After a short 2 hour flight from Bangkok, we arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam which is located in the north of the country. With a population of 6.3 million people, it is the second largest city in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh City in the south (population: 7.3 million).
Although a big city, Hanoi did not feel that way. The first thing we noticed, that we hadn’t seen in Bangkok, was that the majority of the vehicles on the street were scooters, motorcycles, and bicycles, and very few cars. And they are used for everything.
We laced up our shoes (well, slipped into sandals and/or crocs – no socks!) and hit the streets to explore the various tourist sights around the city. One thing that we quickly learned that much of the city is dedicated to Ho Chi Minh.
We decided to take a tour through Hanoi Free Walking Tours, an organization made up of volunteer university students who give tours in Hanoi in order to practice their English. Our tour guide was May, and she was simply lovely.
Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
Here is the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh, containing his embalmed remains. The mausoleum is modeled after Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow, but includes Vietnamese architectural elements such as the sloping roof. People can pay their respects daily from 9-noon.
The guidelines for visiting the mausoleum are quite specific:
- Dress with decorum – legs and shoulders need to be covered up, no shorts or tank tops.
- No cameras – still or video
- No bags
- No cellphones
- When in the mausoleum, walk silently in two lines
- Do not have your hands in your pockets
- Do not walk with your arms crossed
- No food, drink, or smoking
This is considered one of the most important sites in Vietnam, and people from all over the country do not pass up the chance to visit the mausoleum while in Hanoi.
The Presidential Palace
Right behind the mausoleum is the presidential palace. This palace was built by the French during their occupation of Vietnam and is a startling contrast architecturally to typical Vietnamese buildings.
Ho Chi Minh did not stay in the palace while he was chairman of the Communist Party of Vietnam as he considered it to be too opulent. The palace was used as a place for meetings with other heads of state who came to Vietnam. Instead, Ho Chi Minh stayed in a smaller, more humble residence on the grounds.
Ho Chi Minh Museum
Our next stop was the museum dedicated to all of the feats and accomplishments of Ho Chi Minh as he brought North and South Vietnam to unification.
Temple of Literature
A short jaunt away was the Temple of Literature, which was a Confucian temple and hosted the “Imperial Academy”, the first national university in Vietnam. The Temple is made up of 5 courtyards, each one different and beautiful in its own way. Each of the courtyards was used to teach the different levels of students i.e. the ‘first year’ students would work in the first courtyard, the ‘second years’ in the second etc. As students passed their exams they would move up to the next courtyard.
We learned that the image on the 100 000 Dong note is the entrance to the second courtyard!
The fifth courtyard was destroyed in 1946 by the French, but was rebuilt in the year 2000. Within the ‘new’ buildings there are several monuments to Confucianism as well as to honour the ‘founding fathers’ of the temple. There are also exhibits related to Vietnamese traditions, such as clothing and pottery. In addition, while we were there we were able to see a demonstration of Vietnamese music on traditional musical instruments.
Hoa Lo Prison – “Hanoi Hilton”
This prison in the heart of Hanoi was constructed by French colonists and was used to house political prisoners. “Maison Central” was the typical name that the French gave to their prisons.
Later, during the Vietnam war, it was used by the North to hold prisoners of war. It was sarcastically called the “Hanoi Hilton” by the Americans. U.S. Senator John McCain was once a prisoner here.
The name “Hoa Lo” translates to “fiery furnace”, and actually took its name from the street which it fronted on, which had a concentration of stores which sold wood and coal burning stoves.
During our tour, we learned that the French did not treat the prisoners very well, shackling them on long benches and rarely letting them up.
Some prisoners who were trying to organize a revolution were kept in solitary confinement in tiny cells. And for those with a death sentence, the guillotine awaited them…
Our guide May told us that once the French vacated and the Vietnamese took over the running of the prison that conditions improved.
At one point we were talking together about the different viewpoints related to the Vietnam War. While Canada was not part of the war, we are right next door to the U.S., and so we have been exposed to their viewpoint on the war. Our experience in Hoa Lo prison was a different viewpoint than we were used to. In our conversation we were discussing how Ho Chi Minh was considered the enemy by the U.S.and it was very interesting when May said “How can Ho Chi Minh be considered a bad guy when he united Vietnam?” This was a huge “ah ha” learning moment for all of us as we actually experienced the two contrary perspectives. This became a media literacy/history lesson for the girls, on the spot!
Tran Quoc Pagoda
We walked along West Lake as we made our way back towards our hotel. Along the way we passed the Tran Quoc Pagoda. This is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi, dating back to the 6th century.
Aside from being a very old building, what I found interesting was that it originally had been situated on the Red River, but in 1615 it was relocated to West Lake as it was in danger of being damaged by the rising waters of the river.
After a nice lunch of Pho (noodle soup) we bade our new friend, May, good-bye!
Other Interesting Sights
We saw a number of other interesting things along the way.
Like bird cages…
Surprise! Dragons in the park!
People at work…
And lots of colour everywhere!
Hanoi has proven to be a delight, having everything a large city should have with the character and charm of a smaller city. Our travels through the streets exposed us to wonderful sights and sounds. And we survived each of our road crossings!
Comments
8 responses to “The Streets of Hanoi”
The different perspectives are very interesting!
Yes indeed they are! New learning for everyone!
Hi – love all the photos and especially the girls selling fruit on the boardwalk. Zoe looks like a pro holding those chop sticks and eating her Pho. My book club tried Pho after reading a book about Vietnam – yum, yum! Very interesting to read about Ho Chi Minh. Oh – love the family photo too!
Take care,
Jill
Hi Jill,
We’re loving the food here and practice with chopsticks every chance we get! I have eaten pho here just about every day…love it! We have learned many new things, and the dedication to Ho Chi Minh has been the most interesting to me.
Hi Ollie,
This was a very interesting history lesson!!!!! The photos are beautiful, especially the one with Mikhaila and Zoe selling fruit! Love, Mom P.
Hi Baba,
We were thinking that the girls could get a job here selling fruit to help fund our travels! But, then the ladies who loaned them the baskets would be out of work!
Hi, Oliver, as usual, I am a bit late so can take my time re-reading and looking at the photos again. Your posting was very interesting since there is not much reporting on life in Vietnam here on a regular basis. Everything looks so colourful and not hectic at all for a big city. It is great that people can live in peace. There are some pbs programmes lately about Vietnam, I think it’s the 40th anniversary of the US pulling out. But I think I much rather see your pictures, as always, they are great, diverse and let me be part of your tour. Love the photos of the girls whether it’s eating Pho or selling fruit :-)Thanks, lots of hugs to all
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your comments. Personally, I’d say that both of the examples you put forward are great examples of ‘the means does not justify the end’. The ‘end’ may have been unification, but the path (in my humble opinion) was not the most humane to say the least.