Hanoi: what to see and what to do

 

The next day we decided to visit all the "must" places in Hanoi. Considering that the city is not that big, we were hoping to cover everything before dark. The weather wasn't bad, its been raining all night and exactly up to the time we were done with breakfast. It was a bit windy and chilly, but other than that we managed to stay dry all day.

 

Spending the whole first day in the old quarter covered a significant part of our "to see" list and we decided to start the sightseeing with the main square and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. 
On the way we saw a very familiar figure and it was really strange to see the statue of Lenin, as we all remember it from our childhood. We thought that it was funny that Vietnamese actually adjusted the Lenin name to their own way of writing names, which resulted in adding the stripe:LE-NIN

Just opposite of the statue there is a Hanoi War History Museum with a really nice example of former Soviet influence in a shape of a Soviet tank and a MIG fighter plane that were in service here during the Vietnam war in the 70's.

The famous Cot Co Hanoi tower with the Vietnamese flag on top is just next to the museum. It's been a symbol of Vietnam for many years and is now part of the museum.

When we got to the main square, it was closed for visitors to enter from any point. Official guards hanging around the square and watching closely that no one attempts to get in, informed us about the possibility  of entry through the side gate. According to the directions received, the gate was quite a long walk away. Hence, we decided to visit the West Lake first, hopefully get some coffee before freezing completely, and then come back to see if it will be possible to get on to the square after all.

If cloudy and rainy weather settles over Hanoi, the lake is probably one of the places that can be skipped. Other than a few fisherman hanging around, it doesn't feel like a place worth visiting.

 

Apart from possible weather disappointments, the West Lake is mostly famous for its Tran Quoc tower (which was closed that day)...

  
...and the Quan Tanh Temple.

On the way back to the main square we ran into this building. I am not sure what it was, but the still familiar symbolism made it worth taking a picture of.

Next to it were a couple of yellow to the extreme palaces, probably some governmental buildings of different ministries.

By the time we came back to the square the entry was already open to the public from all possible sides and we were relieved not having to search for one specific entrance.

Next to it there is yet another museum (this on was of course for Ho Chi Minh himself)and the One Pillar Pagoda, which I liked a lot. 

 

Next stop on our list was the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu). Before actually getting to the temple, we passed the street were communist times were probably especially cherished by the locals :-)

 

The Van Mieu temple for me was one of the most interesting places to visit. It's almost 1000 years old and became a first university six years after it was build. During the last war, parts of the temple were buried in the ground in order to save them from the Americans that were bombing Hanoi. The entrance to the temple starts the series of courtyards, each serving different purpose.

 

Also the Vietnamese self are frequent visitors. They consider literature temples very important, as knowledge is not something everyone has.

In the temple's third courtyard there are many stone turtles, which carry stone plates on their backs with the names of more than 2000 students who graduated between here 15th and 18th century.

When we were visiting the temple, there were some students celebrating their own graduation.

 

The temple houses many statues of the people who promoted education and literature in Asia, among whom Confucius.

The next stop on our list was the Hoan Kiem Lake and the Red Bridge. The name of the lake when translated is The Lake of Returned Sword after an old legend in which the warrior received a sword from the gods to drive out the Chinese from the town and when he was swimming on the boat through the lake a giant turtle took the sword and returned it back to the gods. In the middle of the lake there is a pagoda that symbolizes this event, and the golden turtle found it's resting place in the temple.

The pictures of the bridge were taken a day before. 

At night the legends of Hanoi come to life and the lake becomes a fairy tail. The lights are installed all around the water and create an amazing spectacle of colors changing each other. 

The first snack of that evening was a bowl of traditional noodles with pork, vegetables and nuts in a local street food corner. This was the only dish the place was serving (simple is good :-)), hence, no menus - just putting a fresh bowl in front of everyone who sits at the table. And good it was!

Another thing we wanted to try that night was the Vietnamese BBQ. 
The right way to do it is as follows: everybody sits in rows...

 

and each table gets a fire pit with a frying pan... The main ingredients are: the mixture of herbs and small limes for the sauce...

 

...the meet and vegetables for the BBQ...

...and the guy to explain to you how it all works together :-))

 

It was very delicious and definitely to be recommended to try if ever in Vietnam. 

Our second day in Hanoi was finishing and we were heading towards the hotel. The next morning's plan was to go to Halong Bay for a 2 days/1 night trip. Saying ahead, it turned out to be a real lesson in life, but that is the next story to tell.