Travels Up North

My Vietnamese travels have now extended to North Vietnam, specifically Hanoi (the capital) and the stunning Ha Long Bay.  A group of us from work took advantage of the public holidays for Independence Day and Labour Day and flew up North for the long weekend.

We spent one and a half days being tourists in Hanoi, which was a strange feeling considering we are now very comfortable in Saigon and don’t feel like tourists.  It was strange walking around and recognising street names, because the names are often the same as in Saigon.  Streets are largely named after famous people from Vietnamese history, so they are repeated across cities.  We mainly stayed in the Old Quarter (more touristy and older sights), the sights we saw included: 

• Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum which is in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, where Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on the 2^nd September 1945.  There was a huge queue and we were short of time, so we didn’t go in, but the building looked very Soviet in design.

 

• The One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) is right next to the Mausoleum, and is a Buddhist Temple built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, who ruled from 1028 to 1054.  It was far smaller than I imagined, but extraordinary in design – a temple on one pillar in a pond, with steps leading up to it.  You could smell the incense from the ground, it was so strong.
• The Presidential Palace which was built between 1900 and 1906.
• We stayed in the Old Quarter and, unlike Saigon, there are lots of lakes in Hanoi, one lake close to where we stayed was Hoàn Kiếm (or the Lake of the Returned Sword).  Legend has it that Emperor Le Loi, worried about the advancing Chinese, was boating on the lake when a giant tortoise rose from the murky waters and gave him a magical sword with which he could strike down all his enemies. The tortoise made Le Loi promise to return the sword once the Chinese had been defeated, which he did.  Since then, the lake has been known as the Lake of the Restored Sword. A pagoda on an islet in the middle of the lake has been built in the tortoise's honour, but it can’t be visited.  We did, however, visit the other pagoda in the lake: Ngoc Son Pagoda, or Temple of the Jade Island. which is accessed via an old red wooden bridge: the Huc Bridge (Morning Sunlight Bridge).  It was beautiful and very peaceful, which was surprising how close it was to the hustle and bustle of central Hanoi.

 

• We passed St. Joseph Cathedral, a beautiful old cathedral built in the 1887 but closed at the Reunification of Vietnam and wasn’t opened again until 1985.  The inside was beautiful and a similar style to Canterbury Cathedral which was strange to see.  Outside, sound the sides was a wall depicting some of the main scenes from the Bible.
• Another stop was The Temple of Literature, where Vietnam’s first national university was.  It has links back to 1070 where Emperor Ly Thanh Tong built a temple for learning as well as religion.  The building are traditional Vietnamese style, and beautiful.

So many sights in a short space of time is something I am not used to because when you live in a city, you do sights over a long period of time.  It was fantastic to see more of Vietnam though, especially Hanoi, the capital.  The food in Hanoi was amazing and highlights include the Chocolate Café – they only serve things with chocolate in, and I had the best chocolate cake.  It was definitely a girly afternoon, and not at all Vietnamese.  A more typical Vietnamese experience was going to a Bia Hoi on ‘Chicken Street’, yes it is known as Chicken Street due to the fact that there are a lot of places that serve chicken.  We sat on small plastic chairs outside, drinking beer and eating honey bread and chicken leg.  It was delicious.  Sitting on small plastic chairs outside and drinking beer is very common in Vietnam, when more people come, they just bring out more chairs.  It is lovely to have hot weather so we can sit outside.

We didn’t just go to Hanoi; we spent a night in Ha Long Bay.  It was beautiful and so peaceful.  There are almost 2000 islands, and although we didn’t go too far in we saw the Hang Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of Surprises).  It was surreal inside and was completely natural.  It reminded us of the ‘Mines of Moria’ from ‘Lord of the Rings’.  I am glad  I have seen Ha Long Bay, it is well worth a visit if you ever come to Vietnam, and it was wonderful to relax for a bit and get out of a city.  City life can be tiring, even if you don’t notice it.  A break is needed every once in a while, it is also another excuse to see different places (not that I need lots of convincing to travel!)