En-route to Hue Posted from Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Read MoreToday was mopping up the sites which we hadn’t made it to on the pervious two days in Hanoi. We could probably have seen all the main sites in Hanoi in two days had we been better planned and organised. Getting out of bed late probably hasn’t helped either, often not leaving the hotel until 10am. Our first port of call was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which was closed when we got there, despite a sign saying it was open until midday. Next door is the Presidential Palace, residence for the governor of Indochina during the colonial days. Visitors can’t enter (or get very close) to the palace, but they can enter the grounds. So we headed there, which was also closed for lunch. This feels a bit like Greece where the official websites gave one opening time, the signs at the locations give a different opening time, and then the staff seem to open and close the site whenever they feel like it. We had read about a crashed B52 bomber sitting in a lake in Hanoi. Actually, only a small part of the plane, not the whole thing. A review on Trip Advisor said not worth visiting, only bother if there is nothing better to do. Well, the places we wanted to visit weren’t open until 2pm, we had nothing better to do, so we set off to find the remains of the B52. It wasn’t far from the Ho Chi Minh Museum, straight down the road from the rear of the museum and turn left. We reached the lake which our map showed and there was no plane! Luckily we half expected this as the plane was shown in two locations, depending which source was consulted. So we continued up the road towards the next lake. We walked for about 5 minutes through the very narrow back streets of Hanoi, dirty, smelly, crowded and shops selling pretty much everything. Annoyingly, the streets were also full of motorbikes, with just enough room for one person and two bikes to pass they sped up and down the narrow lanes, beeping mad as they went. When we reached the lake finally it was a huge anti-climax. The lake was covered with green algae and the area was pretty bad. But there it was, a landing gear and fragment of fuselage from a B52 bomber, which had been there for at least 40 years. We took a few pictures and quickly moved on. We had bought sandwiches earlier and it was only midday so we decided to head for the botanical gardens to cool off, eat and relax for...
Read MoreToday we decided to walk further to the west side of central Hanoi where the government buildings, old palaces and other tourist sites are. Our first port of call was the Temple of Literature. This place, it was quite a few buildings covering a large area is almost a thousand years old, and is classed as Vietnam’s first national university. Pupils would enroll for three or more years and take regular exams. At the end they would be quizzed by the king himself and he would decide if they has passed. The noise from the road nowadays would have the ancient scholars turning in their graves and would seriously impair study, but in its heyday this was a very important place of learning. Our next stop was by a large Lenin Statue. Just down the road we passed the Flag Tower, a large ugly looking building. The tower was one of the last buildings to be added to the large Hanoi Citadel which we were heading for next. The citadel closes for lunch so we headed quite a long way north and eventually came across (we were heading that way because our Rough Guide recommended this restaurant) Hoa Sua, a training school for the restaurant trade. The girl serving us was a student learning to become a restaurant manager and also learning English. The food was amazing and at a very good price. Annemarie’s Cantonese style fried rice. I had chicken breast with lime leaves and rice. An assortment of spices and salt made this a truly delicious meal. The Hanoi Citadel was the home of the Vietnamese monarchs from 1010 to 1810 when the capital city was moved to Hue (we will be there is a week). It seems to have been modelled on the same principles as the forbidden city, just not quite on the same scale or grandeur. Also most of it was destroyed, so what we saw was either modern buildings on the site or replicas built after the original was destroyed. What was there was probably quite amazing and the history of the citadel is probably very interesting. But, it was mid afternoon, we were hot and tiring and just didn’t feel like reading large boards of text (even though we both love history). We still spent at least an hour wandering slowly through the site, but it was mostly a waste we felt, luckily the entrance fee was 30,000 Dong each (just under a quid). Just around the corner is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This building contains the preserved remains of Ho Chi Minh and his body is on display. Unfortunately it...
Read MoreWe decided our first stop would be to visit the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, better known as the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. It was only a short walk but the streets of Hanoi are chaotic. The footpath is filled with people sat on small plastic stools, or cafes spill out onto the path or usually they are full of parked mopeds. These means we spent a lot of time walking on the road. The roads in Hanoi are crazy! How no-one was getting killed every second I have no idea. It’s a free for all between bikes and cars. They swerve, skip red lights, drive into each other, don’t give way, squeeze, etc. The prison was very different to how either of us expected it. We knew nothing about its history prior to the Vietnam war, and about 85% of the visit is focused on the years prior to 1954 when the French were running the region. It showed how badly the French treated the prisoners and it was pretty bad. But the language used hinted at a huge bias. The prisoners were “Communist revolutionaries” and “patriots” and the French were “imperialists”. When prisoners escaped they were ingenious. There was a small section about the use of the prison during the Vietnam war, which showed American prisoners been well looked after, receiving medical treatment and playing games. The Vietnamese portrayed the prison as a model of how to treat POWs. But this conflicts with American stories of torture and poor treatment. Although apparently treatment was improved towards the end of the war. We bought a guide book but it focused almost totally on the French period. I guess you’d want to focus on that after experiencing such horrible treatment, but the story is told in a biased manner and skips over bits of history, we’re used to more impartial displays and exhibitions and admitting that both sides did wrong. After the prison it was time to eat. We wandered for a while and finally found a bakery. Annemarie’s was fine but I chose badly. My bread had what looked like orange fluff in it. No idea what it was but it tasted horrible. We sat by a fountain near the Opera House. Apparently the opera house is modelled on the opera house in Paris. That was just a stone’s throw from Hoan Kiem Lake, meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword”. The story behind the name sounds like some strong mind altering substances were involved. At the top of the lake is the famous Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre, to see a water puppet show. This is a...
Read MoreGetting the hang on haggling is difficult for us. In the UK generally the price on the shelf is the price you pay. No questions, no hassle, no worry about fairness and did someone else pay less than you. Here every price, for every product is a negotiation. Last night at the train station the toilets had a charge. (Don’t get me started on a rant about charging for toilets. I have no issue with fees for optional stuff, but you have no option with the toilet, if you have to go you have to go and that shouldn’t be charged). I paid 3000 dong (10p). Annemarie went and he asked for 4000 dong. She had to demand 3000. I paid 15,000 dong for a 500ml bottle (well over the normal price) at the train station last night (stupid me didn’t haggle). Today at a stall we asked the price of water (500ml bottle), she wanted 15,000 dong for it. We refused. Around the corner we got 1.5L for the same price. Bargain. Many women were wandering around Hanoi selling bits n bobs. A particular item that was been sold (won’t mention them as they are heading to the UK for Christmas) we had turned down a few times from sellers in the street. I then mentioned to Annemarie that I actually thought they were OK and maybe we should have bought them, she agreed. Within one minute another seller had come over. “120,000 dong each.” Hmmm, we think about it. “100,000 for two,” I reply. “Too low,” she cries, “120,000 each.” “120,000 for two.” “150,000 for two.” Heh, defeat for her is just a matter of time now I know she’s willing to drop her prices so far so fast. “120,000 for two,” I repeat. “130,000 for two,” she’s dropped again. “120,000 for two,” I state again. “OK”. There was a few more exchanges than that, but that was the gist anyway. I got the product that I wanted for half the price she was offering. I have no idea if that is a good price or not, but I’m getting better at haggling. Just saying no can often prompt a reduction in price. Starting to walk away generates even more of a reduction. And that is without any effort. I have read some people account of haggling and they do it for fun. They actually enjoy this. I hate it! I hate both having to demand a lower price and spending time negotiating (my personality type was about 90% introverted on personality tests); not to mention the nagging doubt that I’ve just been ripped off, or at...
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