Hanoi, Vietnam

We took a 1 hour flight from the capital city of Vientiene, Laos to Hanoi, Vietnam via Lao Airlines (the overland route to Vietnam is more than 15 hours through jungle roads!).  After having visited a number of laid back towns in a row, we now found ourselves right back in the chaos of the city.  Crossing the street amongst the bicycles, food carts, motorbikes, cars and tourist buses is not for the faint of heart!  The crosswalks and crossing signals are typically ignored, so your best bet is to wait for a break in traffic and slowly make your way across the street, while keeping eye contact with the oncoming traffic.  Instead of attempting this on our own, we would usually wait for local residents to start crossing and just piggy-back along with them…

Our first stop in Hanoi was the water puppet show, held in a tiny theater right in the heart of the city.  It was quite interesting to see part of the history of Vietnam acted out through puppets.  Instead of being controlled by strings, they were attached to long bamboo sticks (that extend under water), with the puppeteers sitting behind a curtain.  The effect was quite life-like.

 

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We spent part of our second day wandering around Hanoi’s Old Quarter to get a taste of traditional, day-to-day Vietnam

 

At least you know the turtle soup is fresh…

Lots of kids playing badminton in town squares and along sidewalks

 

At lunch time, the sidewalks swell with people perched on tiny plastic stools eating ‘Pho’

 

Our first bowl of ‘Pho’ since arriving in Vietnam. 

Yes, Vietnamese really do wear pointy hats made of bamboo…

French architecture throughout Hanoi

Grilling chicken an charcoal stoves along the curb

Hanoi opera house

 

Hanoi at night

Thap Rua (Tortoise Tower) in the middle of Lake Hoan Kien

The Red Bridge… a Hanoi landmark

More French architecture

 

 

Hoa Lo Prison (aka the “Hanoi Hilton”)

We visited a prison (now converted to a museum) that was used by the  French colonists in the early 20th century to keep (and torture and execute) Vietnamese rebels.  After winning independence from the French, the Vietnamese used the prison more recently to house US POWs (including John McCain).  Needless to say, the museum painted a different picture than most Americans learn in their history books.

(Lots more pictures to post later…)