Hanoi

The view over the lake
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We left Hoi An on the 2.30pm train bound for Hanoi which would take us 14 hours give or take.  We were origianlly going to take the bus which was only 12 hours but after our never ending overnight journey from Nha Trang we decided against it.  The tickets cost us around USD52 altogether and we originally purchased a middle and top bunk (Vietnamise hard sleeping compartments have 6 berths much the same as Chinese).  However, the travel agent screwed up our reservations and we ended up with a bottom and middle bunk.  Turned out to be OK at the end of the day as they didn't charge us more, although they tried to.  We shared our compartment with 4 lovely Vietnamise people and a little Vietmanise boy - very cute indeed.  We had a fairly relaxed journey with lots of reading and a OK'ish Vietnamise rail meal before sleeping until 5am when the music began.

Lee having a cut throat shave from a barber on the street
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After walking from the train station for around 20 mins we arrived at Hoan Kiem lake in time to watch the local vietnamise people enjoying their morning exercise.  We saw people practicing their Tai Chi and others running and walking around the lake - it was a lovely welcome to Hanoi.

practicing their Tai Chi and others running and walking around the lake

After around an hour we finally found a hotel in the old quarter that was clean enough and met our stingy budget of USD12 per night - lots of other hotels were USD25 which was far too extravigant for us!  Our hotel was smack bang in the middle of the old quarter and surrounded by shops selling all manner of things from paint and wood or spirit houses and coffins.  We can really see such a slice of vietnamise life from our balcony above the narrow streets of the old quarter.  We witnessed some people burning paper quite a few times in the street and we were told that this is normally done after someone dies.  They make paper mobile phones, CD players, fake money etc etc and burn it so the smoke rises to the sky.  This means that the deceased person will have all the things they had in this life in the next life.  Its a nice way to look at it I think.

Our 'local' in Hanoi, a small hawkers stand right outside our hotel
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On our third day here we decided to see somemore of the city and visited some attactions.  First stop was Hoa Lo Prison Museum which was used to imprison U.S. P.O.W.'s during the Vietnam War.  This was an interesting place to visit to understand more about the history of Vietnam including the French occupation.  One of the exhibits here is a huge gillotine used to behead political activasts during the occupation.

An important place to visit when you are in Hanoi is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  The mausoleum was first planned 3 years before HCM died (he died in 1969) and was a joint project between Vietnam and Russia.  A group of Vietnamise officals spent some time in Russia learning about embalming etc and we found the mausolem to be very like Lennons in Red Square.  We were told that HCM body is flown to Russia for 3 months between Sep and Dec each year for its annual maintenance but apparently thats not the case now.

Outside the Temple of Literature.
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We then toured the Ho Chi Minh Museum, House on Stilts which was his last residence and the 1954 House which as you can guess was his residence in 1954.  We were told that HCM thought the 1954 house was too opulant and he wanted to live more like the normal people so he moved to a house about 100 metres away which was more inkeeping with the local life.  It consisted of two rooms, a bedroom and dining room and he had to use the bathroom of his old house as no bathroom in the house on stilts.  Everyone you speak to in Vietnam loves 'Uncle Ho' so much.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
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Final stop on the day was Ngoc Son Temple which is on lake Hoan Kiem right in the middle of the old quarter.  Its a very peaceful place but in the middle of the city.  Very picturesque views and the smell of incence is wonderful.

On our last day in Hanoi we decided to visit the much raved about Museum Of Ethnology.  After a bit of a saga getting there - we negoitated 50,000 dong for 2 motorbikes and were promptly taken to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in error - the riders discussed the problem in Vietnamise and them took us to the correct museum, which was substantially further away.  However, they didn't ask us for more money - they wouldn't have got any - and seemed OK still with 50K.

Lee has a new job!
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The Museum is a great place to spend time - we spent 3 hours there.  It basically covers the vietnam people history and shows the various tribes including dress, homes and rituals.  Really interesting to hear about other cultures burial and marriage rituals.  In the grounds there are several historical homes which have been transferred here brick by brick from various provinces in Vietnam.

The hightlight of the visit for us was when we spotted what we thought was a frog in the grassed area but something wasn't quite right.  On closer inspection - probably closer than we should have been - we discovered that the frog was actually being eaten by a snake - excellent for us to see, but not for the frog!

Museum Of Ethnology
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On final night in Vietnam was spent seeing the famous Water Puppet Show in a theatre next to the lake.  We didn't hold high hopes for this show but were very pleasantly surprised at how clever the puppetry was and the stories were very interesting and reflected the history.