We saw Ho Chi Minh yesterday!

Trip Start Aug 21, 2003

Trip End Ongoing

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of Vietnam Hoi An to Hanoi, Vietnam
Friday, December 5, 2003

As you know, our motorbike trip through the Central Highlands dropped us off in the small city of Hoi An, where we spent our time relaxing and recuperating. It was the rainy season in Hoi An, and by the time we left, we had to walk through knee deep water just to get to our hotel. Hoi An is a gorgeous city full of French colonial architecture and ornate Chinese assembly halls. The Old Quarter has been thoughtfully preserved and is a network of tiny streets and alleys, which looked similar to the canals of Venice by the time we left. The streets are closed to truck and bus traffic, which is a blessing in Vietnam. Most of our time was spent walking through the streets, window shopping and sightseeing. The area is famous in Vietnam for its silk and tailor shops, which are everywhere, so we found the best shop in the city, recommended to us by Lucky, and had some clothes made. This was a luxurious experience, as they take you back into a beatiful Chinese style courtyard, serve you tea, take all of your measurements, while you look through piles of fabric and choose your styles. Five hours later we had some new outfits.

From Hoi An we took a miserable 18 hour bus ride to Hanoi. We awoke to find ourselves cruising down a street in Hanoi, which was an entire block of street stalls and storefronts displaying dead dogs hanging by their necks from hooks, ready to be sold to anyone who likes thit cay, or dog meat. Not something you want to see first thing in the morning!

Hanoi is an extremely loud city, with an Old Quarter similar to Hoi An's, except much louder and crowded.

01 - Hoi An Architecture

This is where most of the sights are in Hanoi, and thus where most tourists spend their time. The best thing about Hanoi is the presence of bia hoi (fresh beer) stalls, which sell glasses of beer from the keg for about 10 cents a glass. Very popular. The beer goes so fast, motorbikes deliver up to 3 new kegs at one time. In Hanoi we discovered kem com (rice ice cream), which quickly became our new favorite flavor. We eat it every day, sometimes twice. It is a very picturesque city, dotted with lakes and tree-lined boulevards. It would be a great city for walking, except everytime you step out of your hotel you run the risk of being killed by a rampant motorbike. Good thing they constantly warn you with the horn, the second language of the Vietnamese, in Lucky's words.

We have seen a couple interesting things in Hanoi, one being the embalmed corpse of Ho Chi Minh. This was a pretty freaky experience. The guards line you up single file and then take you through the Mausoleum around Uncle Ho's body, which is frozen in time inside a glass cubicle. We can't really figure out the country's obsession with this guy. He did liberate them from the French, but also ran a successful police state which involved torture, unnecessary arrests and so on. Maybe they didn't respect him so much though, considering his Will requested cremation and they mummified him anyway. A Communist tradition, apparently.

We also experienced the traditional Vietnamese art form of water puppetry, which is believed to have originated in Northern Vietnam in the 11th century. It basically involves puppets dancing in a pool of water, and was most likely invented by bored rice farmers of the Red River Delta during the flood season.

From Hanoi we took a sidetrip to Halong Bay, a World Heritage site in the Gulf of Tonkin. The water in the area is emerald green, and dotted with limestone rock formations jutting out of the water. We took a relaxing 2 day cruise aboard a Chinese junk and sailed throughout the various rock mountains, of which there are thousands. Ha Long translates as 'descending dragon', and the Vietnamese believe the area was formed by a dragon who flew down from the sky, waving her tail to create valleys through the mountains. These resulting valleys filled with water to create Halong Bay.