Our last day in Hanoi we used for more walking around, which is always a must in a city like that. In the afternoon again we went to actually see Den Ngoc Son Temple - on the Jade Islet - instead of walking around it. Well worth a visit.
We arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, via Hong Kong. Once we joined the queues at passport control we noticed the locals putting money in their passports and when the passports where returned the money was gone. We had no intension of doing this. Our turn, passports handed over, stamped and we were in. It all seemed very cloak and dagger for a few minutes there, but all’s well that ends well. Next collect our bags and find a taxi to take us to our hotel in Hanoi. The taxi seemed to us to take the off-road route at one point, I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, wondering where is he taking us, but soon it became plain it was a short cut we supposed of sorts. Soon enough we joined the never ending stream of mopeds, horse and carts, people walking, lorries, as we slowly headed for Hanoi’s old quarter in which our hotel was situated. The moment we stepped out of the taxi the air was thick with freshly baked bread, odd this being Asia, but the smell made us feel at home immediately. You expect the aroma of bread in a village in France not in Hanoi! But of course this is part of what colonial France left behind, lucky for us. Checked in and shown to our room. It was time to hit the streets and explore. Every street seemed to have its own trade: locks, wicker baskets, mechanics for mopeds (no wonder with the amount of them). the streets seemed to go on and on with no end in sight. Eventually, we came to a lake (Hoan Kiem) with a red bridge that went onto an island, called the Jade Islet. The lake - based right in the centre of the city,it seemed to attract older people doing tai-chi all. Next it was time for a pit stop lunch. We settled for a modern coffee bar, open to the street, had two fresh baguettes and a couple of coffees. The rest of the afternoon we walked around most of Hanoi, breathing in its highly intoxicating atmosphere. The next morning we headed for the temple of literature built in 1070, called Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam. Once through the gates the hussle and bustle of Hanoi was left behind, peace reigned. We were lucky it wasn't very busy so we managed to see everything we wanted. In the afternoon we went to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, in the centre of Ba Dinh Square. We hadn't booked tickets but this was not a problem, the queue for locals was huge but for us foreigners much shorter. We were marched in two abreast and were told to keep walking, not allowed to take photos, just march around and leave. What an odd experience, it could have been anyone laying there. We were told that the body goes on holiday to Russia to be maintained (about every 18 months), which all added to the shroud of what really lies there. There’s a few embalmed bodies around the world getting the same treatment (Lenin, Stalin, Kim Il Sung, to name some). Soon back outside we wandered around and found that the guards were quite happy to pose for photos. I guess that they get bored stiff standing there all day… Our last day in Hanoi we used for more walking around, which is always a must in a city like that. In the afternoon again we went to actually see Den Ngoc Son Temple - on the Jade Islet - instead of walking around it. Well worth a visit. The same goes for Hanoi as a whole. We were very happy having seen it and i feel very privileged to have visited such a vibrant Asian city and hope one day to return.
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GaryBorn in Chiswick West London, grew up in Royal Berkshire, currently living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Archives
March 2016
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