The rain had stopped when we left the Dong Xuan market, so we continued our day jaunt around the Old Quarter. Strolling through the quaint old town was like a step back in time, where everything was very much kept to the old fashion way. Thin and tall buildings were squeezed along the narrow and shady streets, with little space for parking or driveway sort of explains why motorbikes are dominion. Street vendors selling trinkets and peddlers with shoulder poles, sidewalk food stalls with kiddie stools, locals gambling on the five-foot way, bicycles, tricycles and motorcycles whizzed past with frenetic beeping - you named it; Hanoi Old Quarter is actually a quitessence and manifestation of Vietnam’s true culture.

Typical scene at Hang Ngang street. Most all of the streets in Old Quarter are named after a “Hang” which I first thought must mean street or alley in Vietnamese, but later found out that it is actually means trade. The old town was arranged in an orderly way where a certain products or merchandise could be found specifically on a certain street, as indicated in the street names. Thus, Hang Ngang street translates as clothing street, silverware could be found on Hang Bac street, Hang Gay is famous for silks and the list continues so on.

  Tourists on cyclo tour. A cheap and quick way to explore the old town at VND60k per hour.

 A glance by the cyclo rider. 

A street vendor with shoulder poles selling vegetables spotted along the Hang Ngang street.

We came across a lady with great balancing act. America Next Top Model should be ashamed.

Intersections at Hang Giay street.

Hanoi 1946 War Memorial at a park near Quan Thanh street.

Two street peddlers taking shelter from the rain near Hang Dau street.

In contrast to two young ladies on bicycles stopping for red light in front of the roman-like architecture of Hang Dau Water Tower.

A train track cutting through the neighbourhood. Imagine seeing everyday trains passing through your back door or kitchen window, while doing laundry or cooking. To think on how they sleep was enough to make me insomnia for nights.

Being Hanoi’s vital transport, it was norm to see bikes being used as a beast of burden, transporting loads bound for local markets.

Another distinctive observation we made was on how jumbled up and messy the town wiring was. I wouldn’t be surprised if the electrician here is having a tough day figuring out which wire to fix in case of a black out!

Spotted the vintage 1936 Citroen Traction Avant somewhere near Hang Bac street. A posh car for the posh travellers.

From Hang Bac, we turned up at Lo Su street, with numerous mortuary shops. Several headstones were on display on the sidewalk – complete with names, photos and all, stacked in between urns and coffins. Craftsmen open tables at the very front, engraved the ordered stones totally ignoring bemused passers by (like us!). This guy caught my attention though, as he was seen so engrossed with texting while the photos of the deceased at the back were like silent spectators of his languid demeanour.

A shabby old house at Hang Tre street.

Straying in the maze of Old Quarter back alleys, we ended up at a fresh market on Cau Go street.

Market is always my favourite spot everytime I travel, as it offers an insight to locals everyday life and a real approach to the country’s sociocultural. Not to mention the many interesting photography subjects too.

Fresh, ripe and colorful veggies at the market. Spotted nothing unusual really, there this pomegranates, starfruits, mushrooms, calamansi, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, some green beens, baby corns, capsicum et cetera, et cetera.  Now I sound like my mom, and no, this is not cooking blog.

A cute girl in pink waited patiently for her mother doing the shopping. I just love her composure.

While at the opposite juncture a lady in red buying some beef from one of the street vendor. The attires were a bit formal for such occasion, don’t you think?

 Fermented fish a la Hanoi, something like our own ikan pekasam.

A girl in conical hat hagling over some groceries. I found out the conical hat came a bit handy myself, especially during the intermittent rains.

Three generations waiting for customers. Drizzling afternoon, and patrons were shortcoming.

A lady arranging the chickens into a more attractive display. Creative folks. 

It’s already late afternoon and the lady here was doing the clean up. Watching from behind was the lot’s owner, I guess. She’s selling the seafood stuff, and that was very big  squids she had back there.

Previously this was what she was cleaning,  a hefty lot of squiggling and squirmishing tiny things in the white box. Yup, these were food. Vietnamese are very much into eating almost everything, from typical food up to dogs, frogs, insects and slimy worms. The hardship of their past life must have something to do with it, and they embraced it in the name of survival. That quite earns my respect, nonetheless.

Owh, not forgetting these venomous  concoctions spotted at the airport on our last day. Cobra, or other vile creatures are immersed in the rice wine for their essences, which is said to have medicinal values and the practice rooted back from mainland China. They even eat the flesh and drink the beating heart of the snake for immediate effect, and the benefits range from curing hair loss up to the boosting of sexual performance (poor animal!)

Right down the market we arrived at the familiar Hoan Kiem lake, and decided to visit the iconic Ngoc Son temple on the nearby island.

 Connecting the temple was a red pedestrian bridge, the synonymous Hanoi image.

The bridge, popularly known as The Huc is painted in bright red against the deep green surroundings makes it hard to be missed. After a long, winding walk in the maze of Old Quarter, the panaroma was indeed soothing to the eyes.

Two late worshippers inside the Ngoc Son temple. Literally means “The Jade Mountain Temple”, it was built in dedication to the a particular local hero who defeated the Mongol invasion sent by Kublai Khan in the 14th century.

 The frontal view of the temple. The time was 6.00pm and it was about to be closed for the day.

The view of Hanoi at dusk, from the Ngoc Son temple.

We were among the last to leave the temple, and a walk back to our guest house in Hang Hanh street we bypassed these alfresco eatery. Note the small stools, ingenious way  by the street vendors where portability and compact storage are an important factors. Not so friendly though for those who is big in the middle (it was very hard to find big, fat locals by the way).

 Night in Hanoi was never dull, especially at the Hoan Kiem lake.

Street vendor minding a small shop selling ciggies and snacks next to our guest house.

A glimpse of a typical house interior in Hanoi.

Despite the gorgeous seafoods we found at the market, we ended our day in Hanoi back at the guest house with some ’home made’ dish.

The End.

28 Oct 2011.

I woke up to the roaring thunder outside my room at exactly 5.30am in the morning, despite the tiring journey to Ha Long Bay the day before. Sunrise is early in Hanoi; of which we quickly performed our morning prayer. Since we only left with one day for a walk around town, rain was bad news to us. I was praying hard that it will stop, but looking on the dark clouds that wrapped up the whole city, I prepared myself for the worst. We kept our fingers crossed and waited, which seemed like forever. Nevertheless, the rain finally subsided  and we rushed for a cab to Ba Dinh Square.

The cabman dropped us at the back gate of the Ho Chi Minh Museum at Ong Ich Khiem Street, and on our way to the complex entrance I noticed a tree blossomed with pinkish flowers, which some of them had fallen to the ground due to the heavy shower. The light was right as the morning sun was diffused by the heavy clouds, thus I managed to get this high key photo of the dewy flower against the green grass.

My next attention was the fan leaves of the palm trees standing nearby. I like the way the pattern spreading out from the petiole.

It looked like it was going to rain again, so we hurriedly to the museum main entrance. Actually I wasn’t keen on visiting the museum at the first place, my intention was to have a quick visit to Uncle Ho Mausoleum and then continue with our excursion around the Old Quarter. But our cabman had misheard us and interchangeably mausoleum turned into museum. Since the tomb is just around the corner and it was about to rain, we guessed the museum would be a good idea for shelter.

An orange shrine next to the museum. It was closed for the day.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum. Entrance fee is VND10,000 per person, which roughly around RM1.50. Note the Soviet’s emblem on the visage of the complex. Many of Hanoi post-war developments by the communist party were subject to aid and support from the Soviet Union.

One of the corridor in the museum, where some photos and items related to Ho Chi Minh are being displayed.

The man himself in many expressions.

A man looking over the exhibits inside the museum.

DH admiring Uncle Ho colossal statue.

The museum is more of an art museum to me rather than historical. Besides one or two dedicated galleries about Uncle Ho, the rest are occupied by arc sculptures and what’s not. It somehow lack information on the life and deeds done by its namesake, which to me was quite an irony.

They even have Picasso’s art works!

Found nothing interesting we decided to leave; it was still raining outside thus we had to bought an umbrella and ponchos from the museum shop. While looking for exits, we saw a group of tourists and we tailed them, which lead us to the nearby One Pillar Pagoda. Erected by King Lý Thái Tông in 1049, the pagoda was meant as a symbol of gratitude over a birth of a son. 

The lotus in the pond. The pagoda was built to resemble the flower, similar to King Lý Thái Tông’s  dream of a Buddha handing over a son from inside the blossoming lotus.

As tourists swarming the small pagoda, suprisingly it had little effect on me. Instead I was more attracted to a secluded, small shrine  close by, which nobody was paying heed to.

 The fresh, and colorful roses at the shrine.

Another bouquet of roses. The season was already changing to autumn, but a tint of spring were still presence.

A lawn ornament of a tiger, covered with striking yellow chrysanthemums.

We spent some time at the One Pillar Pagoda compound, mainly taking pictures of the small shrine and a few other trivial objects, and writing a postcard (to ourselves) that we bought from the souvenir booth nearby (the actual reason of writing a postcard there and then was because we want to take shelter from the sudden downpour, and a post box happened to be next to it). 

From the pagoda we walked in the rain to a wide pavements running in front a monolith structure, with two men in white uniform standing guard at its door. It was the mausoleum; and being Friday, it was closed for maintenance.

 Another guy in uniform standing guard with rain jacket, umbrella and all.

A walk passed the mausoleum we arrived at a grand buildings of colonial tastes, the Presidential Palace.

Crossing the street in front the Presidential Palace we turned up at the Phan Dinh Phung street, where we stopped for coffee break. The rain was getting heavier, and I was a little concerned about my camera.

We ordered ca phe sua da, a vietnamese version of  iced coffee. The servings came together with thin jasmine tea, to kill the extra strong taste of the coffee I guess.

We enjoyed our coffee while waiting for the rain to stop, and spent the time observing the passers by. The cafe is so happen located in front of the North Gate of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 A lady counting money from the ciggy sales in front of our table.

A peep into the cafe back alley.

Another code by Dan Brown? Perhaps just a phone number for a certain service offered.

As soon as the rain stopped we continued walking again to the end of the road, and crossed over to Hang Giay street. A few minutes walk we arrived at the Dong Xuan Market, a wholesale trading center downtown Hanoi.

Daily activities in Dong Xuan. Most of the items are cheap compared to the street vendors, especially if you are buying in bulks. Haggle is a must. After a long walk in the cold rain, I really need to go to the ladies, and to my surprise the toilet here are of the ‘open’ concept. As I was juggling in between a dire need to take a leak and modesty, a lady suddenly came in, unzipped, squatted and did her business in front of me, as if I wasn’t there. After she’s done with her thing, she wiped it with some tissue, throw it in the basket and walked away. And I was left, flabbergasted.

I managed to settle my issue (I found out that the ‘open’ concept toilet is specifically for taking leak, while the one with doors and all are for more ‘serious’ business. So in my case I swapped the two. Okay, enough of shitty talking). Upon exiting the toilet I saw DH negotiating over some dried shrimps or Tom Kho, a favourite flavouring agent in most Asean dishes. The shrimps were quite sizeable and of good quality, and the price were not that cheap either. It costs us VND200k for half a kilo.

 Rows of dried stuffs.

Apart from the dried shrimps and dried mushrooms, I was lost.

Leaving the nonchalant dry food section of the market, we entered the souvenir section and were served with the colorful and neatly embroidered table cloth, purse, pouch, bags and everything else that would make any ladies go gugu gaga.

 Vietnamese Silks, in all hues.

>>Next: The Old Quarter

From the Temple of Literature, we walked to our next spot, the Hoa Lo Prison. A few cabmen and pillion riders (here they are called xe om) waiting outside the temple try to lure us to use their services. Knowing better, we politely say no and walked away. The prison is located at Pho Hoa Lo street, about 1km away from the temple. Being autumn, the air was cold and crisp, and walking was sweat less.

The main entrance to Maison Centrale, of Hoa Lo. Literal translation means ”The Central House”, a word commonly used to denote a prison. Built in the era of French colonization over Indochina, it was a detention center for Vietnam revolutionists. It was later used by the North Vietnam Army to lock up and torture U.S. POWs during the notorious Vietnam war in 1960s. The convicts, mostly U.S. pilots dubbed the place as “Hanoi Hilton”, a sarcastic remark to reflect the horor it held behind its bars. Most of the buildings inside the complex had been demolished in the 1990s to give way to the high rise service apartment, leaving only the forefront structures converted into museum.

(Hoa Lo Prison: Admission 5,000 VND, 8 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday)

The entrance to the male detention room, used during the French colonization.

The prisoners were detained with a long latch, fastened to their legs.  Imagine sitting unbudged on the same spot for days (or months), that must be dreadful. And the wall behind was a bit far to lean to.

The photo of the actual prisoners. With a wooden board locked around their necks and a handcuff, it was even worst.

The place to take a leak or a dump, in front of everybody. I wonder whether the only entertainment back then was to compare each other expressions!

Next, we visit the Cachot, the hell of hell. A dark and damp cell where the inmate sleep, eat and do his other worldy businesses at the same tiny spot. It was so small that I found it difficult to find better angle to capture the view. Cachot is the place you wouldn’t like to be lonely. The place is evil, I could felt the hairs raising on the back of my neck when I stepped into the room.

Excerpt from the information tablet.

A dummy prisoner sits behind bars in the Cachot. 

A path leading to the other detention cells.

 The ill-omen cell #13. Definitely jinxed!

 A peek inside the cell. The dim lighting and eerie background music enough to gave us the chills.

We left the narrow corridor and the dark cells, bypassing the grilled window overlooking the small compound outside. A refreshing view, indeed.

A bas relief portraying the horor of the past.

From the Cachot, we walked to the second building where the relics of the U.S. POWs are kept. Most of the items on display are the photos of the inmates; U.S. Senator John McCain was one of them. Despite the many claims that the U.S. army held captived in the prison were being brutally tortured and interrogated, the photos that hung inside tells a different story. Most of the photos exhibit the inmates having a great time in the prison; some were playing guitar and reading, while others were seen playing basketball and chess. Whether it is true or not they are victims of systematic abuse, is totally up to individual’s judgement.

Out of the horor and the sadness the place held, a poetic message written by Uncle Ho himself in the spring of 1969 brought warmth and zeal to my heart. 

“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.

Forward! Fighters, countrymen! North and South reunited, could there be happier spring!”

The prison was about to close by the time we finished with our tour, and a step outside the complex we spotted this uncle fallen asleep in his xich lo (read: cyclo).

A short walk in the cozy afternoon brought us back to the familiar landmark, the Hoan Kiem Lake.

According to the legend, during the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, the Commanding General at that point of time was presented with a sword by a divine golden turtle which rose up from the bottom of the lake. Using the mystical sword, the General managed to expelled the Chinese invasion and established himself as Emperor Le Thai To. Later, when the emperor was sailing on the lake, the golden turtle rose again and reclaimed the sword. Since then the lake has been known as Hoan Kiem Lake, or the Lake of the Restored Sword.

Vintage look of the iconic Turtle Tower. The legend is more of a King Arthur tales to me. Instead of the Lady of the Lake that provided the sword, it was a turtle.

Late afternoon, the lake was crowded; young people hanging around, jamming, playing takraw, picnicking. Couples find it a romantic place to express their loves, while the elders prefer it as meeting spot for a chit chat with their peers, over some Chinese chess or Tai Chi. The lake is also perfect for anyone who is searching for inspiration, cause they are aplenty. Or maybe, it’s a favourite and convenient spot to some others who need a break, reading books or newspapers. In few words, it’s really happening at the Hoan Kiem Lake.

We noticed that the folks here are very heatlh concious. Seeing them doing the simple workout is common everywhere. Even the food are mostly stewed, boiled and grilled, while deep fried food is very hard to find. The only fast food in town is the KFC, and the absence of others could also possibly contribute to the thin and lean figure of the locals.

We stopped at the Fanny outlet opposite the lake to sample the ice cream that is highly reviewed by Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor. The sushi ice cream that we ordered was just so – so, but it was my first time tasting the chocolate chili ice cream. It tastes weird, but yummy nonetheless. 

 Hanoi ubiquitous transport.

The time was just hitting 6pm when we stepped out of Fanny, but it was almost dark (sunrise is early in Hanoi). Since we have the water puppet scheduled at night, we decided to go back to our guest house to freshen up and get ready. On the way, we saw an elderly pushing his wheel-chaired wife across the street. Traffic in hanoi is maddening; there are no discernible traffic rules and  they like to honk like it’s nobody business. The motorists rarely stop to give way to the pedestrians, not even to an old man and old lady in wheel chair. Crossing street is simply a leap of faith, and definitely not for the faint hearted. The art of crossing street in Hanoi is simply to walk when you see that the traffic is a bit clear (or they are still a distance away), and walk straight without changing your pace. The motorists will swerve around you like a flowing river, thus an abrupt stop of panic is absolutely uncool. If you are not bold enough, you could try our trick – to cross at the point where the street gap is the most narrowed (I bet everybody knows that!).

(By the way if you are curious, the old couple survived the stampede).

Later. We had a few hours before our show start at 9.30pm,  thus we ventured out for dinner first. Our research of halal diner brought us to Nisa Restaurant at Hang Tre street, just a few hundred meters behind the Water Puppet Theater. DH can’t survive a day without rice, but for me tasting local food is quite another adventure so I ordered the Hanoi typical beef noodle – pho. Too bad they only have chicken pho, so that was my dinner that night (Muslim is a minority in Hanoi, so I guessed halal beef is hard to get). What makes me proud is that Nisa Restaurant is owned by fellow Malaysian living in Hanoi. The price is a bit expensive for a simple meal, but again, it might be because halal ingredients are very hard to get. The waiters could speak and understand malay so it was a great relief. Finally I managed to say what I want instead of using the sign language like what we did for the whole day.

The Water Puppet performance. The puppets are attached to a stick totally submerged underneath the green pool, and were manned by the puppeteers behind the screen. I wonder how the puppeteers managed to stand in the cold water throughout the whole show, one performance after another.

The musicians that accompanying the performance. The music they produced was simply amazing.

The story encompasses  the day to day life of Vietnamese farmer such as paddy planting and buffalo tending, as well as the local legends. A must see in Hanoi.   

(Thang Long Water Puppet: Admission 60,000 – 100,000VND, Show time 3.30pm , 5.00pm, 6.30pm, 8.15pm and 9.30pm everyday. Tickets can be purchased at the counter (it is advisable to book the tickets upfront as it tends to sold out). Location in front of Hoan Kiem Lake, next to City View Cafe, Hanoi).

End of Day 1.

>>Next: Ha Long Bay

We found ourselves meandering through the LCCT departure hall on the wee hours of Diwali. Half asleep, the only way to force our eyes open was by watching the repetitious CNN news on Bangkok recent flooding. The FA’s call to the gate saved the day, and a few hours later we were already airborne above the Red River Delta.

It took 3 hours flying from KL to the north of Vietnam. Not a very long journey, but early morning flight means getting yourself comfy for a quick nap. Our fellow flightmates showed us that there are actually many ways to accomplish that in a confined AA seat.

The morning streaks of sun rays over the land of the Viets.

Ready to land. Comes November, the weather was a bit cold and gloomy.

Smooth landing at Noi Bai International Airport at approximately 8.35pm local time, 5 minutes behind schedule. By now you should have guessed where we were. Yup, we were at Hanoi, and local time is an hour late than Kuala Lumpur.

Passed the immigration nitty gritty, we got a few USD changed into Vietnamese Dong (you could have the currency change at the many banks’ BDC outlets at the airport’s lobby) and then straight ahead outside the complex where many taxi touts were waiting. Ignoring the spacious and comfy taxi flashing at USD10 – USD15 per ride, being budget conscious we opted the tightly crammed and stuffy minivan to the city at a mere USD2 per pax.

Good morning, Vietnam!

Along the way, DH spotted something bizarre and pointed it out to me.

On closer look, I was caught with a big ‘O’ at my mouth. Despite having read it before (we did a bit homework), but to see it with your naked eyes was totally something else. Roasted duck dogs, anyone?

We arrived at the Old Quarter one hour later. Using Hoan Kiem lake as focal navigation, finding our guest house at Hang Hanh street was painless.

The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewellery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. (Source: Wikipedia)

Nice motorbike parked in front of our guest house. Arriving a bit early, our room was yet to be ready. Nevertheless, we had a warm welcome by the front person, Mr. Binh. In fact he has been very helpful prior from the start of our journey. While waiting for our room, we were served with Vietnamese coffee. Our virgin taste of the authentic, strong concoction was such a real ‘eye opener’ !

The only meal we had was the cold, in-flight chicken rice combo, and the brief walk in the chilly air from the Vietnamese Airlines office (minivan drop off point) at Quang Trung Street to our guest house simply made us hungry again. As halal food is scarce, a pot of hot instant noodles suddenly became more delicious than ever.

After a short rest and a simple meal, we were fully re-energized for the day jaunt. The initial plan was to visit Uncle Ho, but since the place was already closed (HCM Mausoleum is only opened from 9.00am – 11.00am), we took a cab to Văn Miếu instead. It is advisable to ask the guest house to call for the cab instead of flagging yourself. The taxis here prone to overcharge by tempering the meter. The most reliable and trustworthy is the white and green Ma Linh cab.

The path leading to the temple’s second courtyard. Văn Miếu, widely known as the Temple of Literature is a shrine dedicated to the teachings of Confucius. It also house the Imperial Academy, the first national university of Vietnam, dated as old as the year 1076 and functioned for more than 700 years. It served to educate Vietnam’s bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and other members of the elite at that point of time.

Our way to the third courtyard was blocked by these beautiful Viet ladies wearing the traditional and curvylicious Ao-dai. A group photo at the symbolic institution to commemorate their graduation day, I guessed.

My favorite is standing, second from right.

At the third courtyard, we spotted rows of turtle steles bearing the names of the scholars that passed the royal exams with flying colors.

The forth courtyard, houses the altars where Confucius and his four disciples are being worshiped.

 But we were distracted by the demure smile of the lady in red.

A walk behind the temple of Confucius we were brought to the fifth courtyard, the ground of the Imperial Academy.

And house the altar to the founder King Lý Nhân Tông.

But I was more attracted to the architecture.

And Vietnamese lady charming beauty.

Being close to China border, assimilation to Chinese culture is omnipresent.

 I just love the way the light enters the room.

Two scholars playing the Chinese Chess could be spotted in the garden. A symbolic replica of Hanoi real life pastime favorites. Especially among the elders.

Climbing the main complex to the second floor, we saw Uncle Ho scattered all over the rooftop beneath us. An offerings to the temple I presume. I think that it would be good if they are properly collected, which could be put to good use by the temple. Rather than leave its fate on the roof; the wind might blow it away.

Found nothing interesting, we descended and stumbled into this man doing some restoration work.

Nearby, a trinkets shop swarmed with tourists (including us!). I bought a postcard and a stamp, and some snapshot of the dragons. Dragon, is one of the country holy creatures other than the turtle. In fact, Hanoi was used to be known as Thăng Long , the city of the raising dragon.

As Indonesia is proud with their wayang golek, Hanoi is pleased with their famous water puppets. Of which we were seeing at night.

There were so many things to see with so many photographic values, but unfortunately our time was short. We only have a few hours left before our next spot is close for the day. With heavy heart, we walked back to the main entrance, crossing one courtyard to another until we arrived at the third courtyard. The place is adorned with the Well of Heavenly Clarity in front of the red pavilion.

The close up of constellation of the Red Pavilion.

>> Next: Hanoi Hilton, Hoan Kiem Lake and Water Puppet.