So now we have 4 days in Hanoi, we only planned on two, but since we opted to cancel the 30+hour bus ride from Laos to Vietnam the plane ride added some days to our schedule. We have intermittently visited Hanoi 4 times now, it is a hectic city, with millions of motor scooters, one for every 2 or 3 people in the city. Crossing the narrow streets is like a video game, the motor scooter barrage never ends and is likely to run you over rather than stop, all while many other pedestrians are also trying to do what you are. Be sure not to run into a street food vendor either.
We had a few goals while in Hanoi, see Ho Chi Minh, find the best bowl of pho we could, visit the Hanoi Hilton and come to a consensus on Vietnamese cuisine.
First off we set out with Nick and Julia the Aussies to visit Ho Chi Minh's shrine? grave? displaying case? whatever it was. We found the property and eventually the entrance after a 20 minutes walk from our Rising Dragon Hotel. From there we were funneled to the entrance, put in two lines and stripped of all our possessions before witnessing the embalmed and waxy looking Ho Chi Minh in a heavily guarded glass case. He looked fake, and a source informed us he is actually kept somewhere else, figures. It was a quick trip and closes everyday around noon.
We sampled some street pho, it was pretty good, nothing special yet.
The Hanoi Hilton is well known in America as being the jail which housed US soldiers during the Vietnam War, most notably Sen. John McCain. Visiting the jail was well, interesting. For most of it's existence the jail was used by the French to retain Vietnamese revolutionists, but during the Vietnamese war it earned it's nickname from Americans. The majority of the jail, now a museum and only a 1/3 of its original size focuses on the oppression of the Vietnamese by the French. When showing the history of its treatment of Americans by Vietnamese the propaganda painted a picture of well treated prisoners and "best possible living conditions" for US soldiers. BS, even from a Vietnamese tour guide who said he has spoken with John McCain and other US prisoners upon return a few years ago. Later that day we burned up time going to the movies and cruising around Hanoi's major mall. More pho, this time at a chain restaurant, better, but still nothing special. While street pho is around 25 cents, restaurant pho at a few dollars is about the same.
On the next day we set out on a tour guide trip to see "Ha Long Bay" of the land, essentially the same limestone phenomena but inland. We visited a few replica Wats first, then took a boat ride in pairs through the valley via a river bordered by rice farms. The whole operation was like a Disneyland ride, one boat being rowed by a Vietnamese woman that would pick up her passengers and then return to get the next couple waiting in line an hour later. There were hundred of boats along the river, the women wanted tips, had prearranged agreements with vendors to make us buy snacks and drinks for them and tried to sell blankets and tablecloths during the ride. When we got back to Hanoi we decided to celebrate our last night together by going to the best fine dining restaurant we could find. The place was elaborate, with ponds you walk through en route inside, and all kinds of great decorations and traditionally formal dressed waitresses. Even here, while the food was good, it failed to blow us away. Guess they just don't have it in Vietnam. On our walk back we experienced the country of Vietnam celebrating their SEA Games semi-final soccer victory against Singapore. The streets filled with motor scooter riders waving flags and soon a serious party was on. It was a fun sight to see and a definite highlight.
Eric and Brandon left early the last day to catch their flights while Amy and I were left behind to burn the entire day in Hanoi before our red eye flight to Seoul. We had seen it all, so the day was spent shopping around, not buying, just shopping. We ate lunch at a great euro style cafe on the same block as our hotel, the most expensive meals, but the best, especially the desserts (lemon meringue pie). Then it was on to the spa where I received a hot rock massage and Amy a facial. Still more time to burn, so it was back to the euro cafe for a great dinner (Asian pear tart with ice cream for dessert this time) before our chartered Taxi to the airport. Goodbye Hanoi.
Vietnam photo album
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