The pagoda is dedicated to a giant tortoise that legend says presented a sword to a fisherman who later became king. In the temple there is actually a preserved giant turtle that was caught in the lake in the 60's. Apparently there is still one of these very rare creatures living in the late today.
Near the lake is the water puppet theater. A performance of this was highly recommended by every guidebook. The tradition started in the rice fields where the water filled paddies where used to hide the bamboo sticks and strings used to manipulate the puppets. It reminded me of the lonely goatherd scene from the Sound of Music, except there were dragons and the songs were a lot less catchy. Photos are only allowed if you pay extra but you can watch the show
here .
About 20 minutes walk west from the lake took me to the French Quarter. French era buildings, an opera house, fancy shops and hotels, streets lined with tall trees and the occasional parks, make this place the most desired address in Hanoi. You can almost pretend you're in Paris.
Of course no visit to Hanoi would be
complete without seeing Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Unfortunately I was only able to view it from the outside. It is closed this time of the year as Uncle Ho's preserved remains is undergo the annual restoration.
My other day in Hanoi was devoted to a day trip to the world famous Halong Bay ( three hour bus ride from Hanoi). The bay was punctuated with thousands of limestone islands jutting out of the waters and were indeed very striking but probably more so on sunny days. The day tours invariably follow the same route: cruising on a wooden boat (faux Chinese junk), lunch on board (which was surprisingly good) and a trip to Hang Dau Go caves and a half an hour of kayaking. The cave was the largest I've ever been in with 3 chambers and at one point I figure the ceiling was about 100 ft. tall.
For people who have more time there is an option to spend another day on the boat and explore some of the islands and go swimming. I've talked to people who've done this and I'm glad I didn't. The bay water looked far from pristine and as dramatic as Halong is,
I kept comparing it to
El Nido . Which has fewer islands but the scenery there seemed more varied, more breath taking and the environment more pristine. Also there is a big difference exploring a place that is geared towards mass tourism versus a smaller impact more sustainable approach. Nonetheless I can understand why Halong is one of the top tourist draws in Southeast Asia.
My favorite memory of Vietnam is, after a long day of sightseeing, squatting on a low stool and eating a steaming bowl of
pho on a sidewalk in Hanoi, surrounded by locals enjoying a beautiful night in the old quarter.
I say goodbye to Vietnam and head back to Thailand for Chiang Mai.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.305s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 72; dbt: 0.0687s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb