Update: Why didn't anyone tell me this post didn't post completely the first time!?!?
As Nelly mentioned in the previous post, I was pretty much bed-ridden for our last day in Saigon (luckily it only lasted 24 hours!). Needless to say, after that experience I was ready to hit the pavement in Hanoi!
We arrived in the evening and headed out on the town to see the roundabout which is known for the traffic. We picked a bar that overlooked the chaos and just sat in awe of what was going on.
In this picture you have pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, buses, people selling balloons and even a man being pushed in a wheelchair. No one follows any sort of order and it takes a while to get comfortable stepping foot of the curb. However, I will admit that by the end of the trip I really liked the challenge!
We started our first full day there by attempting to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum after lunch at Lenin park. However it closes early and we did not make it in time so we headed to the Temple of Literature instead.
The Temple of Literature was dedicated to Confucius in 1070 and later established as a university for the education of mandarins.
From there we walked around a bit and did some shopping. If you like to shop, Hanoi is the place for you! It is very interesting though because there are certain streets that specialize in one thing. So one street will be all silk, another all sunglasses while another is all shoes. This picture was taken on a street that only sold paint (and the powder to turn it whatever color you want).
The next morning we were picked up bright and early for our 2 day/1 night trip on a "junk" boat in Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a collection of more than 3,000 islands in the Gulf of Tonkin and means "where the dragon descends into the sea". Also, contrary to what you may think, a junk boat is actually really nice. Ours was three levels with a very nice private room.
We started by sailing through the bay to the Surprising Caves where we explored. The French named them that because they were so surprised to discover them.
From there we headed to a floating fishing village. The families who run the village have been there for generations and also run a nice little kayaking operation.
Nelly and I kayaked for about 45 minutes around the little islands.
And I didn't tip us over...my dad would be so proud!
Then it was back to the boat for the night for some swimming, dinner and karaoke.
This picture looks like the moon is on fire to me, however it was just the sun setting.
The next morning as we were sailing back to the harbor we got to learn how to make spring rolls. Anytime I can capture Nelly cooking I take advantage of it!
Once back in the city we just lounged around and finished the night off with a water puppet show. It was really cute and fun to listen to traditional music.
Our final day in Hanoi was spent seeing the sights again. We waited 3 hours in line with what felt like a million people to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. The line became very frustrating as people cut their place in line without hesitation. Some elbows may even been thrown...but that is just their culture, from how they drive to how they wait in line! A funny story... His body is sent to Russia every year for a few months for maintenance. While we were waiting in line Matt texted his mom to see how long their wait was when his parents visited a few years ago. She responded that they didn't go because it was closed for repairs...I am assuming he was in Russia at that time. I would compare seeing his body to being at an open casket wake, except he has been dead since 1969. Here we are in front of the mausoleum. I still have not decided whether or not it was morbid to take this picture.
From there we headed to the "Hanoi Hilton" which is where all of the POW pilots were imprisoned during the war, including John McCain.
This is everything he was wearing when he was shot down and captured out of the water.
We really enjoyed Hanoi and trying to avoid being run over at every turn. It had a really quaint feel to it and it definitely a place I would return to and recommend!
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