City in the River Bend

Hanoi nestles in a bend in the Red River; it is a green town of lakes, tree-lined boulevards and public parks. It is 1726km and a million miles from its brash southern cousin Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is a beautiful city without the traffic clogged streets and constant hassles from Cyclo drivers, traders and prostitutes that destroy ones enjoyment of HCM City.

The North Vietnamese are more reserved but far more welcoming and less corrupt than their southern counterparts. This is thought by many to be due to their relative lack of contact with westerners, the Americans never occupied Hanoi as they did Saigon and tourism has taken far longer to establish itself here in the north. So tourists are still viewed with a genuine curiosity by the North Vietnamese.

If you're coming from the south, enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the capital as a welcome break from the freneticism of the HCM City, if your heading south use the opportunity to prepare for HCM City.

Quick Tips:

The north/south divide still exists and this quickly becomes obvious when you talk to the North Vietnamese about the country, they are fiercely proud of their province and justifiably so it is a truly beautiful corner of the world. So make sure that you leave yourself enough time to do the North justice or they will never forgive you.

Another consequence of the North Vietnamese lack of contact with the west is that English is hardly spoken in Hanoi and the northern provinces. So unless you want to learn Vietnamese, it might be wise to brush-up on your high-school French, a relic from colonial times, like the rice-flour baguettes, is that many of the older residents are fluent in French.

Hanoi is under threat, tourism is increasing and development is rife so pack-up your bags and head of to this unassuming city soon, before it looses the laid-back feel that makes it special.

Best Way To Get Around:

Hanoi is compact enough to get around on foot and this is truly the best way to completely immerse yourself into this beautiful city, and getting lost in the complicated backstreets of the old quarter is all part of the experience. When you start to tire you are never far from a park or lake where you can sit back with an ice cream and recharge your batteries until you are ready to take on the next quarter of the town.

For further journeys there are of course the ubiquitous Cyclos that unlike in HCM City wait patiently for you at the road intersections. These are wider that their southern counterparts and can comfortably seat two people. For those with more of a thirst for adventure competing alongside the Cyclos are the motorcycle taxis whose young drivers will take you on a white knuckle ride to your intended destination.

When you're ready to move on the tourist cafes that dot the city can arrange for transport on one of minibus routes to the next town or tourist destination or even aboard one of Vietnam Airlines internal flights that link all the major towns at a very reasonable price.

Ho Hoan Kiem is the heart of the city, not necessarily geographically but historically and emotionally. The locals use the park that surrounds the lake as a gathering point, for Tai-Chi and jogging in the morning, for commerce and kite-flying during the day and for chess and strolling in the evening.

The name which translates as "Lake Of The Restored Sword" comes from a local variation of the Excalibur legend with a 15th century local fisherman netting a fabulous shining sword while fishing on the lake and using it to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. When Le Loi now King Le Thai To (r. 1433-1442) returned to the lake to pay tribute, a large tortoise arose from the lake and swallowed the sword returning it to the depths. This divine restoration is commemorated by the red star topped Tortoise Pagoda on a small island in the middle of the lake which has become the emblem of Hanoi.

Giant Tortoises do still live in the lake but it is highly unlikely to see one except for the 2 meter long preserved specimen captured in 1968 that takes pride of place in the Den Ngoc Son ("Temple Of The Jade Mound") that sits on another of the lake's islands. The temple established in the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) is dedicated Tran Hung Dao a general who defeated the Mongols in 1288 and a number of the leading intellectuals of his time including scholar Van Xuong, physician La To and martial artist Quan Vu. Last restored in 1865 most of the current buildings date to this time.

The entrance to the complex, the Tam Quan ("Three Passage Gate") is flanked by Chinese letters Phuc ("Luck") and Loc ("Wealth") based on the hand-writing of the 19th-century Confucian scholar Nguyen Van Sieu. Just inside the gate the gate stand the Dai Nghien ("Writing Pad") and an ornate nine-meter-high obelisk the Thap But ("Writing Tower") inscribed as "a pen to wright on the sky". The island itself is accessed, for a small fee, via the Huc ("Flood of Morning Sunlight") bridge a beautiful arch of red-lacquered wood, proclaimed as the "place where morning sun rests".

This pleasant little temple has long been a place of inspiration for Vietnam's poets and writers and is now a perfectly serene place to sit in the shade of one of the ancient trees and work on your own compositions in a spot still relatively undisturbed by tourism.

The origins of the uniquely Vietnamese art of mua roi nuoc ("puppets that dance on water") are as murky as the water in which it is performed. It is believed to have originated over 1000 years ago in the paddy fields around the Red River Delta as a way for the farmers to entertain themselves during the quiet spring months. During the Ly and Tan dynasties (1010-1400) it came to be regularly performed at the Emperor's court. Soon after however the artform all but died out until a grant from the Maison des Cultures des Monde allowed for the establishment of this theatre in the heart of Hanoi.

The stage is a waist deep pool of water that is kept muddy in order to conceal the workings of the puppets. The puppeteers stand behind a split bamboo screen while the puppets take center stage on the end of long poles. These are fully articulated puppets of people, dragons (complete with pyrotechnic breath), lions, unicorns and frogs. They engage in scenes of Vietnamese daily life such as rice harvesting and fishing as well as retelling Vietnamese legends such as the story of Le Loi and the shining sword which is actually set on the Ho Hoan Kiem just outside before building up to the big finale the dance of the four holy animals.

This is all set to traditional Vietnamese music played flutes, drums, gongs, xylophones and dan bau a traditional single-stringed zither. The music sets the pace and the puppets gracefully follow easily overcoming the language barrier as you follow them through their whimsical performances from the slapstick Rearing Ducks And Catching Foxes to the spectacular Dance Of The Phoenix complete with enough fireworks to make New Year's Day look a bust. This is a rare combination of the naive Vietnamese art forms that has toured the world to great acclaim and it is easy to see why.

The puppets themselves are masterful pieces of art carved from the water-proof wood of the fig-tree and painted with vegetable based pigments by local craftsmen. Replicas of these are available from stalls and shops all over the old quarter and make wonderful souvenirs. One such replica sits on my desk as a type this, a tubby little gentleman who rings a bell and waves a fan when operated. The shop-owner who sold it to me had the audacity to compare the puppet's ample gut to my own, but even this insult couldn't take away my love of this unmissable spectacle.

A short Cyclo ride from the Old Quarter to the other side of the Citadel Restricted Area brings one onto the spectacular Bah Dinh. This enormous square which was built on the grounds of the former Palace of the General Governor for Indochina is the ceremonial and political center of Hanoi and indeed Vietnam itself. It was here on the second of September 1945 that Ho Chi Minh read out Vietnam's Declaration of Independence to a crowd of half-a-million Vietnamese that had gathered here, and is it here that each year on that date that an even greater number of people gather to celebrate that momentous occasion.

The square itself is dominated by a giant gray block of granite on its eastern side, this is of course Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Built between 1973 and 1975 from local construction materials, its design is said to reflect that of traditional Vietnamese housing but in all honesty it looks more like a typical Communist/Modernist monstrosity to me. Ho's embalmed body lies inside, despite his own expressed preference to be buried, where it can be viewed by all. Sadly he was on his annual visit to Russia (every Sept-Nov) for repair work when I was there so I couldn't pay my respects.

The Vietnamese may have become disillusioned about Communism but they are still fiercely loyal to their fallen hero whom they affectionately refer to as Uncle Ho, and any criticism of him will cause offence. This place has become a site of pilgrimage for people from all over the country who still see him as the great liberator who freed them from colonial rule. It is hard to go anywhere in Vietnam without feeling his presence and if you would like to learn more about the life and the legacy of this great man then the nearby Ho Chi Minh museum is the place to go.

At the heart of this little enclave of buildings is Hanoi's famous One Pillar Pagoda this tiny little building 3 square meters in size and completely overwhelmed by the surrounding buildings is something of a disappointment. The original pagoda shaped like a lotus flower, sitting on a single stone pillar rising like the stem from an artificial lake, was according to local legend constructed by King Ly Tai Tong (r. 1028-1054) to give thanks to the goddess Quan Am for the birth of his son and heir. This concrete reconstruction, built after the retreating French troops leveled the site in 1954, however fails to capture the romance.

The Presidential Palace was originally constructed in the early 1900s by the French colonial authorities as the official residence of the General Governor for Indochina. This palace was taken over by Ho Chi Minh after his victory in 1954 and was his seat of power and headquarters during the long drawn out war against the Americans. It is a spectacular piece of colonial architecture that seems to have survived the bombing of Hanoi untouched. It's yellow brick exterior shines out like a beacon compared to the dull austerity of its neighbor the gray monolith that is Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

The building is now used for government receptions and official state visits and is closed to the public but it can still be admired from the outside on a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Relic Area, during the walk down the tree-lined Mango Alley that leads from the entrance to the fishing pool out back. This is a serene little pond where Uncle Ho is said to have spent much of his time relaxing. He apparently loved it so much that in 1958, 4 years after his victory against the French he constructed a simple traditional style Vietnamese house on its banks where he is said to have lived until his death in 1969.

This is a very simple wooden stilt-house with split bamboo screens and open-sides that let the air and natural light flood so that Uncle Ho could enjoy the fragrances of his garden, they also allow the modern visitor to glimpse the inside without disturbing the contents. The ground floor holds a large table surrounded by chairs that acted as a meeting room for Ho and his Politburo during the later years of his reign. An external staircase allows you to view the upstairs containing his Spartan and simply furnished bedroom and study, all of which have been left untouched since his death.

The simplicity of the structure and its Spartan furnishings are seen as a testament to the simplicity of this man and of the people who lead his country to victory over two western powers. Although there is a question as to exactly how much time he actually spent here, he is alleged to have died in the small hut that stands next to it, I am personally willing to believe it as I can't think of anywhere that I'd rather live and die than here. This is a truly serene spot in which to contemplate the life and death of "a man who has dedicated all his life to the cause of revolution and people."

"In the autumn of the year Canh Tuat, the second year of Than Vu, in the 8th lunar month, during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, the Temple of Literature was built." That's 1070 to you and me, and this ancient Confucian sanctuary is now considered one of Hanoi's finest historical sites.

The temple is based on Confucius' birthplace at Qufu in the Chinese province of Shandong. It consists of five courtyards lined out in order, entrance to the first, via the impressive twin tiered Van Mieu gate leads to three pathways that run through the length of the complex. The center path was reserved for the king, the one to its left for administrative Mandarins and the one to its right for military Mandarins. The first two courtyards are peaceful havens of ancient trees and well trimmed lawns where the scholars could relax away from the bustle of the city outside the thick stone walls.

Entrance to the third courtyard is through the dominating Khue Van Cac, a large pavilion built in 1802. Central to the this courtyard is the Thienh Quang Tinh ("Well Of Heavenly Clarity") either side of which stand two great halls which house the true treasures of the temple. These are 82 stone stelae, another 34 are believed to have been lost over the years, they sit upon stone tortoises and are inscribed names and birth places of 1306 men who were awarded doctorates from the triennial examinations held here at the Quoc Tu Giam ("National University") between 1484 and 1780 when the capital was moved to Hue.

The fourth courtyard in bordered on either side by great pavilions which once contained altars to 72 on Confucius greatest students but which now contain offices, a gift shop and a small museum which contains ink wells, pens, books and personal artifacts belonging to some of the students that have studied here through the years. At the far end of the courtyard is the altar with statues of Confucius and his four closest disciples. The fifth courtyard contained the Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam's first university founded in 1076 King Ly Can Duc, but this was destroyed by French bombing in 1947.

The complex may have undergone a lot of restoration work, most recently in 1920 and again in 1954, but having one of the few remaining examples of later Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) architecture within easy walking distance of Bah Dinh square makes this well worth the minor detour.

No trip to Hanoi would be complete without spending at least some time in Hanoi's old quarter, founded in the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) by the craft-guilds of Hanoi this is the only remaining merchant's quarter in the whole of Vietnam, and this is the best place to truly immerse yourself into the Vietnam experience.

The 36 Pho Puong (36 streets) were each home to one of the guilds and they bore the name of their craft, Hang Bac ("Silver Street") was home to the silversmiths, Hang Ca ("Fish Street") home to the fishmongers and Hang Ruoi ("Clam Worm Street") home to... errm... well actually I've no idea. Although these names no longer necessarily represent what is sold there it is still the best place in Hanoi to buy anything from souvenirs and fake designer label goods to traditional medicines and Buddhist artifacts. Even if you’re not shopping it is superb place to discover daily Vietnamese life.

For the shoppers Hang Bac is a great place to look for jewelry, Hang Ngang ("Transversal Street") is the place to go if you want a suit run up for you, while Hang Gai ("Hemp Street") caters for the tourists with a wide range of souvenirs including those replica water puppets and of course Hang Ruoi is the best place to go if you want to know what a Clam Worm is anyway. To the north of the Old Quarter stands the 1885 facade of the Dong Xuan market behind which lies a massive collection of stalls, completely rebuilt after destroyed by a fire in 1984, where you'll find whatever you want

For the site-seer, the architecture is fantastic, ranging from 15th century merchant houses to Hanoi's unique "tube houses" built long and thin to avoid a tax based on the size of the frontage, but actual sites are few and far between. There is the Cua O Quan Chong ("Old East Gate"), the last remnants of the city walls. The Museum Of Independence (48 Pho Hang Ngang) the house where Ho Chi Minh drafted Vietnam's Declaration of Independence, downstairs a dull selection of photos and artifacts upstairs Ho's preserved study and bedroom. And on the edge the dull neo-gothic St Joseph's Cathedral, entrance at side.

The true highlight however is the back streets where traditional craftsmen still hammer away, don't miss the Buddhist artifacts on Hang Quat ("Fan Street") the fabulous carved gravestones on Hang Bac and the ghost money on Hang Ma ("Counterfeit Street"), to sum up I strongly advice you to get lost.