A Full Day Touring Hanoi

Today we had an early morning start.  After Breakfast we  were treated to electric car rides – four people to a car – of the old quarter of Hanoi which is also known as Chinatown.

In a steady rain we were driven through the retail section.  To say it was busy is an understatement.  The streets were much busier this Monday morning than they were yesterday.  We were amazed at the number of shops, the different types of items sold and how busy the merchants were.  Small storefront after small storefront were filled with clothing, home decorations, food, household products, etc.  Motor bikes were either zooming past us or parked everywhere.  As we said yesterday, there are no traffic rules to speak of.   How the residents are able to navigate five-corner intersections full of motor bikes, buses, cars and pedestrians - with no traffic signals or stop or yield signs – and no one gets hurt is beyond belief but true.

Most of the items sold in Chinatown come from neighboring China and are very inexpensive knock-offs of brand-name items - “genuine fakes”.  To purchase real brand-name items one needs to shop in the nearby French Quarter.

After the electric car ride we boarded our bus and went to the see the government complex in Hanoi which is the capital of Vietnam.

Over the last two days we have been in Hanoi.  Tomorrow we go to Ha Long Bay.  These are places in what we knew as “North Vietnam”. On Wednesday we will fly to Da Nang and begin our tour of what we knew was South Vietnam.  Today, both countries are united.

The major sites were saw were:

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Unfortunately, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Mondays so we were unable to go inside.  We did get to walk around the grounds.  Despite Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh’s will, which clearly stated his wish to be cremated like most Vietnamese people, the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum was inaugurated in August of in 1975. Since then, it has housed the politician’s perfectly preserved remains.

The Presidential Palace Hanoi

He Presidential Palace Hanoi is located in the Ba Ding District, about 15 minutes from the Old Quarter.  It was constructed in 1900 by French architect Auguste Henri Vildieu and used by the French during colonial days. After Vietnam became independent the palace was intended to be Ho Chi Minh’s official residence but he opted for a traditional Vietneamese stilt-house instead. The three-storey, mustard yellow building features 30 rooms built in colonial French architectural style, an orchard, carp pond, and a 91-metre long boulevard surrounded by lush gardens.  The yellow color is used for all government buildings which make them easily distinguishable.  They say it looks great in the sunlight and does not show dirt!

Ho’s House on Stilts

Ho Chi Minh commissioned an Army architect to design a traditional Vietnamese stilt house for him.  The leader requested that the toilet included in the original design be removed, as it was too much of a departure from the traditional stilt house design.

This humble, traditional stilt house, set behind the Presidential Palace is where Ho Chi Minh lived intermittently from 1958 to 1969.  It is set in a well-tended garden adjacent to a carp-filled pond and has been preserved just as Ho left it. We were allowed to look through the windows and doorways into the two small rooms; beautiful yet simple abode.

One Pillar Pagoda

The One Pillar Pagoda was originally built by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the annals, the heirless emperor dreamed that he met Quan The Am Bo Tat, the Goddess of Mercy, who promised him a male child. Ly Thai Tong then married a young peasant girl and had a son and heir by her. As a way of expressing his gratitude for this event, he constructed a pagoda here in 1049.

Built of wood on a single stone pillar, the pagoda is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, the symbol of purity, rising out of a sea of sorrow. One of the last acts of the French before leaving Hanoi in 1954 was to destroy the original One Pillar Pagoda; the structure was rebuilt by the new government in 1955.

The pagoda is often used as a symbol for Hanoi and remains one of the city’s most revered sights in a beautifully tranquil garden setting with benches provided for comfortable contemplation. Many people walked up the steep steps and left an offering while we were there.

After touring the Government complex we drove to the “Hanoi Hilton”.  Hỏa Lò Prison was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners.  The name Hoa Lo, commonly translated as “fiery furnace” or even “Hell’s hole“,  The prison was later used by North Vietnam for U.S. Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War.  It was sarcastically known to American POWs (mainly fighter pilots shot-down during the war) as the Hanoi Hilton. One of the prisoners held here was Senator John McCain.  The prison was demolished during the 1990s, though the gatehouse and a small portion of the prison remains as a museum.  It was difficult to tour this prison. The pictures all depicted prisoners receiving medical care, decorating Christmas trees, etc.  The displays even talked about how they provided the best living conditions they could for the American POWs.

For many Americans of a certain age it is difficult to hear about how revered Ho Chi Minh is in Vietnam but it is true.  To the Vietnam people he is their George Washington.  He is the person who defeated the French, fought to unify the country - a goal that was finally realized after his death.   

After all the sightseeing tours of sites that that honor Ho Chi Minh, we had a break and then attended a Water Puppet show.

Water puppetry is a form of folk arts originating in the Red River Delta in the north of Vietnam, dating back in the 11th century. Many towns and villages in Vietnam have communal ponds that are perfect stages for these impromptu performances, enhancing the widespread development of the art form. Presently, water puppetry is shown in a pool of water.  Puppets are made of wood and then lacquered to be watertight and endurable. During performances, puppets are controlled via a pole-and string apparatus hidden under the water surface by puppeteers standing in waist-deep water behind the stage. While puppets play their roles according to the direction of puppeteers, singers sing songs to tell the story in words.  The theme of the play concentrates on the daily life of rural people and folklores that are imparted from generation to generation.   Above all, water puppetry created a relaxing space for rural citizens in the past; both watching and playing water puppetry was a good way for the local to entertain, escaping from their daily worries and hardworking life.

After the show we returned to the hotel for a light dinner and prepared for our trip to Ha Long Bay.