Day 142: Hanoi

Photos: http://princeton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059952&l=4eadc&id=1101094

My overnight bus arrived in Hanoi the following morning at 7:30, and I dropped my pack at a guesthouse and set off to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to view Ho Chi Minh’s preserved body. Immediately I came face to face with Hanoi’s wretched traffic. Though Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has two million fewer people than Ho Chi Minh City, its traffic is less tolerable because of its narrow streets. And because the entire sidewalk is taken up by street vendors, the only place to walk is on the road, where you’re constantly dodging motorbikes and half-expecting one to ram you from behind at any moment.

As I made my way through the busy streets, I realized two more things about Hanoi: it’s the dirtiest city that I’d seen in Vietnam, and its people are the least friendly. Here, when I refused a motorbike ride (which happened approximately every thirty seconds) I was met with glares and grumbles. Is it so wrong that I prefer to walk? Plenty of Vietnamese people were walking along with me, and not one of them got asked if they wanted a motorbike ride.

I ate breakfast at a dirty looking pho stand, and despite appearances had the best bowl of noodles of my entire stay in Vietnam. I guess this shouldn’t have surprised me considering pho originated in Hanoi.

When I arrived at Ho Chi Minh’s tomb, it was closed. Though my guidebook told me that it was closed on Fridays, apparently it’s really closed on Mondays. This was disappointing, mostly because I was excited to add another Communist leader to my bodies count. I had already seen formaldehyde-Lenin and formaldehyde-Mao; all that was left was formaldehyde-Ho Chi Minh! But my disappointment was tempered by the realization that I would be back to Hanoi in a few months on my way into southern China. I just need to make sure I’m not here on a Monday again.

I spent the rest of the morning wandering around the Old Quarter of Hanoi which, if not for the trash, the river of motorbikes, and the blasting of motorbike horns, would be quite attractive. Colonial buildings line the narrow alleyways, and in the middle of it all is an attractive lake called Hoan Kiem. I visited a quiet temple in the middle of the lake and stayed there for over an hour, enjoying the break from the stress of the city.

Directions in Hanoi are complicated by the fact that roads change names every few blocks or so. During my 900m walk from the lake to my guesthouse, the road changed names four times. And the one time I took a motorbike, I asked to go to the intersection of two major roads and the driver had no idea what I was talking about. I think people talk about directions here in terms of landmarks rather than road names.

That afternoon I visited Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), an 11th Century complex that served as a university dedicated to the education of mandarins. As in Hoi An, here again Vietnam’s historic links with China are clear: the temple was dedicated to none other than Confucius upon its construction in 1070.

Given its age, the buildings of Van Mieu are very well preserved, and the many courtyards and reflecting pools that surround the buildings made for a relaxing walk, not least because of the absence of crazy motorbike drivers.

On the way back to my guesthouse I passed a huge statue of Lenin. Clearly, Vietnam is much enamored with the man, as the major city park in Hanoi is also named after him.
That evening I attended a traditional water puppet performance at the municipal theater. Though I had low expectations going in (the tickets cost $1.25), the performance was actually quite entertaining despite the fact that I had no idea what the puppets were saying. The music was good, and many of the scenes involved fishing or fighting, which are easy enough to follow even without understanding the language. The performance was short—just over an hour—but it was one of the most entertaining hours I spent in Vietnam.

After the puppet show I downed my last round of Vietnamese food and topped it off with a few French-style pastries (clearly the best remnant of colonialism). The following morning I’d catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur and then on the Bali.

Overall impressions of Vietnam? Not so different than those I expressed back in Ho Chi Minh City. The traffic is terrible, the people are less friendly than most anywhere in Southeast Asia, and everything from food to accommodations is more expensive than in neighboring countries. But the food is excellent, the scenery is stunning, and the culture and history are fascinating. I came away liking the place, though not in any big hurry to return (besides a short stay in Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Sapa in two months).