Day 7 - Hanoi

Fair warning: Day 7 was a LONG day. 

After a short cab ride from the train station to the heart of the Old Quarter (we were right on the West Lake), we quickly found our condo (a serviced apartment). After a night in the train, it felt like the Four Seasons. We were in the penthouse suite, so the elevator opened up directly into the apartment (so posh)! I've always wanted to stay in a place like that- and because our currency is mighty there, we finally could!

There was still daily maid service each day even though it was a private residence...but it was all form and no function there. We couldn't even find a can opener, dish cloth, dish soap or paper towels there. Still, the elevator opened up into the unit! We had lake views! Maid service! (Really, I need to move to Vietnam.)

Right outside our apartment there were still dozens of the usual fruit and veggie vendors. My mother and I generally bought sweet, juicy dragon fruit every single day.

Our first stop the very next day in Hanoi was to the Hoa Loa Prison (aka known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' by very tongue in cheek American POWs). As a historian (this is what I was told to refer to myself as once I got my history degree), I've long dreamt of visiting this place. It wasn't at all what I'd expected...namely that it was mostly renovated (little of the original prison still exists) and that it was far more utilized by the French for Vietnamese freedom fighters/guerrillas than American POWs.

Vietnamese prisoners

Solitary looks and feels the same worldwide, right? Creepy. Filled with pain and sadness.

The Hanoi Hilton was notoriously unsecure, and many prisoners mounted escapes. In this case, despite the narrow opening, a dozen or so prisoners managed to slip though this sewage grate (a few were successful and were never recaptured).

The artwork there evoked powerful emotions. Most surrounded the Vietnamese guerrillas (again, the Americans were toward the end of the prison's life) fighting the French occupation.

A typical bed the American POWs slept on. Apparently, even today, mattresses are so thin in Vietnam that hard mattresses are referred to as a 'Hanoi mattress.'

There were many sad images of American POWs there. This one spoke to me.

The flight suit worn by Sen. John McCain was he was captured in the rice paddy he crashed into. Hey Donald Trump...maybe you should go visit the place. Learn a little. And then shut your big flapper about what war heroes are. A#*hole.

In case you can't read it...a message from Cousin Ho after the war-

Last year was full of glorious victories

This year the forefront's sure to win still bigger ones

For Independence, for Freedom

Let's fight so the Yanks quit, and the puppets topple.

Foreward! Fighters, countrymen!

North and South reunited, could there be happier Spring!

It's still fascinating to see their take on the war, and their view of our soldier's intent. The museum understandably, from their perspective- that the American's were powerful and mighty invaders who sought to divide the peasants and country. There were multiple assurances of how delightfully American POWs were treated while there, and a plethora of pictures of the happy American soldiers celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in the prison. Well, um...okay. I'm sure Sen McCain and his fellow POWs may not agree, but...

From the prison, we hopped another cab over to the ancient Temple of Literature and it's beautifully manicured park-like grounds.

From the Temple of Literature, we took a cab over the sprawling Old Quarter. It was a bit more quaint than in HCMC, and had more 'uniquely Vietnamese' character to me. The streets, once divided by wares, were still largely preserved and named after whatever merchandise was/is sold on that particular street. So one street may be all kitchenware, another may be funeral stones, or tropical fish, or children's toys...you get the idea. Though I suppose this can be convenient if you're looking for a particular item, to me, it seemed redundant. Every shop seemed to be selling the same things, at similar prices.

If I haven't mentioned this before...everything is done and sold on bicycles and scooters there. Everything. You can see from the photos that we started off on the 'floral street' section.

Anytime we're in SE Asia we play a game of who can spot the most people on any one scooter. Ryan won with four, and even took this photo himself while we waited for food at lunch! So not only has this family managed to fit what appears to be twins on their scooter, but one appears to have fallen asleep as well (we saw mothers NURSING on scooters, so this was not that surprising).

I was so excited to buy some fresh fruit (sometimes these HILARIOUS vendors would start the negotiating for a bag of fresh fruit at $5. After negotiation, we'd get it for about $1-1.50, and even that was pricey by Vietnamese standards, but we didn't want to niggle). Unfortunately, I did not know that she would quickly dump a concoction of what tasted like black pepper/chili pepper all over my fruit. Blech!

Ryan scored some freshly made (on the spot) mango ice cream for $3. Heavenly.

Most Vietnamese dined at street side restaurants (where the cooks often set up makeshift kitchens om the sidewalk) such as this one. Most times they served up meals that were only $2-3 (or less if you were Vietnamese I'm sure), or ban mi that was $1-2.

We ended our afternoon at the much ballyhooed water puppet theater for an evening show...which if you haven't heard, is a authentic Vietnamese art form, passed down from generation to generation. As interesting as it was (you should Wiki it if you want to know the details as its rather detailed)...it wasn't really my thing. Thank goodness the show was only 45 minutes long or Ms Fidget would have left during intermission. ;-)

 

We ended our long day at the coolest little restaurant right near the water puppet theater and indulged in four different kinds of veggie and shrimp spring rolls that were so delicious. I think our entire meal was still well under $15-20.

Though our day was long, it took the pressure off our second day in the city. :-)