Day 36 - Last Day in Hanoi and Vietnam!

It'd be my last day in Hanoi since I was for sure heading to Philippines tonight. Again, just a day of walking around the city and resting in air-conditioned shops, trying my best not to sweat since I didn't have a hotel room to stay at.

In the morning, I headed to the post office to see how much it would cost to ship some stuff home. It was quite expensive to ship by air, so I opted to ship by ship cargo. The total cost was around $25USD for abour 3.5 kilos and would take 3 months. It didn't matter to me since I wouldn't be home that soon.

I was relatively disappointed with the food I had eaten in Hanoi, so I decided to check out one of the restaurants that Anthony Bourdain visited on his Vietnam episode of No Reservations. It was actually about 3 blocks away from the hotel! The restaurant specialized in steamed glutinous rice that was combined with your choice of maize or saffron, and a meat portion. I decided on the rice with saffron and lean pork paste. Better meal that most of my stay in Hanoi, and extremely filling since it was so much rice! Luckily I was able to leave the city with my stomach full since I hear the food at the Hanoi airport was awful.

Took a Vietnam Airlines Van from Hanoi to the airport. It's funny how dumb people think tourists are (or maybe they/we are?). I took a motorbike to the Vietnam Airlines headquarters since that was where the airport transfer was located. Right when I arrived, a taxi driver tried to get my business. Why would I take a motorbike to the Vietnam Airlines office, only to take a taxi cab there? I asked him before I walked away.

It'd be a long night tonight since I would be leaving Hanoi, headed to HCMC at 8:30pm, and then taking the 1AM flight from HCMC to Manila, and then the 8:30am flight from Manila to Boracay...

Anthony Bourdain Recommended - Xoi Yen Restaurant

Errrr?

Day 35 - Perfume Pagoda

Arrived back in rainy Hanoi at around 6am without a hotel. I was actually supposed to take a Halong Bay tour for 2 days and 1 night starting today, but the tour was cancelled due to the incoming storm in the area. This was a major bummer since most people recommended that I go see the caves in the area, and I wouldn't be able to reschedule since I already booked my flights to the Philippines by then..

I ended up booking a one-day tour to see the Perfume Pagoda 100km outside of Hanoi in the Ha Tay Province. It is a major religious site for the Buddhists in the area. It consists of many different Pagodas within the grottoes in the area. Like the annual trek to Mecca for Jews, many Vietnamese Buddhists pay a visit in large numbers to the Perfume Pagoda in the SpringTime. The rivers are flooded with metal boats taking them to the shrines.

Since it was (very) low season, we were able to take these boats to the Perfume Pagoda in peace, without having to fight for space in these low boats, that could easily tip over with the slightest shift in weight from one side to the other.

I met two Californians from Simi Valley on the tour. It was funny because I keep trying to guess where people are from when they speak English, and I couldn't tell if they were from the United States. I think I'm overthinking it now, since I still can't tell an Aussie accent from an English. Maybe I just need to hear it more...

Since it was rainy, we were able to take some pretty cool pictures of the waters overflowing throughout the Thien Tru Pagoda (Pagoda Leading to Heaven). Unfortunately, I was not wearing the proper clothing to enter the temples, so I was only able to take shots outside.

After that, we took a cable car up the mountains to the Huong Tich Cave, which was a huge cave that the Buddhists came to visit. The Pagoda in the area is called the Pagoda of the Perfume Vestige. Since I didn't get to see the caves of Halong Bay, I think this cave somewhat made up for what I missed. It was probably the biggest cave I'd ever been in, and hopefully I can top this sometime and somewhere else on my journey.

On the boat ride back, I talked with one of the tourmates from California who competes in a sport called “Adventure Racing.” You basically are racing to get from one location to the finish line, using only a compass and a topographical map, without the use of a phone or GPS. There aren't many other rules, and you can bring money to trade with the people you meet. Some of these races last for days, and the more professional players compete in some of the most exciting places around the world. Anything can happen, and some people have had to get evacuated because of injury or sickness. In fact, one of his friends ended up contracting a disease of some sort that the doctors don't know the origins of, and a tumor continuously grows on his body, which he has to drain every so often. I asked him how you can call for help in the event of an emergency, and he says that most people purchase some sort of a GPS signal that you can press to call for help.

His brother lives in HCMC and works for Nike, which naturally lead to my curiousity in the labor conditions of the workers there. He explained, at least from his brothers' accounts, that Nike has vastly improved their record on labor conditions for workers, and that currently, Toyota is being more closely criticized (or maybe Apple in China should be, given the number of suicides in the factories). In the past, it was hard to be accountable for the conditions of workers since Nike purchased different products and manufacturing supplies from different companies/factories and was less knowledgable about how these workers were being treated. Now, there is a lot more pressure from Nike to these suppliers to maintain proper working conditions for the workers. I asked what the wages for these workers were, and the tourmate said it was camparable to what the people living in the areas were making, and although it may seem like a “sweatshop” wage to Americans, it was a decent wage for the people living here. You wonder why everything is manufactured in countries all over Asia...

After we arrived back in Hanoi, I took the opportunity to head to Hanoi Cinematheque again to catch the latest movie. This time, it was Biutiful starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. It was a bleak view of the life of a man living in Spain and finding out he is dying from cancer. Probably the weakest of the 4 films by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu I'd seen (my favorite being 21 Grams)...

Boat Ride to the Grottoes and Pagodas

Boat Ride to the Grottoes and Pagodas

Thien Tru Pagoda

Thien Tru Pagoda

Cable Cars to Huong Tich Cave

Huong Tich Cave

Huong Tich Cave - It sort of felt like I was in line to ride Indiana Jones at Disneyland

Huong Tich Cave

Ha Tay Province

Day 32 - Last Day in Hanoi

Just another filler day before heading out to Sapa by taking the night train. It would be the first time I would take a train in Vietnam.

Spent the day again trying to keep cool and in the shade, so I went to a couple coffee shops in the high-rise buildings near Hoan Kiem lake for most of the day to update this blog and figure out my plans after I leave Vietnam. I'm headed to the Philippines next! I'm not exactly sure what I plan on doing there, but I'll have my travel guide with me. I know I'm going to Boracay Islands and Manila, but am not too certain what there is to do in the Capital. Some of my Filipino friends mentioned visiting the big Mall there...but I hope there's a lot more to do.

It was difficult trying to figure out the routes to take to get to Boracay since there aren't any direct flights from Hanoi to Manila. I decided after much research to take Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to HCMC, and then Cebu Pacific Air from HCMC to Manila to Caticlan (Boracay). It should be exciting to finally set off for another country after my 3 weeks here in Vietnam.

I was pretty disappointed with the food I ate in Hanoi, even after 4 days here... One thing I noticed is that you shouldn't trust the Lonely Planet guide for recommendations. I think maybe the quality lessens after a restaurant gets distinction in a guidebook...or maybe restaurants in general just aren't as good as some of the food stalls around town.

Street Food Stall - Fried Noodles with Beef

Ladybird Restaurant (Lonely Planet Recommendation) - Duck Salad (YUCK)

Day 31 - Seeing Ho Chi Minh in Person

Spent most of the morning in the Ba Dinh district of Hanoi since most of the attractions were only accessible from 8am-11am, every day of the week except Monday and Friday. Many tourists aren't aware of these restrictions and get there too late to see anything.

The first stop was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body lay. Other communist leaders like Lenin and Mao Zedong also have been embalmed and displayed to visitors in their respective countries. The entire structure was very plain, and cold-looking, made of a gray marble. All the visitors had to pass through a checkpoint, before being lead down a long line to the entrance of the mausoleum. Soldiers were on guard at various points to ensure the security of the area. I really didn't know what to expect when entering the building. It was chilly, stepping in as the A/C ventilation was on at full-blast and we were led in 2 single-file lines up some stairs before turning into the room where Ho Chi Minh lay. Everyone was asked to remain silent and keep the line moving, as we saw Ho Chi Minh's body in a glass case, laying peacefully like you would see at a funeral. A soldier was standing at every corner of the glass case for protection. I felt very uneasy being there and witnessing the body of someone who died in 1969, still preserved as if he died not a week ago. I never got the chance to see Mao Zedong's body when I visited China, so this was the first time I'd witnessed something like this. What's interesting is that Ho Chi Minh never wanted to be embalmed, but rather cremated and have his ashes spread across Vietnam. Against his wishes, he was instead embalmed.

Afterwards, we were all led to the Presidential Living Quarters, which included some of the places that Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Basic tourist filler attractions. I then headed to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which included many bazaar and abstract displays, much of which I didn't really understand. It was very strange.

The last museum I wanted to stop by was the Museum of Vietnamese Women, which showcased some of the historical achievements of women during Vietnamese resistance. There was also a floor dedicated to learning more about the work Vietnamese woman do, many working as street vendors to help their families out. Some go to the market to purchase goods at 4am in the morning, and sell the goods all day until around 7pm, repeating this routine everyday... On that same floor was an exhibit that showcased the Vietnamese Traditions of Marriage and Giving Birth.

The top floor was dedicated to Vietnamese Women's Fashion, which included a wide variety of clothing from different tribes across the country. Many of the costumes were very colorful and intricate, probably intentionally done to distinguish a tribe from another tribe.

There was also a special exhibit that displayed the stories of many victims of trafficking. Many of the stories told of people who trusted their friends to go somewhere to get a job, only to be sold by these so-called friends to someone in China to work in factories, in the sex trade, or work as a wife. There were also stories and pictures of people who were victims of domestic abuse. It's great to see some of these issues exposed, because I wonder how much trouble they have with the government in attempting to censor some of this...

At the end of the night, I headed back to Hanoi Cinematheque to try and catch the showing of "The Searchers" but ended up coming at the wrong time...lest I want to watch True Grit a second time. Ended the night early to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow, I take a night train to Sapa, Vietnam.

At the front of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Museum

Street Food - Glass noodles with tofu, ground pork, pork cake, and vegetables

Traditional Marriage Attire

Various Tribal Garb from Around Vietnam

Various Tribal Garb from Around Vietnam

Day 30 - Wandering Aimlessly Around Hanoi

Today was a very relaxing DIY tourist day. I got to walk around the city and go wherever I wanted at any time of the day. I only hired a motorbike once, and instead, decided to sweat it out most of the day.

In the morning, I walked around the Old Quarter District of Hanoi, which is a maze of streets full of vendors specializing in different trades, each situated on a specific street based on what they had to sell. One street was full of shoe stores, another full of light bulbs, another full of headstones, etc. I went to see a traditional tube house and tried to visit some of the other sites from my lonely planet book, but being as it was outdated, I got shut out of two different places because it was a Monday. It seems Monday is a rest day where many attractions are closed, including restaurants. I ended up walking to the Hoan Kiem Lake to just sit on the benches and watch the reflection of the city on the lake. The lake is situated in the center of most of the tourist areas in Hanoi, but is also a popular gathering place for locals at night, where people go jogging, sit around the benches, play badminton, or do group aerobics together. I walked across a bridge to the Den Ngoc Temple and then walked around the lake some more, before settling on lunch and some ice cream afterwards.

The city is full of hidden shops and stores as I mentioned in my previous post. Walking around, (finally with the help of a lonely planet book) I found an awesome art house cinema called Hanoi Cinematheque that plays different films every day of the week. Today they were playing True Grit and The Searchers (starring John Wayne). I bought a ticket and ended up watching True Grit in a theatre with only about 6 other people. It was really intimate. The movie theatre staff explained to me that not a lot of people come because they are only allowed to send notification emails to members, due to the non-profit nature of the theatre, and they also can't advertise in any way. It had something to do with governmental restrictions, which I didn't inquire further into. 

After that, I took a motorbike to the Temple of Literature, which served as a place to worship Confucius. It also served as a place for higher learning in the past, and there are stone engravings of scholars who passed certain national examinations in the past. The entire place consisted of numerous temples, courtyards, and pools. Afterwards, I walked to a restaurant and cafe that were suggested by Lonely Planet, but they were also closed on Monday! Hungry and sweaty i settled on KFC for the first time on the trip. I can't say whether I like the chicken better here or not, because I'm so used to the delicious flavors back home, but it definitely tasted different. 

Cooled off and stomach fed, I walked around some more and bought two lonely planet books for my next destinations (Philippines and Laos) for only 140,000 Dong. Then stumbled across the opening night of a photography exhibit depicting heroin addicts in Vietnam and the stories they wanted to tell. I didn't really see the effects of drugs on the population through my travels, so it was good to be exposed to some of these stories. Countless stories were told of people attempting to quit, only to relapse numerous times. Many of the stories told of men who ended up being motorbike drivers to make cash, sometimes to fuel their addiction. I wonder if I've assisted any of them...

More stumbling around at night in Hanoi led me to a cafe that had an open mic night where Vietnamese youth were performing "Chris Isaaks' Wicked Game" with violin, piano, and guitar.  There is just so much more art here than Saigon, at least from all that I have witnessed. I think it is regarded much more highly here. Then after that I walked to a Jazz club that performed jazz every night with no cover. It was again, intimate, with a small audience, and I ended up staying, enjoying the music after everyone else left. It was a moment I wish I could have shared with someone else. I won't lie, it gets lonely traveling alone, and it'd be nice to have a friend here to share in these moments.

Walked home from the bar down empty streets, a stark contrast to the daytime action. It was a perfect end to the night, with the lake on my right side, french architecture to my left, and the headlights of all the motorbikes in front of me. 

Old Quarter, Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake

Temple of Literature

Music Performance at the Temple of Literature

I Spy the Smallest IKEA I've ever Seen

Afternoon Break in the Hidden Alleys of Hanoi

NOT Vietnamese Street Food

Face-To-Face with Drugs Photo Exhibition

Entrance to Hanoi Cinematheque

Hanoi Cinematheque

Front Row Seats at the Jazz Show

Day 29 - Hanoi, South China Sea Protests, Fine Arts, and a Water Puppet Theatre

We arrived in Hanoi at around 8am and were left at a bus station away from the main part of town. My GPS wasn't working on my phone so I couldn't gauge how far away we actually were to the epicenter. Another moment of vulnerability for the foreigners on the bus, and we were, of course, attacked by the mob of motorbike drivers hoping to get business. There was a guy there that sold us some information on an available hotel, and I ended up just booking it because it was cheap and I wanted to get out of there. Turns out, after I checked into the hotel, I noticed that 2 of the other groups of foreigners also ended up booking here. A switch in power between buyer and seller when we are lost in the city...

Hanoi is a big enough city to explore for days, but small enough to make the exploration on foot, if you'd like. It is bursting with life, art, music, and culture. The former capital of Vietnam as well (Before HCMC and Hue), there is so much French influence penetrating throughout the city. All the old governmental buildings and landmarks have elements of French architecture. It's also much cleaner than HCMC.

A random fact that I read in my Lonely Planet guidebook was that many of the homes and shops in the area are not wide, but very very deep, which explains why they call these structures "tube houses." In the past, the government would tax the property based on the size of the front of the building, which is why the facade of each house was very narrow, but very deep - a way to cheat the system. Nowadays, when you wander the streets, there are plenty of narrow, dark alleys you can explore. Some lead to homes while others lead to restaurants and other businesses. Each address could have many different businesses, each with a letter to separate each structure deep in the alleyways (e.g. 42A, 42B, 42C, 42D Hang Buom Street).

I spent the morning reading through my guidebook to plan my trip for the next 4 days. Many of the landmarks had strict visiting hours, and most of them were closed on Monday. I came on a Sunday so I had to plan it all right so that I could see what I wanted to see. I ended up booking a ticket for tonight to see the famous Water Puppet Theatre show. It was a "must-see" in both the guidebooks I was using.

On the way to the theatre, I happened to be right at the frontline of a protest and march against the Chinese regarding the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. A couple hundred people were marching the streets with signs saying "Chinese Government - Peace in Speech, Violence in Action," "Justice for Vietnamese Fisherman," "Vietnam and Philippines Together Fighting for Justice!" and "Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands Belong to Vietnam."

Afterwards, I headed to a couple museums, and there are a ton of museums here, to check out some Fine Arts. I was used to seeing a lot of relics and artifacts uncovered, but it was nice to take a break from that to see some other contemporary arts - mostly propaganda, silk paintings, oil on canvas, and lacquer paintings. The museum was only allowed to showcase government approved art, so everything inside was only things the government wanted you to see. There were plenty of pro-government and pro-military paintings that showed only positive interaction between the soldiers and the villagers.

From one museum to the next, I went to the Museum of Vietnam Resistance, which showcased all the resistance movements that occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, from resistance from the French to the Vietnam War. There were plenty of original documents, weapons, and pictures, but I didn't really get much of it. It was probably a good time to hire a tour guide..

Walking around the city some more, I saw that at every park I wandered to, people were playing badminton or using their feet to kick those "birdies" over the net. Headed over to see the Water Puppet Show, which was a 50 minute performance with an orchestra on the side. The stage is basically a pool of water, and little puppets are controlled by people from behind the stage. The entire show was narrated and performed in Vietnamese, but it was fun nonetheless to witness this unfamiliar art.

At the end of the night, I walked the night markets trying to find new sandals because the other sandals I bought in Hue were making my feet blister. The street vendors in Hanoi are harder to bargain with! I've purchased sandals twice in Vietnam, once for 40,000 and once for 60,000. The starting price that they offered was 100,000 dong, and I bargained 40,000 but they just said no...not even counteroffering. I did this about three times before I started getting antsy. Some of the shop owners didn't even care to make a sale, just sitting there watching me peruse through the goods. This was something I was not expecting. I ended up settling on 85,000 for my pair of sandals after an hour or so of sweating and walking in pain...

South China Sea Protests

The view from the City View Cafe towards the Old Quarter

Lenin Park, Hanoi

Fine Arts Museum

Fine Arts Museum - "Children At Joyful Play" (1972) - Nguyen Tu Nghiem

Fine Arts Museum - "Young Girls and the Sea" (1940) - Nguyen Van Ty

Hanoi Opera House

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre