There is no way to arrive quietly in Ha Noi! The drive from the airport is a cacophony of sound and nothing prepares you for the seeming chaos on the roads. Motorbikes, scooters and bicycles seem to out number cars and, it is possible to carry anything by this mode of transport, including a cow on a trailer pulled by a tricycle!
As our time in Ha Noi is relatively short, our guide takes us to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on the way to our hotel in the Old Quarter. Unfortunately, it is closed in the afternoons (open from 8-11am except Friday and Monday) but at least it is relatively quiet in the gardens. Often it is busy with many Vietnamese families coming to pay their respects to Ho Chi Minh, queuing to see his embalmed body in a glass sarcophagus. Photography is forbidden and it is important to dress respectfully (no shorts). The mausoleum itself was constructed in the early 1970’s and is centred in the botanical gardens.
The temple in the gardens is small but the altar is brimming with gifts to the deities.
Leaving for our hotel, the roads around the Mausoleum provide beautiful examples of the French Colonial architecture, elegant buildings, often yellow in colour, set on tree-lined avenues. Many embassies are stated in this area.
Arriving in Hoan Kiem District, the Old Quarter of Hoi An, it is more than just bustling or vibrant! Ha Noi can not fail to energise you once you have overcome your fear. Crossing the road is an art. At first it appears there are no rules, cars and scooters travel at steady speeds but come at you from all directions and, I mean every which way. The hotel concierge advised just step out and keep walking with purpose! Yikes!
You have to stand and watch for a while before having the courage to just do it. Taking our lives in our hands, my daughter and I step off the pavement and start to walk, our hearts pounding and expecting to end up in hospital. Amazingly enough there are rules and not running over pedestrians is one. As if by magic, the scooters part ways and zoom past either side of us and we make it safely to the pavement the other side of a 4 lane road, our ears reverberating with the sound of horns. One word of advice, once you step off the pavement try not to stop as it is very hard to decide when to move again as the riders don’t know what you are intending to do.
We are staying at the beautifully named Apricot Hotel, opposite the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake and right in the centre of the Old District of Hoan Kiem.
The much venerated resident of the lake, a giant Swinhoe turtle, which signified the countries struggle for independence, unfortunately died just a few weeks before out visit. Tortoises are sacred in Vietnamese culture and the city mourned the loss of this turtle thought to be 100 years old.
Legend has it that Emperor Le Loi made a sword from a friends metal bar, which miraculously became imprinted with the words “Thuan Thien” meaning “harmonious with heaven”. The sword was used in battle but during a period of peace the king was visiting Thuy Quan Lake and a giant turtle rose out of the water asking for the sword to be returned to the “dragon king”. The king threw the sword into the lake and it was taken by the turtle below the surface to return it to its divine origins, from then on the lake became known as Hoan Kiem Lake or Lake of the Restored Sword.
From the hotel, we take a short walk to the Ngoc Son Temple past locals practising Tai Chi, entering the temple island by the Huc Bridge which literally means the “place touched by the morning sun”. The Ngoc Son Temple (Temple of the Jade Mountain) dates from the 18th century and sits on Jade Island and is dedicated to General Tran Hung Dao who defeated the army of Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan in the 13th Century, the patron saint of physicians and Van Xuong, the scholar. We visited the pagoda which has a number of golden decorated altars dedicated to various deities and some antique artefacts.
We meet our guide at the hotel for a gourmet tour of Ha Noi. He promptly negotiates some cyclos and we are propelled by these fit cyclists through the warren of streets that make up Old Quarter. Each of the streets is named for the produce they sold from the shops and some vendors still sell the same wares such as Silk Street or Bamboo Street. Take time to look above street level and you will see some very old building frontages.
We sit on small plastic stools or chairs on the pavement, breathing in the wonderful aromas, listening to the sizzling woks amid the bustle of the streets and eating some terrific street food. Pork buns, meat skewers, noodles to die for and, a locally brewed beer at Bia Hoi. We stay into the evening when the locals start to arrive to pick up take outs on their scooters or to sit with their family and friends.
Later we find a backpackers bar above the street, on the corner of Pho Dinh Liet and Pho Hang Thung street, and enjoy a cold beer, ending our stay in Ha Noi pretty much the way we started, bemused by how the chaos just works!
Accommodation: Apricot Hotel
Travel Itinerary: I am blessed to have a Travel Manager whom I have been using for many years now. Michelle Michael-Peccora is a seasoned professional, who takes a pride in understanding the needs and experience her clients are looking for and Michelle will come to you. I booked this trip at very short notice and Michelle managed to create a memorable trip for us once again using Buffalo Tours. I call Michelle my travel therapist!
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