Off to sell to the locals
Our final stop in our tour through the country of Vietnam was the capital city of Hanoi. This large city of over 8 million inhabitants is a chaotic jumble of Asian styled apartment buildings randomly built amongst European inspired buildings surrounded by lakes, the Red River and the most erratic traffic we have yet to experience. Just getting across the street in this city was a daily challenge, but we soon learned to cross like a local by crossing in amongst the 1000s of motorcycles and cars by looking the drivers in the eyes as you crossed. This city truly is land of the motorcycles with them out numbering cars by at least 100 to 1, in fact the city could not function without the motorbike which is used to carry everything from the entire family, to produce to the New Years Eve tree. This chaotic mess is Hanoi and it is a great city to explore.
Get old bicycle taxi
Amazing old cars in front of hotel
It was here that we toured several historic and religious sites all very precious to the Vietnamese people. We started at the Van Mieu pagoda, or the Temple of Literature, this religious site is homage to higher education and is revered to all scholars and students in the country. Then we were off to the Tran Quac Pagoda on the West Lake with its tall freestanding tower. The uniquely shaped one pillar pagoda, shaped like an umbrella. And the final religious site of Ngoc Son Temple situated in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi. This lake is the centre of the entire city with the old quarter to its north and the famous turtle island in the very middle, the belly button of Hanoi as our tour guide called it. It is in this lake that the large tortoise lives, and if you are lucky enough to see him you are granted good luck, and we got to see him. And of course Laurence had to play wildlife photographer and wait for over an hour to get just a few shots of this elusive tortoise.
Temple of Literature
Tran Quac Pagoda
The streets of the Old Quarter come to live with tiny shops bursting with wears onto the streets, bikes on every corner, people eating on the streets on small stools and just life everywhere. This area of the city is just a buzz with activity and each street specializes in a different product from kid’s toys, to paint to antiques. The sights, the sounds, the smells of this area are like no other in our travels.
Selling vases to the locals Hanoi style
Bike or Motorcycle ramp
Hanoi is the capital of the country, with massive buildings for the local government, large squares and of course Ho Chi Minh himself. Uncle Ho as they call him is revered in this country as he was the leader who liberated the country and introduced the communist government now in place. So we actually toured the imposing mausoleum dedicated to Ho Chi Minh where he lies in state and everyday thousands queue to see his body at rest. We also toured the Presidential Palace grounds, home to the current president, and the small house behind the palace where Ho Chi Minh lived as he was uncomfortable in the palace and preferred the small and simple house on stilts.
Tomb of Ho Chi Minh
We were planning on visiting the famous Ha Long Bay just outside of Hanoi with its amazing bays and islands, but there was a boat tragedy the day before we arrived and 12 people lost their lives, so the boating on the bay was halted for several days to put safety precautions in place. We were very disappointed but our tour company (Flamingo Vietnam) rebooked us for the day to an alternate day trip to make up for the loss. So we were able to tour the amazing and large Bai Binh Pagoda about 2 hours outside of Hanoi. This massive temple complex is still under construction with over 500 acres of this mountain side dedicated to the Buddhist religion. Here we toured huge complexes, saw the largest gold Buddha in Asia and walked past 400 statues of the monks of Vietnam. This site is an active temple and we were the only tourists with the thousands of pilgrims visiting the temple.
Wish we could have gone
From there we toured a wonderful natural preserve area with shear mountain cliffs, wonderful marsh lands, and fantastic birdlife all in a bamboo boat. As our tour guide described it was Ha Long Bay without the waves and was such a tranquil escape from the chaos of Hanoi.
Chinese Lanterns Shop
Water Puppets
We loved our stay in Hanoi, the energy captivating, the people are so very friendly and the history amazing, we can’t wait to return to this country of Vietnam.
I love the flag
Henry in Hanoi
Biker transporting a tree
Next stop Hong Kong.
