Hanoi Hotels
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Hanoi and what annoys!
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Our visit to Hue is all too brief as we fly out to Hanoi this morning.
The overcast sky continues to follow us.
Hanoi, was the name given to the city by King Minh Mang in 1831. Ha means river and Noi means within - Hanoi means within the river. Over 3-million people live here in the
capital, a large bustling city filled with people, opportunities and noise.
Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh boast young populations who are leaving the countryside at alarming rates.
You share the sidewalk with women squatting next to their steaming pots of noodles or dumplings.
They advertise their tiny business by placing 2 or 3 tiny plastic chairs out for hungry customers.
The motorcycles crowd these businesses by scooting up on the sidewalk to park. There are rows and rows of motorcycles.
They almost create a wall-like environment for the women and their pots. It's motorcycles - steaming pot - motorcycles - steaming pot - sleeping dog - motorcycles.
The activity and lack of sidewalk space forces us to walk along the street gutters and keep our stride with the active pace of everyone around us.
Once again, our steps are interrupted by the beep-beep-beep of the motorcycles as they politely let us know they are passing by - all 10,000 of them! We are literally encircled by noise and motorcycles.
You cross the street by slowly moving forward so that the traffic can veer around you as nobody stops. It's easy to walk slowly as you're staring down dozens of motorcycles that are just inches from you and only fear keeps you from bolting.
People are so friendly. Any time we stop and glaze over, someone takes the time to ask us if they can help direct us or hail a cyclo.
Almost everyone seems to speak English and the preferred currency is the US dollar. The Vietnamese people share a real joy at having a good life now since most everyone remembers the tough, lean years prior to the arrival of tourism.
With more than 1,000 years of history, Hanoi is considered to be the cultural center of Vietnam. Most of the historical buildings in the country were destroyed by the wars but there is little evidence of that damage today.
The Old Quarter is the oldest continuously developed area in Vietnam and has a history that spans 2,000 years. The ancient streets are laid out like a triangle and each street has a specific theme for their wares whether it be store after store of shoes, Chinese New Year items, baby items, brass-ware, etc. Merchandise literally spills out into the sidewalks. The majority of the street names here start with the word 'Hang' which means merchandise or shop.
From Lauren: Mom's greatest souvenir of the trip was purchased here; after we saw every nook and cranny of the Old Quarter that is (you know my mom). She managed to find the one item in Vietnam that wasn't for sale everywhere; a beautiful sculpture carved out of a tree root that grew around the temples. Although it was heavy, it was worth the trekking around!
In the Old Quarter's furniture district, I found a wood-carved piece of a dragon blowing down into the sea; the sea is churning and the fish are being tossed above in the waves. The natural state of the wood is weaved in and out of this unique piece. The price is $140 but we haggle down to $95. This piece is about 18 inches tall and weighs about 20-pounds. It barely fits in my backpack and the pack's zipper must be tied closed to accommodate the dragon's protesting head.... Yes, this becomes my carry-on and (once I lug it home) a wonderful topic of conversation when sharing memories of our trip.
Originally built in 1049, the One-Pillar Pagoda is a wooden structure that sits on stilts over a lake. The original was damaged during the war so the current pagoda is a miniature reproduction of the original, and represents a lotus emerging from the water.
The Presidential Palace was built between around 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina. The palace hosts government meetings and is not open to the public.
When Vietnam achieved independence in 1954, President Ho Chi Minh refused to live in the Presidential Palace for symbolic reasons. He built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house and lived there until his death in 69.
Ho Chi Minh wished to be cremated with his ashes buried in urns on the hilltops of Vietnam. However, his embalmed body is on display in a granite mausoleum modeled after Lenin's Tomb in Moscow.
All cameras, purses and bags are surrendered prior to entering this tomb. Our tour group was lined up 2x2 and with arms down at our sides. As displayed in upper left photo.
The Hoa Loa Prison (fiery furnace in Vietnamese), was built in 1904 by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners. American POW's were imprisoned here during the Vietnam War and nicknamed it the 'Hanoi Hilton.'
One of the young pilots shot down was John McCain (US Senator). Display cases show McCain's uniform and parachute as well as their mugshot book of the POW's. A special room proudly displays photographs showing how well the U.S. prisoners were treated and that they lived a 'regular joe' life here....(visiting U.S. vets had different memories)
We were shown the lake where McCain's plane crashed into - right smack in the center of Hanoi. Hanoi provided 18 lakes to choose from!
The war propaganda and photos are a strange touch but part of the communist history, and our guide comments that most Vietnamese are tired of it.
The US never formally charged Vietnam with the war crimes committed here against American POW's.
The tour ends with the guillotine that the French used on their Vietnamese prisoners, that included women. The pictorial comes complete with eery photos of victims.
Chuong Vang (Golden Bell) Theater provides a water-puppet Theater. Puppeteers are hidden behind a curtain and their water puppets are brought to life with the use of underwater bamboo rods and a traditional orchestra providing background music and sound affects. For an extra $1 you could take photos with your camera. I'm telling ya, dollar bills are big in Vietnam. Everything's a dollar!
Where I stayed:
Nikko Hotel
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