A week in Hanoi

So a week ago, I left the land where most of the Vietnam War movies are filmed to the land where the stories they are based on actually took place, Vietnam itself. I had been to Saigon (now officially known as Ho Chi Minh City, but still referred to as Saigon by most of the Vietnamese people,) but that was six years ago and I only stayed there for two days. I had heard that Hanoi was much better, with a more relaxed vibe. I found this to be true, and enjoyed my time there more than I even could have expected. There are lakes everywhere, over 30 in the city (Ha Noi means something like lake city in Vietnamese), the coffee and bread were excellent, and I saw a lot of cool and interesting things.

In the seven days I was there, I took 400 pictures! So, there are lots of images to share, and I'll probably do three or four posts. Hope you enjoy. Hail progress!

Sipping coffee, overlooking Hoa Kian Lake in Hanoi's Old Quarter. Vietnam has good coffee, and is the world's number two coffee producer (after only Brazil.)

Ah, globalization! Vietnamese language is interesting. At first, they used Chinese characters as writing. But in the 1600's, a French missionary came to Vietnam and introduced the Latin Alphabet. It helps, because you can read the street signs, but the rest seem almost incomprehensible to those uninitiated in the language.

Hanoi traffic. I would estimate that 85-90% (if not more) of traffic in Vietnam is motorcycles. This creates a style of crossing the street that is peculiar to Vietnam (as far as I know.) Since the flow of motorcycles on the streets rarely abates, one must step out of the street, and walk slowly and steadily across as the motorcycles weave around you. It's more than a little unnerving at first, but you get used to it.
Interestingly enough, I saw ads for Ford, Mercedes, Honda, and lots of other car companies, and lots of factories. I spoke to some Vietnamese people who were working on very large projects, such as hydroelectric plants and other factories. One can't help but think that Vietnam is on the verge of becoming the next "Asian Tiger" economy. This could create an interesting situation with traffic, when a large percentage of these motorcycles will likely be replaced with cars purchases as a status symbol by people with new wealth. I don't want to be in Hanoi's traffic ten years from now!

The symbol of Hanoi, the pagoda in Hoa Kiem Lake, lit up at night.

I stayed in a hotel in this little alley.

A temple on an island in one of the lakes.

Two young girls in traditional Vietnamese dress. So beautiful!

This is Tyler, a guy from Canada I hung out with a fair bit in Hanoi, buying oranges from a woman on a bicycle.

The central shrine in a Confucian temple. Vietnam is a sinicized, or heavily influenced by China, culture, as opposed to Thailand, Lao, and Cambodia, which are Indicized. However, the culture of Vietnam is quite distinct from Chinese culture, much as Thailand's is quite distinct from India's.

The bridge to the lake temple above.

This is a water puppet show, a wonderful form of theater unique to Vietnam. It was developed on the rice paddies hundreds of years ago, and continues to be popular today. If you ever go to Hanoi, DO NOT miss the water puppet show.

Some of the wonderful French bread in Hanoi. Colonial influence at its finest. The bread here was even better than it was in Lao, although the coffee in Lao was better, in my opinion.

I bought Mangoes from this woman.

I am not sure what this woman was carrying. The Vietnamese pe0ple often say that their country is shaped like one of these yokes used to carry rice, fruit and lots of other things.

I bought gum from this girl.

This woman is playing a Dan Bau, which is a single-stringed musical instrument unique to Vietnam, with a lever on the end used to modify the pitch. It has a beautiful, soothing sound, and I bought a cd of Dan Bau music. They say that in times of yore, young women were not allowed to listen to any men playing the Dan Bau, because their parents were worried that they'd fall in love with the Dan Bau player.

The pagoda in Hoa Kiem lake seen above, but only in the day time. It rained almost every day in Hanoi, and the weather was much cooler than here in BKK. The morning I left, I believe it was even less than 20 Celsius! (68 Fahrenheit).

A cool looking building in Hanoi's old quarter.