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| Tuesday, 17-Oct-2006 14:00 |
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Discovering Hanoi
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view of the west lake from my hotel room
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this is one of the many lakes surrounding the city
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traffic chaos down there
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entrance to the Temple of Literature
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tablets with names of scholars
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that's not a painting... it's embroidery
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requires patience...
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my lack of photography skill doesn't do this work of art justice
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a very old looking tree
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taking time out to read the news
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hi pakcik :)
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ladies selling joss sticks
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quan thanh temple
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motorbikes everywhere!!
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some serenity in the middle of the city
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young and old lepak with mates
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playing checkers while smoking hand-rolled ciggarettes
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that's my hotel
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the one pillar pagoda
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ho chi minh's mousoleum
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russian style marching
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Vietnam was never really on my "to visit" places... I didn't know much about the country except my limited knowledge about the vietnam war and that it is a country that is hungry for success and hence getting a lot of investor focus of late. It also chaired the APEC in 2006. But that's about it...
I was asked to go to Hanoi to deliver a lecture. It was the fasting month and I wasn't really looking forward to it. Nevetheless, I still did my "homework" via frommers and fodors. My mom also said that vietnam is known for producing beautiful embroidery work. OK... at least I can do some shopping while I'm there.
Now... looking back, I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go to Hanoi. It still has the charms of an old city intermingling with rapid development, common among south-east asian countries.
I never knew that Hanoi is a city of lakes, that it has a labyrinth of old shophouses, with history going as far back as the 1200s.
I had 2 half-days to see the city. The ride from the airport wasn't very interesting... so as per my original plan, first task: SHOPPING!
I took a taxi from my hotel, Sofitel Plaza, into the old quarter (coz that's where the guidebooks said I should head for). And as I'm being driven into the city, it unravels itself into a world that seemed to be untouched by time (and war). Beautiful old shophouses and buildings stood amongst garish modern looking ones.
If there's something I needed to get used to was traffic. It's like "every man for himself" out there. With motorbikes cutting across zigzagging... and cars not stopping at intersections. But heck, coming from KL, it ain't too much different 
So day one was filled with shopping.. entering one shop after another. Discovering the many talents of the vietnamese people. There's embroidery, lacquer ware, silk, wood carving... you name it, they've got it! And the streets are arranged by the specialisation that the traders have... there's a shoe street, silk street (Hang Gai.. .I know this coz I spent quite a bit here, hehe), wood street, pet street, food street... I was also pleasantly surprised to see so many foreign tourists in Hanoi. Due to the historical linkage, it bumped into several French groups... amongst American teenagers (they're so loud you can't miss them), more refined English & Aussies, a splattering of Italians... the only ppl I didn't see were Arabs and Japanese.
On day two, after delivering my 2 hour lecture, I went off to see the many tourist sites that Hanoi has to offer. Since time was limited, I had to pick and choose...
First destination was the Temple of Literature. This is where the learned get their education during the period when Vietnam (or whatever its name was at the time) was under the rule of the Chinese dynasty. There were tablets carved with names of those who passed the "government" exams and thus became eligible to be an officer. I'm amazed that the building stood the test of time (we're talking some centuries here...) and the chinese influence was clear in the architecture. Despite being a developing country, Vietnam has its tourism act right. The signages are well placed, the persons manning these places courteous and the whole place was well kept.
Next was an expensive taxi ride into the old city to get to the Quan Thanh temple. Usually and with honest taxi drivers, taxis are really quite cheap in Hanoi (cheaper still are the motorbike taxis but I dare not risk my life). It's my fault really... I've been warned by the concierge at my hotel to only get on taxis with certain numbers (which are linked to the big hotel). But it was hot and since I was fasting, I really wanted to get into a comfortable air-conditioned car quickly. Since I didn't have much trouble yesterday, why not. Not all taxi drivers are crooks right? WRONG... and I had to pay dearly for my misjudgement. He charged me 3 times what the fare should really be and while I was riding in the car, I watched with horror as the meter kept on rising and rising... Simply put, it left a very bitter taste and spoilt my otherwise wonderful experience of Hanoi. To make it worse, the temple wasn't really that great. I suppose, having just visited the Temple of Literature, everything else pales in comparison.
To make myself feel better... I decided to do more shopping. And since I've "burnt" quite a bit of money on the exorbitant taxi ride, I decided to walk instead. It was quite tiring especially in the heat and me fasting, but it also afforded me with some sights that I would otherwise miss if I had taken a taxi instead. Went back to the Old Quarter for more "discoveries"... in the end, I've bought enough stuff to fill my bag & the spare bag I brought to their full capacity  En route, I walked along the Hoan Kiem lake, seeking refuge from the heat by wondering into shopping malls. The lake is in the heart of Hanoi... it's big and leafy trees lined the shores. There were benches along the river... several old folks sitting playing checkers while smoking, young ones just hang out with friends for a chat, a mat salleh lady read a book under a tree... It was really tranquil, despite the persistent honking and beep-beep from cars and motorbikes. There's also an island in the lake, accessible by a bridge. There's a temple on the island and being on the island feels like you're miles away from the hustle bustle of a city.
The next day, I had about 3 hours to kill before having to head for the airport to catch my flight home. Learning from the preceeding day's folly & due to the limited time, I took a cab from the hotel, showed the driver where I wanted to go and asked him to take me there and for him to wait for me while I go sightseeing. All that was just slightly more than what I had paid for the 5-minutes ride I had the day before (you can see how geram I am with it  )
So... I headed towards the One-Pillar Temple, Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (it's closed for restroration.. not sure of the building or the body, but I wasn't planning to give Uncle Ho a visit anyway) and visited a temple adjascent to the west lake.
In all, I had a wonderful time in Hanoi.. the shopping, the sites.. wouldn't mind returning for another visit in the future  ... especially that now AirAsia flies direct to Hanoi, hehe...
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