Our trip was 17 incredible days of experiencing new cultures, beautiful scenery and exotic cuisine. After 3 long and uncomfortable flights with multiple delays we arrived basically unscathed in Hanoi. In retrospect I would have preferred to fly the middle leg business class. Had we the necessary milage points that would definitely be the way to go as that flight was almost 15 hours. Oh well the worst was over and now we could relax and start to enjoy Hanoi. We had arranged a transfer to our hotel the Sofitel Legend Metropole. The hotel was very tastefully decorated in the old French style with a beautiful courtyard in the middle of 2 wings. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel Hanoi entrance Arriving at night we decided to share a few appetizers with a glass of Chablis in a beautiful bar in the courtyard. There was a small jazz ensemble with a female vocalist performing in English. Even though we were very tired we stayed up a few more hours. We find that by adopting to the current time when we arrive after a long flight it really helps us to get adjusted to the new time zone more quickly. We felt very welcome and after listening to the group performing for a bit we decided to turn in for the night. Listening to some jazz at the Sofitel (Hanoi) We woke up the next morning and had a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel's French restaurant. The hotel actually had 3 distinct restaurants the French one, an Italian and Vietnamese one as well. We found the Vietnamese people working at the hotel were all very polite and also very soft spoken. Every time we came upon an employee they always greeted us usually in French. They would also bring their hands together as if they were praying and slightly bow their heads as they greeted us. The breakfast which was included was tremendous. Their buffet was both huge and also unique with many Vietnamese items to choose from. Their rolls and baguettes were incredible, probably due to the French influence throughout the hotel. After we finished our breakfast we decided to exchange some currency before walking over to see Hoan Kiem Lake and it's Jade Temple. Vietnam doesn't sell it's currency outside of the country. When we travel internationally we always exchange some currency before we leave. 1 dollar is worth roughly 22,750 Vietnamese Dong (VND). It felt very strange to exchange 200 dollars and receive over 4 million and 500 thousand VND. It took a while to get used to the exchange rate as you can imagine. A 50,000 Vietnamese Dong Note worth about $2.19 We generally prefer to travel on our own but with the language issues and the cultural differences we decided to take an organized tour for this trip. We actually join the tour tomorrow so today we are on our own. We like to go over at least a day before the tour would begin. That way we can see some things that are not covered on the tour and also in case of flight delays that might prevent us from getting to our destination in time. I'll go into how we chose this specific tour in my next post. It was maybe a 15 minute walk as the hotel is very centrally located in Hanoi. As we were walking over towards the lake we very quickly discovered several things were missing. At intersections there were no traffic lights nor pedestrian crossing lights. Crossing one of their busy intersections reminded me of the 1980's video game "Frogger". The player had to maneuver the frog across busy streets without becoming road kill. You had to seize the correct moment to go then stop then go then stop the go and finally you make it across the street. A typical intersection at the northern end of the lake, also the entrance to the Old Quarter We walked along the lake heading towards the temple enjoying the view. It was overcast but still very beautiful and serene. The lake is located in the historical center of Hanoi. We walked past the Turtle Tower located in the center of the lake. According to legend in the early 15th century the emperor, Le Loi was on a boat at the lake when a golden turtle god surfaced and asked him to return his magic sword. It was given to him by the turtle god's master, a Dragon King. Emperior Le Loi had used the magic sword during a revolt against the Ming dynasty of China. Hoan Kiem Lake means Lake of the Returned Sword. He gave the sword to the turtle god as he had finished fighting off the Chinese. He renamed the lake commemorating the giving of the sword to the Turtle God The Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake We continued on towards the Jade temple at the northern end of the lake. Built in the 18th century the Jade Temple was erected to honor the 13th century General Tran Hung Dao. He led the revolt that defeated the army of the Yuan dynasty of China. It also honors a scholar and a Confucian master. The island on which the temple was erected known as Jade Island is accessible by a bright red bridge appropriately called the Rising Sun Bridge. Once you cross the bridge you see large Chinese letters decorating the entrance to the temple. Inside the Pagoda are a number of deities each with various items left in tribute by visitors. We saw all kinds of fruit, cookies, cigarettes, bottles of beer and many flowers. We found the temple to be a place to relax, say prayers if you're a Buddhist, enjoy the scenery and also to people watch. The Rising Sun Bridge The entrance to Jade Island and the Temple Offerings left for the Temple God The happy couple enjoying their time at the Temple By the way the ticket price for the temple was a whopping 30,000 VND which is actually $1.32. Thats right its a dollar and 32 cents. As we were about to leave we noticed a large caldron where people were burning money for their ancestors to use in the after life. It wasn't real money, more like Monopoly money but there were people who sold this fake money near the temple for people to burn. They also sold paper iPhones, chargers, even cases so even in the after life you can text your friends and keep up on Facebook. Crossing the Rising Sun Bridge again we headed up towards the Old Quarter. In Vietnamese it is called the Hoan Kiem district and is Hanoi's main tourist attraction. Crossing the street again we hoped that Buddha was smiling down on us as we zigged zagged our way across. It kind of felt like we were in a body of water and there were many fish swimming all around us as the many scooters weaved around us. Typical activity in the Old Quarter It was fascinating to see the very narrow streets full of activity. People walking, shopping, eating in the middle of this seemingly organized chaos. Going on all around us were people on scooters, bicycles and even in cars weaving in and out around the endless numbers of people walking, including us. This was accompanied by a constant symphony of horns mostly from the people on scooters. There were many sidewalk vendors preparing and selling food to offering laundry service for $1.00 per kilogram of laundry, which is a great deal we tried later on in our trip. Shops of all kinds were everywhere. Fresh fruit being delivered for sale by bicycle The Hustle and Bustle of daily business Local merchants selling their goods Business's large, small and everything in between going on A store front showing beautiful dress's for all ages We were heading towards the Bach Ma temple in the Old Quarter. Believed to be the oldest temple in Hanoi it dates back to the 9th century and honors Bach Ma which translates to White Horse. It is believed that a White Horse helped the king decide on the best location to build the temple. Unfortunately when we arrived at the temple it was closed. It was around noon when we arrived at the temple and they close between 11am and 2pm. We decided to head back and get some coffee and maybe a snack. We had passed a Highlands coffee shop just before entering the Old Quarter so thats where we headed. After enjoying a latte and sharing some sweets we headed over to see Saint Joseph's Cathedral. Latte's at Highlands Coffee Saint Josephs Cathedral in Hanoi It was built in the late 19th century after the French had conquered Hanoi and serves as the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. It's architectural style is Neo-Gothic and resembles Notre Dame of Paris. The cathedral is located just west of Hoan Kiem lake and is within the Old Quarter. We were unable to go in as it was closed when we were there. I guess timing really is everything. We decided to go around the southern side of the lake on our way to the hotel Hoan Kiem Lake A cycle tour in Hanoi As we were walking back we saw this cyclo tour go by. Cyclo's are like Rickshaw's except with the cyclo the driver is pedaling behind you, the opposite of the rickshaw. We passed a. little patisserie and decided to get a few macaroons for later on after lunch. Back at the hotel we decided to try their Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. We shared shrimp rolls, rice noodles, pork patties, and of course fish sauce. In Vietnam fish sauce is a very important part of most meals. We were told that when it is prepared it produces a very pungent aroma which means it will have a good taste. Our lunch and yes it was YUM We decided to have dinner at the Italian restaurant in the hotel. The risotto was excellent as was the pizza and of course a glass of Chianti to wash it down.
Next time we join a Gate 1 deluxe tour which starts in Hanoi and ends in Bangkok some 2 weeks later.
0 Comments
|