Nate and Tanja: Vietnam Part 4 of 5: Hanoi and Ninh Binh

When we first arrived in Vietnam, we had taken a boat along the Mekong River from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Chao Doc, Vietnam. The areas we explored those first couple of days in Vietnam are culturally Cambodian. The people and their language are Cambodian. When borders were redrawn in the 1950s, Cambodia was a loser and Vietnam a winner, gaining a great deal of formerly Cambodian land. I imagine the Cambodian people living in present-day southern Vietnam along the banks of the Mekong River might be happy they are part of Vietnam now since it is much better off financially than Cambodia is.

Then in Ho Chi Minh City, the area was distinctive for being the part of Vietnam that was anti-communist during the war. South Vietnam fought with the Americans against the communist northern Viet Cong, who had support from China and the Soviet Union. The Viet Cong won the war, and Hanoi became the country's capital. Our tour guide in southern Vietnam had an uncle who fought for the South Vietnamese Army (the side USA supported). That guide also downplayed Vietnam's current communist tendencies. Our tour guide in Hanoi was VERY pro-communist.

Hanoi had been the capital of French Indochina (1902), and then the capital of North Vietnam (1954), and then capital of a unified (communist) Vietnam (1976).

After an early morning flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, we immediately began a tour of Hanoi. Our new guide started off talking about how proud he was to be a communist. We began the city tour with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the revered leader's embalmed body is on display. The mausoleum is closed on Mondays, so we were only able to view the outside - I didn't find this to be a great loss. The Vietnamese people seem to basically worship Ho Chi Minh.

Next, we saw the One Pillar Pagoda, a historic Buddhist temple originally built in 1049 in the middle of a lotus pond, where worshipers can pray to a statue of the Goddess of Mercy. It was picturesque and beautiful. Right before arriving, our guide was talking to us about his family and kids. I made an off-hand comment that his family was similar to ours (since he had just said how old his kids are, and they were basically the same age as ours, and he also had three children). He was visibly offended and pointed out slowly that no, it was different, because he has TWO sons, and Nate and I only have ONE son. Then at the Buddhist pagoda our same guide, a self-proclaimed atheist, told Nate that he went here when his wife was pregnant to pray for sons, and that it had worked. The guide's uncle also came to the pagoda to pray for sons, and after some years, apparently it worked. The guide told Nate he should pray too there for another son. Nate politely explained he was quite happy with his two daughters and his one son.

Later on, the guide explained that he loves his daughter too, especially because she was born during the year of the Dragon (2012), which is the luckiest year. So according to him, sons are better than daughters, but if a girl is born during the year of the Dragon, it is ok! Maybe I am supposed to feel sad my daughters were almost born in the year of the Dragon (they were born in 2011 and 2013), but I was just shocked people still cling so strongly to these old beliefs.

Our next stop was the Tran Quoc Pagoda, built in the 6th century, and the oldest pagoda in Hanoi. It was nearly completely covered up due to needing structural renovations, but we did visit the grounds and we ran around this tree 10 times because it was supposed to bring good luck.

Then we visited the Temple of Literature, the first university of Vietnam, established in the 11th century. I loved the architecture of the buildings.

We were supposed to visit another museum afterwards, but we asked to go to the famous train street instead. It is a popular narrow street with restaurants, where the train passes through multiple times per day. The train passes very closely to the buildings on either side. I had seen the street on a travel show, and was interested. On the show, tourists were actually in the street, pressed against the walls while the train passed. However, that must be a few years old, because now, everyone needed to be a little further away, in the restaurants. I wonder if the new rule is because of some tragic accidents. It was fun to experience and I am glad we skipped a museum for it. I love Derek's face in the video.

Finally, we finished the city tour with a visit to the Hoa Lo Prison, originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the "Hanoi Hilton." The parts of the prison showing how the French kept Vietnamese prisoners were pretty gruesome.

Our guide kept telling us how much the American soldiers loved being at the 'Hanoi Hilton' prison, after all, they thought it was comparable enough to a nice hotel, that they dubbed it a 'Hilton'. Sarcasm and irony don't translate well, especially through the eyes of controlled propaganda it seems. I imagine if we had only heard the official Vietnamese communist party line, we might have been convinced the prisoners were enjoying their time too. The American prisoners wrote letters home, played sports, relaxed, and thought it was great! There were many exhibits showing how awesome the Americans had it, especially in contrast to how poorly the Vietnamese were treated by the French years earlier.

Senator John McCain told a very different story of how he was treated during captivity after his plane was shot down in 1967. During his 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, Senator McCain was routinely tortured, spent years in solitary confinement, lost 50 pounds off his already slim figure, and his hair turned from grey to white. The exhibits at Hỏa Lò Prison, however, tell a very different story. This was one of the times where the communist propaganda was just ridiculous.

We went on a cruise of Ha Long Bay the next two days (that is described in a different blog post). When we got back, we explored Hanoi on our own.

This is probably as good of a place as any to talk about how crazy crossing the streets were in big cities in Vietnam, mostly Hanoi though Ho Chi Minh City was pretty bad too. Because so many people ride around on little scooters or motorcycles, there are so many small vehicles on the road in addition to cars. We learned the number one rule when crossing the street is to be slow, steady, and deliberate. Darting across the street, stopping suddenly, or turning around and going back are all good ways to get run over. Surprisingly despite the crowds and chaos, it all works - I don't recall seeing any accidents while we were there. Here's a video we found that pretty accurately presents how we put our lives on the line every time we crossed the street.

We also saw the famous water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. The hand-made puppets were in the water, controlled by puppeteers holding bamboo rods. The music was performed live to the sides of the stage. I really enjoyed the show. When we bought tickets, we had a choice of front row seats for $4 extra per seat, or seats near the back, so we 'splurged' on the front row seats that were $8 each and really enjoyed the view.

This clip I filmed doesn't show the 'fun' skits, of which there were several, but it does give an idea of how the show worked overall.

Our last day in Vietnam comprised a day trip to Ninh Binh, known as 'Ha Long Bay on land.' I was very excited for the day as the pictures I saw beforehand were amazing. The scenery definitely did not disappoint, however it was 110 degrees (43 C) that day, which definitely put a damper on things.

Our first stop was the ancient Vietnamese capital of Hoa Lu, where we learned about the feudal dynasties of the country's history. The hats they gave us helped somewhat with the heat.

This lion statue guarding Hoa Lu looked fearsome.

Karina, Lydia, and I participated in the bike tour of the local village, while Derek and Nate waited at the restaurant we would eat lunch at. The ride was incredibly charming and scenic. Lydia was a little nervous on the bike and had trouble keeping up. This meant that she and I were way behind the group, and I kept thinking we were not going to be able to find them. Luckily, as we came to each turn, I would glimpse a bike in the direction we were supposed to go, and we somehow caught up. I loved seeing the houses and water. Karina was a trooper and stayed next to the guide and other tourists the whole time.

In Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rowers in small boats paddled tourists through slow moving rivers with sheer limestone mountains rising up from the paddies. It felt like Ha Long Bay in miniature. I just wish it had not been so hot.

We also went through multiple caves and stopped at various temples during the 1.5 hour tour.

The dragons along the roof line of this temple were very intricate.

The day was topped off with Mua Cave. We climbed 500 stone steps (in 110 degrees) to take in views all the way to Tam Coc and the Ngo Dong River. This was the true highlight for me. Somehow we persevered and made it to the top (other than Nate who wasn't feeling well and only made it 2/3 of the way)!