We were fortunate enough to be staying with Kate's friends, Matt, Lindy, John and Caz in a cool three story house about a ten minute scooter ride from the old quarter. It was really nice to stay in a house again with familiar things like a refridgerator and tv, and a room to sleep in where you can walk out of it and still be in the actual house. After staying in hotels and guest-houses for so long we have both missed having simple household comforts that we all normally take for granted. The guys even had a super cute mini schnauser named 'Poco' and it was especially nice to see a well cared for dog again rather than the usual bedraggled, scary-looking ones we see on the streets. As we spent some time in Hanoi before and after we travelled up to Sapa we were able to stay in Hanoi for almost two weeks in total.
The city has alot of history but it is extremely dirty and grimy, but lets face it, most large cities in this region are. The most disconcerting thing, other than the traffic, about Hanoi was the cloud of smog and dust that hovered above the city. I think some people must go most of their lives without ever seeing many really nice, sunny, clear days here. As we drove back to Hanoi from Ha Long bay it was a nice blue sky afternoon, until we reached the edge of Hanoi and then the cloud just descended and it was back to the gloom. While we were in Hanoi we tried to do some touristy things but alot of time was spent just hanging out with friends, going out for lunches and dinners and sorting out our visas to stay in Vietnam.
One touristy thing we did see was the 'Temple of Literature' which was the first University set up in Hanoi around a thousand years ago. The Mandarins set this up and it lasted for centuries with many famous Vietnamese scholars attending it over the years. It made for an intersting walk through the old buildings (which looked remarkably similar to the average Buddhist temple) but after about half an hour it was time to move on.
On our last day we visited the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the father of Vietnam as we know it today. This was actually pretty cool and it involved standing in an enormous line of people on a very muggy day for about an hour. Literally thousands of people were in line and it amazed us both to think this was just another day at the Mausoleum. It shows how highly regarded the former president is by his countrymen (and women) as there were people of every age waiting patiently for their chance to get a glimpse of this long dead fellow. When our turn came to file past the glass case containing the waxy remains of 'Uncle Ho', as he is affectionately known, immaculately dressed but stern faced guards ushered us around the body in an orderly but efficient manner. All in all we must have been in the inner sanctum for about 15 seconds but the glow of the lights over the body and the freezing air conditioning made this just about the right amount of time to be in there. Ho Chi Minh looked just like he did in the old propaganda videos we had observed whilst standing in line, even his wispy beard was intact, but as he wasn't put on display until around fifteen years after his death we were both left wondering whether it was really him or just a waxy impersonator.
Another place we found in Hanoi that was especially pleasing was the 'Kangaroo Cafe'. Owned by a bloke from Sydney this place saved my life on more than one occasion. On the whole I have been a little less than besotted by Vietnamese food and I have been on the lookout for food from home as much as possible. The Kangaroo Cafe is without a doubt the best western food we have encountered on our entire trip let alone Vietnam. They had Fish'n'Chips! Real Fish'n'Chips, not a poor imitation! You may snigger, but after four months on the road with no Fish'n'Chips I was in heaven! All of the food they served was hearty huge and very reasonable. God bless this place, it was just what I needed and not a rice dish in sight!
As our days were spent hanging with friends or doing mundane chores like organising visas, travel plans and train tickets there is not much else to report about Hanoi. Is it my favourite city in Asia? Hell no. Is it worth a visit? If you're in the neighbourhood then yeah I suppose so. There is a lot of cool stuff near Hanoi, like Sapa and Ha Long bay, but the city itself is just a bit too grey and claustrophobic for me. Having said that I want to say a special thanks to Matt, Lindy, John and Caz for letting us stay and putting up with us. There is nothing worse when you're going about your normal daily working routine than having a couple of layabouts on holiday to come home to. Thanks guys, you made our stay in Hanoi well worthwhile.
Our plan from Hanoi was to trek all the way back down to Saigon again (about 1200km's) and stop in at some of the places we had missed on our way up the country the first time. As buses and trains average about 50km's an hour here (I'm not joking, they really are sloooow!) 1200km's works out to be quite a hike. By this stage we had been in Vietnam for over a month and we were beginning to wonder how we had managed to stay here so long. Vietnam has the best of things to offer travellers in this region but it also can be extremely wearisome as we were about to find out on our trip back down south. But more about that next time. 'Til then.
Tim and I riding around Ha Noi.
Temple in the middle of the lake beside the old quarter.
The lake near the old quarter was fluro green.
A street in the old quarter.
Tim and Jake found one skate spot in Ha Noi. This is Tim showing one of the young guys how to do a trick.
Temple of Literature - these are tomb stones of professors. The Vietnamese go around touching the turtles head. I assume it gives them good luck.
Me at the Temple of Literature. This was a big drum that was on show and it still worked.
Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. You can't quite see in this photo but there is a large line proceeding all the way to the entrance.
A guard at the mausoleum.
Our favourite restaurant - the Kangaroo Cafe. This was once bangers and mash but I have eaten it all!! Yummy.
This is Tim and his fish and chips!
The locals where these ponchos whenever it rains. It doesn't quite keep you all dry but it is better than not having one.
A man asleep on top of his motorbike.
Poco, the dog.
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