Hanoi (I'm trying to catch up!)
Hanoi is a work of art. Prior to arriving, it was etched in my imagination as one of the great cycling cities in Asia, second only to Beijing. In reality, my imagination has to strain very hard to imagine the streets, alleyways and boulevards filled only with bikes, cyclos, pedestrians and handcarts. If, in my mind's eye, I replace every motor bike with a bicyclist and every car with a hand cart, I see an image close to what I had initially imagined for this historic city. In reality, this is a town now dominated and overwrought by the motorbike, with a minor second player the automobile (I couldn't believe the comparative number of SUVs to cars...even BMWs!). They line the sidewalks, the fill the roads at stop lights, the rest on every street corner along with man and a cigarette who inevitably tauts me for a ride with the everpresent philisopical question "motobike?" There are bikes here. I see them now and then, but nowhere near as vibrantly as in my imagination. I strain at the stories told to me by older folks who remember a very different Hanoi, a nearly silent one in which bicycling was the only means of rapid transit. A silent Hanoi, nearly impossible to imagine. The minor back alleys in the Old Quarter, only sometimes three or five or seven feet wide are no deterrent to the path of motor bikes. They're everywhere!
I pedal around town for a few days, but give up to foot to take in the sites and attractions. I can't help but immediately be attracted to one of the main tourist attractions in Hanoi, the mosoluem of Ho Chi Minh and the Ho Chi Mihn Museum. I can't prove it with photos, because they took my camera from me before I enterd, but you'll have to take my word for it, "Uncle Ho," as he is affectionately known in (N.) Vietnam, is lying down there, under ground, in the mosoleum, dead as a doornail. I followed up my visit to see the good ol' Uncle with a trip to his house where a very nice young man from the university lead me around, practicing his English and tourism skills. He was very kind and at the end of the tour excused himself to meet up with another group, no upward facing palm. On from there to see the museum and to get my fair share of N. Vietnamese propaganda. I have to say, after my visit to the Uncle Ho Museum, I discovered a big respect for this very intelligent leader. I don't know exactly how to couch his politics or exactly what his politics mean in the contemporary world, but this is a man who wrote in various languages letters, articles and even poetry. I bought a book of poems he wrote in prison, a sort of collection of thoughts in confinement and solitude. Written originally in Chinese on glued together cigarette papers, I found them surprisingly thoughtful. I wasn't too keen on the translation which held pretty steadfastedly to rhyme schemes that felt forced and unnecessary, but the poems were interesting.
In the handful of days I spent in Hanoi, I sorta fell in love with the town. There are sections I really like in the Old Quarter and, with my strong magnetism to quiet calm places, I even found some very charming quiet places filled with others (both Viet and expat) who enjoy tranquil surroundings. I received an invitation from an abbot at a quiet little wat to return to speak English and share stories, this year, next year, any time. Again, even amid the chaos of the city, Vietnamese generosity showed its face and I dined a kind lunch with a Vietnamese gentleman who demanded to pay for my lunch as I was finishing eating.
I visited various museums: the war museum, uncle ho museum, fine arts museum, the "Hanoi Hilton" where Senator John McCain CLEARLY was incarcerated (they have many photos of him and even his entire flight gear retinue, including his parachute, flight jacket, breathing mask, boots, etc.), I visited the site of the first university in Hanoi called the Temple of Literature (which made me think of all my literary buff friends, he hem, Dylan and Devin) and simply wandered around a bit. I caught two shows at the water puppet theatre, something I recommend to anyone anywhere! The company often tours the world, so if you see it coming to a major city near you, get tickets and be prepared for a treat! I really enjoyed simply strolling around the lake! I caught it in the rain, on foggy mornings and, finally at the end of my stay, utterly clearly at night with all the lights reflecting! What a treasure!
My guest house wasn't that great, but it was cheap and not in the tourist books so it had very few farang hanging around, which satisfied my needs. The neighborhood was very downhome and it took me several days and the help of a new friend from London to even find internet there.
As far as cities go, not a bad spot! I had the great luck of meeting an expat man who I conversed with for quite some time before asking if he knew of a reputable Halong Bay tour company provider. He runs several restaurants in town and I promised him I'd stop in and dine at his place. Myraculously, when I showed up at the door of the restaurant he gave me a business card for, I had eaten there the previous night! I'll put a big shout out to Laurent Kiti and suggest to any traveler stopping in Hanoi to drop by his classy little restaurant called "Kiti" and in a GREAT part of the Old Quarter (38 Hang Hom Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi). The Halong Bay tour company he offered me was very very good and I had some very nice conversation with the owner (about politics, the economy, culture, etc.) prior to deciding to book with them. And, in hindsight, everything he stated came true and more. But more about that soon.
In the handful of days I spent in Hanoi, I sorta fell in love with the town. There are sections I really like in the Old Quarter and, with my strong magnetism to quiet calm places, I even found some very charming quiet places filled with others (both Viet and expat) who enjoy tranquil surroundings. I received an invitation from an abbot at a quiet little wat to return to speak English and share stories, this year, next year, any time. Again, even amid the chaos of the city, Vietnamese generosity showed its face and I dined a kind lunch with a Vietnamese gentleman who demanded to pay for my lunch as I was finishing eating.
I visited various museums: the war museum, uncle ho museum, fine arts museum, the "Hanoi Hilton" where Senator John McCain CLEARLY was incarcerated (they have many photos of him and even his entire flight gear retinue, including his parachute, flight jacket, breathing mask, boots, etc.), I visited the site of the first university in Hanoi called the Temple of Literature (which made me think of all my literary buff friends, he hem, Dylan and Devin) and simply wandered around a bit. I caught two shows at the water puppet theatre, something I recommend to anyone anywhere! The company often tours the world, so if you see it coming to a major city near you, get tickets and be prepared for a treat! I really enjoyed simply strolling around the lake! I caught it in the rain, on foggy mornings and, finally at the end of my stay, utterly clearly at night with all the lights reflecting! What a treasure!
My guest house wasn't that great, but it was cheap and not in the tourist books so it had very few farang hanging around, which satisfied my needs. The neighborhood was very downhome and it took me several days and the help of a new friend from London to even find internet there.
As far as cities go, not a bad spot! I had the great luck of meeting an expat man who I conversed with for quite some time before asking if he knew of a reputable Halong Bay tour company provider. He runs several restaurants in town and I promised him I'd stop in and dine at his place. Myraculously, when I showed up at the door of the restaurant he gave me a business card for, I had eaten there the previous night! I'll put a big shout out to Laurent Kiti and suggest to any traveler stopping in Hanoi to drop by his classy little restaurant called "Kiti" and in a GREAT part of the Old Quarter (38 Hang Hom Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi). The Halong Bay tour company he offered me was very very good and I had some very nice conversation with the owner (about politics, the economy, culture, etc.) prior to deciding to book with them. And, in hindsight, everything he stated came true and more. But more about that soon.
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