Dodging Motorbikes in Hanoi

Our final stop in Vietnam was the capital city of Hanoi. It is very similar to other big cities but I did find that it had some individual charm of its own. We stayed in the Old Quarter and mainly just explored that area but it had no shortage of interesting things to stumble upon.

Tidbits from a walking tour

It has been customary to check out the free walking tours of each town we visit, so that is how we started our short stop in Hanoi. It’s a good way to learn some interesting off-the-beaten-path information and I found this one to be pretty informative.

Our guide gave us a little bit of background information about religion in Vietnam. 70% of people are non religious and the remaining 30% are Buddhist. I did not know that temples are created to worship anyone, whereas pagodas are only for Buddha.

You always find a bunch of interesting options for food on the street. Some of the meats are quite disturbing for us westerners to even consider eating, like the turtle pictured below. I’ve been asked by several people if I have seen anyone serving dog yet, and the answer to that is no, HOWEVER, once upon a time it is true that the Vietnamese, particularly those in the north, did have to resort to eating dog. At the end of one of their wars, the people were left so incredibly poor that they had no choice but to eat basically everything, including the dogs, which is partially why there are still so many odd meats still for sale today. For many, I think the eating of dogs is a thing of the past, but apparently there are still restaurants where you can find them on the menu. Many activists are working to put an end to that though, thank God! Also, based on the number of dogs you see with coats on in the street, it’s safe to say that most people prefer them as pets!

The streets are lined with storefronts, but if you look closely between each front, sometimes you can find an entrance to an alleyway. These alleyways are passages that lead to several stories of homes of many families. Our guide took us down one such alley, which housed 45 different families, each in 45 square feet, which was enough room for about two people and one bathroom. It was hard to get good pictures of this, but it was so interesting to think that people live this way!

You would think that the people living in these conditions are poor, and for the most part, they are. However, the property that they occupy (most of which was granted to them by the government because it had been in their family line for so long) values at $45,000 per square meter! This is because they are located in the heart of the business district. So, even though they are poor, they feel content because they know their property has high value.

We checked out a giant wholesale market, which had a ton of fabric.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theater

During the 11th century, in the Red River Valley where the rice paddies are, the villagers used to entertain each other by putting on puppet shows in the paddies. This tradition is being kept alive by this theater, Thang Long, in Hanoi. The puppets are controlled by people hidden behind a screen who use bamboo sticks to move them around. There is narration and an orchestra on both sides who play music as the acts are happening. The various acts tell stories from Vietnamese folklore and, even though I couldn’t understand the dialogue, you can figure out the gist of the story by watching what is happening. It was quite incredible to witness this fun piece of culture!

‘Hanoi Hilton’

Hoa Lo Prison (nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton by American POWs) was used by the French during their colonial rule and then by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. Most of the prison has been destroyed but what was left was turned into a very interesting museum that, once again, really made me think about perspective and the way in which information is presented.

The start of the museum is all about how it was used by the French to imprison Vietnamese ‘independence seekers’ (or faithful comrades, as they are referred to in the museum). According to the dialogue, the French treated the Vietnamese terribly, shackling them to the beds, starving them, not caring for the sick, and beheading those who did not comply. As you continue through the museum, you get to the part when they talk about the North Vietnamese using it during the war to house American POWs, but according to the way the placards were written, the Americans just had a great time there. They were allowed to play cards, and basketball, and volleyball, and the reason they were imprisoned was to ‘contemplate the war they fought and see it through the eyes of the North Vietnamese’. It was quite entertaining to see the hypocrisy in the way the two uses of the prison were presented.

Here are some samples of the placards written about the American POWs in the prison. This would be such a great history lesson about perspective to use in the classroom!

Notice the difference in how the artifacts are described in the pictures below. The first image is the cups the Vietnamese prisoners had to use and the second is the cup American prisoners had to use. They look the same, but the difference in description is funny.

Temple of Literature

The Temple of Literature was built in 1070 and contains five separate courtyards. They are dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. There was a lot of information here regarding the history of the civil examinations that people used to have to take in order to get jobs in the government.

Train Street

Train Street has basically become an overhyped railroad track that runs through the middle of a very busy neighborhood. The trains will come through at rapid speed and be just inches from the buildings. People along the tracks have to squeeze up against the walls to avoid being hit. It has become a popular place for tourists to take their Instagram photos, which means there are a lot of stupid people milling around (laying on the tracks, etc.) and, as a result, it has become pretty dangerous so the government has told the coffee shops and other businesses along the street that they are supposed to shut down. We were still able to sit and have dinner at a shop though, so I am not sure that the people are obeying the government’s orders.

Nationalism of Vietnam

This year was the 50th anniversary of Operation Linebacker II, known as “Operation Dien Bien Phu in the air’ by the Vietnamese. The operation was a US aerial bombing campaign targeting Hanoi and Haiphong from December 18-29, 1972. The US inflicted massive damage on the two cities during this campaign, but because the North Vietnamese were able to take down 15 of the US’s prized B-52s, to this day, they see it as a major victory for them. The ultimate outcome of the operation did end up bringing the US and North Vietnam to peace talks which eventually led to the beginning of the end for US involvement in the war. There were many propaganda posters commemorating this event throughout the city, as well as just other random propaganda that reminded people how great the government was.

We walked by Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, but decided to not go through the tight security to be able to get any closer. It was massive. The picture of Uncle Ho below was on a building in the French Quarter. He is also on every currency note. They sure do love that guy.

Hanoi Randoms