Uncle Ho says hi

We spent our Saturday (21.November) in Hanoi seeing a few highlights and just enjoying the feel of the city. The night before, one of John’s friends told us why he loved Hanoi and it completely changed our perspective. Our travel-weary friends on the cruise had left us with quite a negative impression, but it just goes to show that it’s all about attitude. We found the people to be friendly, the street food tasty, and the transport exciting. Hanoi will be celebrating its 1000th birthday in 2010, which puts any birthday in perspective.

Armed with a hotel map, a guidebook from John’s friend, and a mental image of the landmarks (courtesy of the karaoke videos the night before), we set off. First tourist stop: Uncle Ho (Chi Minh’s) mausoleum. We couldn’t get very close, so really all we saw were the uniformed guards. I thought that calling him “Uncle Ho” was a nickname from the West that the Vietnamese would find insulting, but it turns out he insisted on calling himself that as part of the image he was trying to project to the Vietnamese people. Just around the corner was the One Pillar Pagoda jutting out of a pond on a single stilt like a flower. Then it was off to the Temple of Literature, over 900 years old and Vietnam’s oldest university, based on the teachings of Confucius. It had a series of courtyards and beautiful ancient architecture, but the best part was stumbling upon a concert. Women in traditional dress played instruments, some of which I’d never seen before. A bamboo xylophone looked the coolest, but the most ingenious instrument had different lengths of bamboo tubes and was played by hitting the tube ends.

A short moto ride later and we were back in the Old Quarter, where we stumbled upon a bridal photo shoot outside a Catholic church. The best part was the props: a gold scooter and a bunch of balloons. The architecture in this area is mainly from the French colonial period and was the perfect place to grab lunch. Our criteria: it must be popular with average Vietnamese folks and we must see the food being prepared so we can verify that it’s (relatively) safe and point to what we want if the menu’s not in English. We found a place that met both of these rules and were seated on low stools out on the sidewalk for a meal that was delicious, even if we were never confident what we were eating.

One of our final stops was to Hoan Kiem Lake. There was a myth surrounding the lake and a magical sword that anciently gave them victory over the Chinese, which sounded a little like Excalibur. It’s also the last home of a species of giant turtle that’s a part of this myth, and they have a specimen of it preserved in a temple in the middle of the lake. Sightings of the few remaining turtles are so rare that when they happen, everything grinds to a halt—I was told a government meeting broke up the last time one was seen. I found it so interesting that they could have so much respect for one type of turtle, when around the corner they were eating its cousins. Crossing the red bridge to the temple we interrupted yet another bridal shoot. I should mention that these brides look like princesses…western princesses. I know it’s become common for brides to wear a western dress as well as the traditional Vietnamese outfit on their big day, but we never saw the latter while walking around. Oh, and according to an in-flight magazine, that “traditional” outfit of a long fitted tunic over billowing trousers is actually less than a century old—before then, women wore loose fitting tops and bottoms.

From there it was a race back to the hotel and then to the airport. Our stay in Vietnam was brief but delightful and full of memorable sights: women in conical hats carrying wares in basket scales balanced on their shoulders, old men in berets playing Chinese checkers, hoards of motorbikes racing towards us while we attempted to cross the street, people playing a version of badminton with their feet in the park, and a blend of eastern and western architecture. As an American, I was always a little wary whenever the “American War” was mentioned and was afraid to say or do anything out of line, but the people were friendly and it’s a country I hope to explore further someday.