50shadesofbrave

My Hanoi stay has been in two parts, with a trip to Halong Bay in the middle (see my previous post here). I arrived into Noi Bai airport after a slightly delayed (which it seems they *all* are) 1-hour flight from Da Nang, and it then took me almost twice as long to locate my ride and get to my hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. I wasn’t massively impressed with my room – I get that space is at a premium in the city centre, but my room had no natural light, a shower cubicle in the bedroom, and as it turned out, an infestation of bugs in the bathroom. I had booked for both parts of the Hanoi stay, but ended up cancelling the second stint and finding an alternative. No matter.

I had already booked on to a similar food tour as I did in HCMC, and was due to be picked up within an hour of arriving, which suits me well when I arrive in a new place, as I can feel somewhat disorientated and anxious. So, between 6 and 9 pm I was whizzing around Hanoi on the back of a moped, seeing some sights and tasting some local food. We started with donuts – a pre-dinner snack – before being taken across Long Bien Bridge, then back into the suburbs for the customary noodle soup(s) and some really delicious egg rolls and banh xeo or Vietnamese ‘tacos’. We then had dessert, chè xoài, which was for all the world like bubble tea and fruit in coconut milk! Quite tasty though…

Our last stop was the infamous ‘Train Street’, where (mainly) tourists sit alongside the main railway line from north to south Vietnam, while the train passes within inches of your face. It’s dangerous, terrifying and amazing all at once! We were instructed to keep our legs tucked in (apparently someone had had a nasty accident a few weeks prior) and we sat and filmed the entire experience. Bonkers. I arrived back at the hotel tired, full and ready for sleep.

On my first full day, I booked a walking tour through Guru Walk. These are free, but not really… they’re more ‘pay what you feel’ with an expectation that you won’t take the piss!! Our walk took in five locations, starting with a good amount of time at the Tran Quoc Pagoda at West Lake, then past the John McCain memorial, on past the government buildings, which we were told not to photograph, to the Presidential Palace, and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Just a look at the outside for the moment. We stopped for a coffee before walking through the embassy district and finishing at the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and Vietnam’s first university from 1076 to 1779. It is dedicated to Confucius and is the place where many scholars were admitted to their doctorates – one of the most interesting features is the corridor of turtles – apparently rubbing the head of one guaranteed you academic success – there are some 86 there, each in honour of a different successful doctor.

After the tour, and my own exploration of the Temple of Literature, I decided to visit Hoa Lo, or the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ – the infamous prison used first by French colonialists for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for US primers of war during the Vietnam War. Much like my thoughts during the Cambodia leg of my trip, I came away horrified by what humans can do to other humans.

I had decided to have some afternoon downtime, as recounted in my post Massage! After that I returned to the hotel for an hour before heading out for a cocktail in a rooftop bar and dinner. Then packing and bed before the Halong Bay trip the next day.

On my return, Hanoi already felt a little more familiar. I felt I was beginning to piece together the streets of the Old Quarter and around Hoan Kiem Lake. My new hotel was a little further south (mid-lake rather than north). I decided to spend the afternoon visiting Ngoc Son Temple, which actually juts out onto the Lake, and taking a wander through the French Quarter. I did a bit of pre-dinner research and headed off in search of a recommended Bun Cha restaurant, which turned out to be absolutely excellent – crab spring rolls, bun cha and a beer set me back about £4, and I was stuffed! I wandered back towards the Lake and sat for a while just taking in the hustle and bustle of Hanoi in the evening before heading back to the hotel.

Wednesday started slowly. Although my new hotel room has a window to the alleyways behind, it also happens to be just above a set of loudspeakers that broadcast the Communist Party daily messages at 5pm and 7am daily… lucky me!!! I had breakfast and then headed to today’s first activity – a coffee-making class. I mentioned in an earlier post about the many different coffees on offer here, each phenomenally strong due to the Vietnamese ‘robusta’ bean being about 3 times as strong as the ‘arabica’ that most UK coffee is brewed from. There were only two of us at the class – myself and Sara… from Port Talbot, who used to live in Splott! What are the chances! Anyway, we learned how to make black, brown, egg, white, coconut and salt coffees, courtesy of out lovely teacher Jade, who shared all the secrets of what to do and what not to do! It became clear that coffee drinking has contributed in no small part to my weight gain during this trip, as there are huge amounts of sugar in all types of Vietnamese coffee. I was buzzing by the time I left, and I had probably only drunk the equivalent of one and a half cups of coffee spread over the six different types we made. An excellent class.

The highlight of my afternoon was attending the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. Just a 50-minute show, it was totally and utterly engrossing from start to finish. The music, including bamboo flute, was great and the puppetry was so clever. There were 17 little scenes, which I enjoyed all of. Highly recommended!

For my last evening out, I decided to try cha ca ha noi, a fried fish dish, with turmeric and dill, cooked on a table top stove and served (of course) with noodles. I got chatting to the couple next to me and unbelievably, we discovered that we had mutual connections in Cardiff! Six degrees of separation in full flow! I treated myself to a cocktail in a rooftop bar on the way home, before grappling with my now over-full suitcase…

Never one to let the final day of a holiday pale into insignificance, I was up early on my last day, with breakfast done and off in a Grab to arrive at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum for 8 a.m. It was a great time to visit, as there were no queues (which there certainly were by the time I exited the complex). The Vietnamese are certainly keen on their illustrious ex-leader, but I have to say that filtering round the heavily-guarded, temperature-controlled embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh at 8:10 on a Thursday morning was a little surreal! And it was over very quickly – no loitering allowed, just slow and sombre streaming. Once outside, for the princely sum of 40,000VD (about £1.05), I visited the exterior of the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts, and the one-pillar pagoda… pretty much exactly what its name suggests. After an hour or so of wandering, I walked the half hour back to Old Quarter to check out of my hotel.

I grabbed some lunch and then my last afternoon featured a visit to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Interesting, especially the costume floor, which I reflected that my grandmother would have loved. The only downside to the museum was the arrival of about 90 6-7 year olds on a school trip… oh the noise 😩

And so, my time in Vietnam has come to an end. Just the small matter of about 16 hours flying time and a 3 hour coach trip to Cardiff. I will add one further post of reflections once I’m over the jet lag…!