Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi in the early evening. Our hotel was on a very busy street, but we noticed the bars were especially crowded. So crowded in fact, that the chairs spilled out into the road. Upon closer inspection, we realized everyone was facing giant TV screens. That could only mean one thing; a soccer game. Yes, Vietnam was playing Uzbekistan in the AFC US-23 championship final. As we were walking to dinner the entire street around us erupted in wild cheers as Vietnam scored. Sadly for them, it was their only point and they lost two to one. But I think people were so happy they made it to the finals, it didn't really put a damper on their mood. People had their face painted with the Vietnamese flag. They had huge flags, as well as banners that they waved all over. It was a very exciting time, and the mood was infectious. 

 

The hotel told us of a nearby restaurant that was quite popular with the locals. When we walked in, the place was absolutely packed. We sat down and the waiter brought us a menu with 3 choices, bun, a banana leaf with meat inside, and a sweet roll. We decided to live on the edge and picked one of each. The bun, my favorite dish, was exactly as expected and I was happy; the banana leaf with meat inside, not so much. It was basically a chopped up hot dog, but far less appealing. We both opened it and quietly slipped it into the trash at our feet. The sweet rolls, I have to say, were very tasty.  

We were only in the hotel for one night; leaving the next day for a cruise in Halong Bay. We were able to get a huge upgrade for almost nothing, and ended up in a two-room suite. We opened a set of double doors and walked down a wide staircase into a huge living room with an ornate desk, a couch and matching chairs.  Everything had gold trim and it looked quite extravagant. It even had a sauna in the corner. There were 2 very comfortable queen size beds, a separate large bedroom with 2 more beds, and a huge bathroom.  I could get used to living like this, but upon closer inspection, the bedroom was infested with ants. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything.

 

We were able to leave our bags in the hotel since we were coming back, so we traveled to Halong Bay with just our backpacks. It was really nice traveling so light. When we came back 2 days later, we were sad to see we were back in the cheap rooms. They were both small, with hard beds and no window.  

 

One night we ate at a restaurant where you cooked your own food. The waiter brought us a cooker and a pot, along with some cut up fish and a huge bowl of fern like greens and other vegetables. He put everything on and got us started, we just had to add more as we ate.  It was a fun night and the food was delicious. We are great cooks!  We saw several restaurants on our street, serving the same dish, but I don't know what it was called.  
 

We didn't really do too much while in Hanoi. We did walk around quite a bit, as there was so much to see just in daily life.  We took a stroll over to the Old Quarter, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. It's basically block after block after block of shopping. This area was said to be more pedestrian friendly but it was still quite the challenge moving about.  Had we gone on the weekend or at night, the streets would have been closed to traffic, but of course I didn't know that until after our visit.   

 

While we were there, we found a nice cafe with an upstairs balcony and planted ourselves.  We must have sat there for hours, just watching the street below. We were next to a large intersection and we could barely take our eyes away from watching the people navigate through it with no lights and no rules. Large trucks, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians would enter the intersection from all sides, all at once.  In the middle, they would somehow weave their way around each other, make it out the other side, and continue on to the next intersection. We saw many vendors pushing carts selling brooms, food, baskets, hats, shoes, tea, popcorn and anything else you could put on a bike.  They just walked along and either a pedestrian or someone on a bike would stop them, make their purchase and both would move on.  It gave drive through a whole new meaning. There was a guy walking down the street with a shoe shine kit. He looked at my sketchers and offered to clean them.  Sure, why not.  He made quite the show of smelling them, and wrinkled his nose.  Uh, of course they smell, I've been wearing them all day! He tried really hard to sell me some scented insoles.  Thanks, I don't need my feel smelling like lemon grass.  If he had lavender, we could have worked something out LOL. I'm not sure what he used but they did look a bit cleaner. 

 

We thought we should do some sightseeing, so we visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  This is of course, the revolutionary leader's final resting place. It had tougher security then the airport, border crossing and temples put together!  I had to check my big camera before even getting near the building. We were led single file down the street, through a courtyard, to the entrance. Once inside, absolute silence, no shorts, no hands in pockets, no arms crossed, no photos, no gum etc. There were armed guards about every 5 feet, watching closely.  The mummified body was in a glass case and I must admit it looked pretty good.  I understand they do some touching up periodically.  They brought all the cameras they confiscated to the exit, it was nice that we didn't have to walk back around to pick it up. There were some nice gardens around the area, but not really worth the trip there.  

Read more at: http://www.vietnam-guide.com/hanoi/top10/best-things-to-do-in-hanoi-old-quarter.htm?cid=ch:OTH:001

Link to pictures:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/HTsgWTOcf0TPnoFu1