A Culture Vulture in Hanoi

Once we got the train back to Hanoi (21st Feb), me and Ross got on a xe om - motorbike taxi - to a guesthouse.  This was definitely an experience as we were both on the back of the same bike AND we had our backpacks.  God knows how we stayed on, and we also had a few dodgy looks, but we made it to the F Hotel in the Old Quarters of Hanoi in the end!   Once in the guesthouse, which was very nice, we met a couple of Dutch girls who we ended up grabbing some food with in Little Hanoi restaurant (awesome food - ate there 3 times!!!).  After that, we moved on to what ended up being a regular haunt - Beer Hoi corner.  This is a small junction where every corner has a 'bar' that sells draught beer for 2000vtd.  For your information that's 6p a glass of beer!!!!!  Understanfably we ended up going there everynight, as the cheap beer also bought loads of travellers so you ended up meeting new people (like the 2 aussies Steve and Anthony, who we met a few times). 

Anyone fancy eating bird head?

After a few too many beers we ended up in New Century nightclub - it was bloody expensive.  The cheapest beer was 40,000vtd - that is 20 Beer Hoi's!  Maybe it was because one of Vietnam's most famous pop stars was dinging there (He was rubbish, by the way).  The place was also full of dodgy lookimg locals, each of whom had a massive bottle of Hennessy on their table, so they could have been mafia.  Who knows?!  All I know is that we never went back there at that price.

Beer Hoi Corner - 6p beer!

It wasn't all drinking in Hanoi though.  I took myself off one day (23rd Feb) to see some of the smaller sights on my own.  First stop was the Veitnamese Women Museum, which documents the role played by women in the past wars.  After that I went to see St Joseph's Cathedral, which looked good with all the local kids playing outside.  After that I visited Hua Lo Priason (Hanoi Hilton) where many political figures and American pilots were kept or killed by guilotine.  I found this place very interesting to see, but a bit weird when you think of what happened there.  After that I saw the Memorial House, which was a restored traditional Vietnamese house.  I got shown around by a nice girl in traditional dress, which made it better!  Final stop was the oldest temple in Hanoi - Bach Ma - which was nothing special except it had a statue of a white horse in it!?  I had also walked around the Hoam Kiem Lake with Ross the day before, and walked onto the island to see the temple dedicated to Confusius and Maoism.  It was alright, but more of a ticking off the list really.

Do I pass for a VC member?

On the 24th we saw the big stuff - Ho Chi Minh Museum (arty-farty and full of 'symbolism' ie. not my cup of tea), Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed so didn't see the body), Lenin Monument, War Histpry Museum (awesome, with tanks, choppers, anti-aircraft weapons, and loads of pieces of memorabilia - a great visit), and lastly the impressive Museum of Vietnamese Ethnology (with different village huts, demos, displays, history of communism).  We did all this in a day - How productive!!!

We had some other good nights out too, like the one which was going to be a quiet one.  We were in an empty bar when a Vietnamese woman came in for a bit.  It turned out she was back visiting from London on business.  She owned Solace, a bar/nightclub on the Red River.  We ended up going there for gree and getting a few free drinks.  It was a good venue but full of expat idiots so we didn't stay to closing.  As I said before, most nights focussed around Beer Hoi corner mostly though, just chatting and being sociable!

Fighter jet at the War Museum

The only problem I had was that I booked a trip at a different hotel than ours.  That upset the manager, who took me aside and had ago at me.  I felt really bad, as I really liked the guy, but he was being a bit of an idiot.  His wife, on the other hand, was one of the nicest people I've met whilst away.  She ended up arguing with her husband because he was rude to me.  She went out of her way to help us, and she explained her husbands anger to me.  As I said, she was a lovely person, and gave me a good impression of Vietnam, more over Vietnamese women.  The men on the other hand tend to be more aggressive and rude.  I guess it's a global phenomenon!

Marching outside the Mausoleum

Hanoi is a cool little city that I can imagine living in for a bit.  The locals are really nice, the roads are crazy, and is very livable.  I even got an e-mail address in case I wanted to teach there!  Another thing - I got a new camera.  At last!!!

The cathedral

The taxi to the club