Hanoi is frantic and frenetic, unnerving and uncompromising, but it grows on you quickly. Hassles and scams can surely be found here, but so can unexpected kindness and unbridled energy. Hanoi gets under your skin, and it doesn’t take long to lose track of time once you start wandering. Even crossing the street can be an adventure, but once you get the hang of it (slow and confident, allowing vehicles to flow around you, and no sudden movements), the city is pretty easy to navigate, and very rewarding to get to know. Air quality can be an issue, so it makes some sense to invest in one of those cute masks everyone wears when on their motorbikes. They really make a difference. (Mine is pink, with the little lamb from Chinese kids TV.) There are a number of parks to get out of the traffic once you get out of the center of town.
Apart from traffic, the other obstacles to walking in Hanoi are all on the sidewalk. The city wasn’t intended for so many vehicles, so motorbike parking is directly in front of (almost inside sometimes) each tiny shop. In front of the cafés, people sit on little plastic chairs or stools, sipping tea or strong, sweet coffee. There are usually cups of sunflower seeds, with the shells deposited directly on the ground. If not at a cafe, draft beer is an equally popular Hanoi option. Stepping over and around people, plates and merchandise is another process of getting comfortable in Hanoi.
The action in this city seems to happen at ground level and it usually involves eating. People is Vietnam seem to always be snacking. Fresh meals and snacks in an endless variety are always available. And you don’t even have to go looking for it. Ladies parade by with mobile kitchens on the ends of a long pole over their shoulders or on bicycle with loaded baskets. From within they can whip up a hot and hearty snack in a moment, complete with a real plate or dish. Others have donuts, fritters, buns, puffed rice, roasted sweet potatoes or nuts, popcorn, sweets… Larger, more stationary carts have porridge or the ever present bahn mi (baguette sandwiches). One more step up to an actual storefront, and the options multiply again. Of course, we can’t abandon our search for the perfect bowl of pho. So this is how we spent our time in Hanoi, strolling and snacking.
Right in the middle of the capital is the Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of Returned Sword–after a legend of a king winning a battle with a certain sword, which was then returned to a magical turtle in the lake). They say turtles are still spotted from time to time in the lake, though we didn’t spot any. The lake is a great place for a walk, especially in the layer afternoon when the setting sun casts a reddish glow on the water and over the temple and its bridge. We stayed to the southwest of the lake, near the big cathedral, which had its Nativity scene set up for the Christmas holiday. The hotels were all playing Christmas tunes, and shops were decorated with Christmas trees and snowmen.
The best place for wandering is the Old Quarter, consisting of 36 old streets, some still used for commerce just the way they have been for 1000 years (though the area became really heavily populated from the 15th century or so). Similar to the guild concept, people with the same skills congregated in one area upon moving into town so that they could share resources. These groups sold their wares from the same area, and the streets were named after the items sold: Pho Cha Ca (roasted fish), Pho Hang Ma (paper goods), Pho Hang Bun (noodles), Pho Hang Bac (silver), and so on. Although some of the streets no longer sell the products after which they were named, many still do, like Hang Buom, filled with bamboo! The quantity merchandise spilling out of every shop and cart, and loaded on the back of motorbikes and into baskets is mind-numbing.
When sensory overload kicks in, an austere, sparkling-clean, not-to-be-missed monument is Ho Chi Minh’s marble and granite mausoleum. Though he wanted to be cremated, the government chose instead to keep his body until he could witness the reunification of the country and so future generations could come and see him and pay their respects. Also in the area are a former residence, the famous One-Pillar Pagoda, the Presidential Palace and Ba Dinh Square. Ho Chi Minh Museum opened in 1990, and houses many documents and some rather difficult to follow symbolic displays.
The Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám) has been known for 1000 years as a celebrated spot of Confucian learning and scholarship. From the “Horse Dismounting Stelae” (instructing all to get off their steed before entering), to the Doctors’ Stelae, honoring those 1304 scholars who passed exams between 1442 and 1779, through ancient gates and five courtyards surrounding the lake, you can feel the history of those who spent years studying here. Today it is treasured both for its status as a Confucian shrine and site of the first university in Vietnam. It also seems like a popular place for young Vietnamese to put on traditional dress and pose for a photo shoot! One afternoon we found ourselves in front of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre and ended up with front row seats. This art form developed in the rice growing villages in northern Vietnam where outdoor theater was held right in the flooded fields. The modern-day puppeteers are truly talented, as wooden people, spirits, animals and fish dart around, above and below the water’s surface, somehow avoiding getting tangled up or drowned. One highlight was a scene of playful buffalo fighting, with lots of splashing and charging.
The play is accompanied by musicians on traditional instruments, and two principal female singers. The performance included Van singing (songs in praise of deities) derived from the traditional Vietnamese worship of the Holy Mother and Quan Ho singing (like a call and response between men and women), which comes from some of the provinces north of Hanoi. The last scene is the “Carp Transformed into Dragon,” said to relate to the 1000-year-old legend of Emperor Ly Thai To, the one who transferred the ancient capital from Ninh Binh to Hanoi in the 11th century. It is said when he arrived in Hanoi, he saw a golden dragon in the clouds, so he named the new capital Thang Long, which means “soaring dragon.” Thang Long is still often referred to, and is the name of a tasty local beer!
A too-big album can be viewed here. We kept snapping photos of street scenes and really need to go back and do some thinning out. Until then, the weeding is up to you.
