Day 02 - Friday 1st September

The main event for today would be all all-day tour of Hanoi which was due to start at 8am. So we set the alarm for 6am and went downstairs to the Vietnamese restaurant in our wing of the hotel for breakfast. We found a table on the terrace overlooking the pool and the garden. There was plenty of choice for breakfast. I got them to cook an omelette for me.

We were met in the reception by our guide from Insider Journeys. He introduced himself as Twon but told us that people often call him Tom. Once again our driver was Quong.

The first stop was at the prison which was officially called Maison Centrale but was colloquially referred to as the Hanoi Hilton. This is now a museum rather than a functioning prison. We learnt about its history including the French occupation, the communist era and the American POWs.

It's amazing how cruel human beings can be. They showed us the various torture methods that were employed over the centuries. The final torture exhibit was the guillotine that the French used to employ.

Luckily the American POWs were treated well by comparison with other prisoners because the North Vietnamese wanted to keep them as bargaining chip with the USA government. Eventually the American POWs were released to go home.

At the end of the tour, we had to cross the road to get back to our car. We'd heard about the difficulty of crossing roads in Vietnam. Although we were using a marked pedestrian crossing, the traffic didn't stop for us. Twon got us to link arms with him before we stepped out walking slowly and steadily across the road. The bikes and cars just drove around us.

We made it safely to the other side. This is the method that our guide used for the rest of the day when we needed to cross a street.

Next we went to the Temple of Literature. The temple was built about one thousand years ago and was dedicated to Confucius. It was the location of Vietnam's first national university. There are various buildings with ornate decorations. People can make offerings to the Buddha statues inside.

This site has a nice garden setting. Both outside the walls and inside, we saw workers (mainly women) tending to flower beds, shrubs and lawns. It is a peaceful location with gardens, plazas, pools and large trees.

The next stop was the mausoleum commemorating Ho Chi Minh. This is a large plaza with flags and gardens. On one side of the plaza there is a large building where Ho Chi Minh's body is on display. This building was closed today.

As we approached the plaza, a policeman was talking to Twon. It turned out that the problem was that Suzy had bare shoulders and so wouldn't be allowed to enter the area. Luckily Suzy had anticipated this eventuality and pulled a scarf out from her handbag. Problem solved.

At the other end of the plaza, we entered a garden area at the centre of which is a large colonial house. This is where the French governor used to live. Ho Chi Minh also lived here for a short time until he moved into more modest accommodation nearby.

In the gardens behind the mausoleum, we saw another house where Ho Chi Minh based himself for some time (House on Stilts). Next to the house there is bomb shelter and a series of escape tunnels - none of which is open to the public. There is pretty lake nearby.

Another attraction in the garden area is the single-pillar pagoda. The original structure was built by the emperor about one thousand years ago as gratitude to the gods for giving him a male child as an heir. It is designed to look like a lotus blossom. It was destroyed by the French colonials and subsequently rebuilt.

There are plenty of souvenir shops in the area.

After leaving this area, we walked a short distance through the car park to a shop where they sell goods made by disabled people. Most of the artists have deformities caused by Agent Orange. The quality of the goods was very impressive.

I'd been asking him to take me to a telecommunications shop so I could get a local Vietnamese SIM for my mini WiFi device. The place he found was a vary small shop. They sold me a SIM that would give me 18GB of data for only $US18.

Then he took us on a walk through the streets where saw people selling their wares in shops and on the footpath. Many of the local people were eating lunch on small tables and chairs on the footpaths. Some streets specialised in certain goods such as shoes or jewelry.

I was surprised to see people burning money in the gutter. They light a fire in a metal dish and then proceed to throw money into the fire. Apparently this is supposed to bring them good luck. Our guide later told me that they burn fake money.

Eventually we reached the 5 Spice Restaurant where he'd organised for us to have lunch with a set menu. It was a good choice.

After a further walk through the streets, we went to the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the edge of the West Lake. This pagoda was built about 1500 years ago and is the oldest temple in Hanoi. It has an eleven-storey tower with statues of Buddha on every level. People were walking around the tower multiple times because they believe it gives them good luck.

Twon suggested we go next to a resin factory. Here they make lacquer goods. We saw people making the goods and then went into the showroom where they wanted us to buy things. The goods were very artistic and impressive. The artists are obviously very gifted. Their attention to detail is amazing.

Finally we went to Ethnological Museum. Part of the exhibition is outside and the rest is inside a modern building. Our guide took us outside first. Here we saw various traditional houses and buildings made of timber or mud bricks with thatched rooves.

There was also has a long timber canoe that must be about 20m long. It reminded me of the canoes we saw in NZ a few years ago in Waitangi. Another stand-out was the erotic carvings around some of the buildings.

Next we went inside to look through the exhibits which are tastefully displayed over two levels. They included clothing, artwork, weapons and farming equipment.

By this time, we were very tired and looking forward to getting back to the hotel. Suzy found a bench to sit on to rest while I wandered around taking photos. Our guide agreed to take us back to the hotel earlier than he'd planned.

In the evening, we had a booking at the Thang Long Theatre to attend one of the water puppet shows you can find in Hanoi. Before we left we decided to have a drink in the Bamboo Bar next to the hotel pool. Since Suzy is a member of Accor Plus, we were entitled to one complimentary drink each.

Twon and Quong met us at our hotel and drove us close to the theatre which was located just north of the lake. We walked the last five minutes of the journey because certain streets in the centre of the city were due to be closed off for the evening.

The show started at 6:30pm and lasted for about 45 minutes. At the front of the theatre, there is a pool where most of he action happens. On the left side, there is a small stage for the musicians and singers. The show started with one woman playing a single string instrument.

The water puppets appear from behind a screen and perform in the water. There were various different types of puppets including men, dragons and boats. At the end of the show the puppeteers appeared in the water from behind the screen. It was a show with a difference.

Twon escorted us a few blocks through the city and Quong drove us the rest of the way back to our hotel. By this time, some of the city streets were closed off and the remaining roads were even busier than normal.

For dinner, we went to the Italian restaurant in the hotel and had an enjoyable meal. The wine prices were too expensive and so I decided to try the local Hanoi beer.