Jon and I arrived in Hanoi on the night bus before dawn, the streets still eerily quiet and us in a daze from a drug induced sleep. Hanoi is Vietnam’s elegant 1,000 year-old capital and even though it has a population of 6 million people it is surprisingly low key. We stayed in the old quarter seeped in history with beautiful strolling lakes all around. Hanoi is the only city in Vietnam to retain its ancient merchants corner with street names dating back 5 centuries to when the area was divided among 36 artist guilds.
Our sleeping bus which consisted of a normal height bus with two levels of laying down seats which of course Jon did not fit in. Not the first class seats we had in South America.
Hoan Kiem Lake.
The 15th century tube houses evolved from market stalls to narrow single story shops, some as small as 2m wide. This was due to taxes being levied on street-frontage. Behind and above these shops are storerooms, living quarters and courtyards all pressed together. Which can be quite a concern if your neighbors house goes up in flames as Jon and I saw one afternoon only a block away from where we were staying.
Firemen fighting the blaze as people crowed around to look on.
I spent some time discovering the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex which is made up of open spaces, the mausoleum, house and a museum. It was from this spot that Ho Chi Minh read out the Declaration of Independence in 1945. In true communist style Ho Chi’s embalmed body is on display under glass in a cold dark room, except the few months a year he is taken to Russia for touch-ups.
Ho Chi Minh complex.
Traditional water puppetry, mua roi nuac, is a northern Vietnamese art form that originated in the Red River Delta over 1,000 years ago. Traditional performances consist of short scenes depicting rural life or historical events all accompanied by music. Jon and I took in a performance at the Kim Dong Theater. While the performance was not action packed it was definitely worth the ticket price.
Water Puppet Show
We also discovered a new favorite Vietnamese dish, Beef noodles at Bun Bo Nam Bo. This bowl of deliciousness was filled with noodles, a light sauce, beef, cilantro and topped with some peanuts and spicy sauce for about $2, pure heaven! Fate must have brought us there because we ran into one of the gentlemen from our Salt Flat Tour in Bolivia, the same one we ran into on the streets of Auckland, NZ. What are the chances!
Bowl of deliciousness.
And in case anyone goes there in search of trouble just note below what is displayed in cabs as not allowed.
Where we stayed, Hanoi City Hostel, we had a room with a bed and a bathroom for $18 a night including breakfast. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable about the area and various tours. The staff even packed up a breakfast to go one morning when we had an early trip.
Journey with Christina 