Port 17 Hanoi, Vietnam
Hello! Xin chàu! (pronounced “sin-chow”) and Bonjour! ( I think you know this one)
Yes, in case you didn’t know, the Vietnamese speak French!
It’s April 10th, 2024, and we are sailing into Ha Long Bay in Vietnam’s waters. The air is foggy, and the rock outcrops appear and disappear in the mist as the ship glides quietly through the water.
There are almost 1,700 of these islands in Ha Long Bay! These are primarily limestone formations called “karsts”. It’s disappointing that we don’t have clear skies for this approach!
Joy and I have a land tour that takes us to Hanoi for an overnight visit! We board the bus and head across the Mekong Delta and into the heart of Vietnam!
As we skirt the edges of the Mekong Delta we see these interesting fish traps.
Other areas are cultivated with rice paddies!
The rice paddies are still farmed by hand.
The workers are fully clothed – not an inch of skin is exposed to sunlight! We learn that the Vietnamese (and other nearby countries) value pale skin. Suntans are frowned upon here, while revered in the United States! We are amazed the classic conical “rice paddy” hats are still widely used!
I am fascinated by this working dock raised high along the river! The rivers play a major role in the economy of this country!
Our first stop is a visit to the Temple of Literature, Văn Miếu, chữ Hán in Vietnamese. This is a temple dedicated to Confucius and honoring Vietnam’s finest scholars! We enter at the Văn Miếu gate.
We cross the Nhap Dao Courtyard into the Temple of Literature.
A wedding couple is having a photo shoot in the Văn Miếu, chữ Hán. I take the opportunity to capture the bride! Beautiful! (The groom is on the other side of the group in the background. I don’t get a good photo of him.)
Joy pauses in front of the Khue Van Cac Star of Literature Pavilion.
Then we cross to the Gieng Thien Quang Well of Heavenly Brilliance.
From the Well of Heavenly Brilliance, I look back and get a better photo of the Kheu Van Cac Star of Literature Pavilion. The backlight in the earlier photo made the beautiful roof carvings difficult to see.
Then we arrive at the courtyard of the Nha Dai Bai – the Great Hall of Ceremonies!
Inside the Nha Dai Bai is the Altar for Confucius.
The hall also houses altars to the Four Disciples of Confucius. Here are altars to two of the Four Disciples. The other two are behind these.
I am fascinated by the curling incense sticks being overseen by dragons.
Our final view at the Temple of Literature is the ceremonial drum. This monster is about 5 feet in diameter, 6-7 feet long. I’d love to hear it thunder! These are designed to scare away the evil spirits!
We move on to the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton! This is where John McCain was held after being captured when his plane crashed nearby. After becoming a Senator he became the most well-known prisoner from here. Let’s go inside!
Inside we see a model of the compound as it looked at the time (there’s a huge, three-tower hotel in the middle of this now!). All of the buildings are designated as different cell blocks, each focusing on a specific set of prisoners – political, military, felons, women, and those on death row, to mention a few.
The doors between cell blocks are massive and steel-reinforced!
We see examples of how the prisoners were kept. Ankle locks are typical. Occasionally we see prisoners with only one ankle locked up, allowing the prisoners to bend their knees and sit a little more comfortably.
This is the toilet, out in the open so no one has privacy. The white sign on the wall is a placard that explains that when the prisoners fought against these harsh conditions the deputy warden banned emptying the waste buckets, forcing the prisoners to live with the added stink of overflowing filth. The prisoners used this to their advantage, using the toilet as a hiding place for their notes on how to fight back against the Vietnamese regime! After roll call the notes were pulled out to be used for planning and training.
Outside is a famed almond tree. This was a gathering place for the prisoners during their free time to discuss plans for revolting against the regime. They used the bark and leaves to cure dysentery and diarrhea, the nuts for added nutrition, and the twigs and branches to create pen holders, flutes, and trinkets.
There are amazing reliefs on the walls depicting the atrocities inflicted on the prisoners by the guards.
In this relief the prisoners show defiance and unity against the guards, despite the ongoing brutality.
We finally see some panels with John McCain’s story! The center photo below shows McCain being captured after parachuting into Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi.
As we leave Hoa Lo Prison, this display meets us in the courtyard, one last reminder of the terrors the prisoners went through here.
Our next stop is Ba Dinh Square. Here Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence from French colonialism, officially starting the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ! (It wasn’t that simple, but this is a travel blog, not a history lesson.)
To our right is the Vietnam National Assembly Building where the government, consisting of the Bureau Politic and the Central Committee of the Party, meets.
On our left is the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh.
The wall in front of the mausoleum says, “Long Live the Socialist Republic of Vietnam!”
An interesting structure near Ba Dinh Square and behind Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum is the One Pillar Pagoda. This is built in the form of the lotus blossom, the Vietnamese national flower and a representation of purity!
It’s time to head to the hotel we’re staying at tonight. On our way we pass the Vietnam Museum of Ethnicity – we’ll visit here tomorrow!
We arrive at the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel! President Clinton stayed here when he visited as a sitting President. It must have been lovely at the time – now it is sadly declining with cracking walls and peeling and stained wallpaper.
We get settled, changed, and head out for the evening…
…to the Water Puppet Theater!
The water puppets depict a myriad of people and creatures! Many are on display here in the lobby!
Inside the theater we have excellent seats with a large pool in front of us! On either side of the pool are the musicians and singers!
Dragons float lazily in the pool as the music starts!
The story showed farmers working the land, plowing with an ox, and harvesting the rice.
The ending was a fabulous procession as the Prince returned home!
We get to see the puppeteers after the show!
Outside of the theater we have a lovely view of the Cầu Thê Húc “Welcoming Morning Sunlight” Bridge!
We soak up the nightlights while we wait for our bus. Beautiful!
The next morning, from our hotel room we look out into a foggy Hanoi morning.
Look! There’s the Cầu Thê Húc Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge we saw last night! Not so much of a welcoming sunlight though this morning, eh?
Back on the bus, we head through Hanoi to our next stop, the Tran Quoc Pagoda. On the way we pass the Trúc Bạch Lake, the water John McCain landed in when his plane was shot down.
I am fascinated by the scooters passing us! Many are fully covered like the person on the far right, since, as I mentioned earlier, the Vietnamese value pale skin. Others, like the lady in red…
… are clearly dressed for work! Who wears high heels on a scooter, and holds her foot out as if she’ll be stopping with that heel? I saw several women driving with high heels, one with stilettos longer than this woman!
We arrive at the Tran Quoc Pagoda. This is a Buddhist temple in a beautiful compound on its own little island!
The temple has several walls covered with examples of Karma’s Cause and Effects. They warn the visitors of what will happen if they engage in bad behavior, how they will pay for it in their current life or their next life. In this panel someone who commits treason will be reborn dumb and live a miserable life.
In this panel someone who thinks ill of another will have consequences of stroke or loss of memory in this life! Hmmm, makes you wonder…
There are dozens of examples!
OK, now we’re watching the scooters again! But this time I’m watching people riding with their dogs!
The dogs appear to be perfectly comfortable on scooters!
Now it’s time to visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnicity we passed yesterday!
Inside the museum we are greeted by this ritual pole used in thanksgiving festivals. It sways in the wind making the drongo bird at the top move, which in turn make the two drongo birds (very small) hanging at the bottom of the leaf turn. The pole connects the spirit world to the human world during the festival.
I am fascinated by the similarity this has to those we saw in Bali!
There are 54 ethnic groups making up the population of Vietnam. This Museum celebrates all of the groups!
The elaborate betel nut box and oboe below are examples of the fine inlay work created by two of the groups.
This is a bamboo lunar calendar!
Examples of the water puppets are here!
And this is a ritual tree. This resembles a lot of small ritual poles.
There are examples of the types of community buildings used by several different ethnic groups. Interestingly enough, these are all depicted as stilt houses!
We leave Hanoi behind, and in a few hours we reach the coastline and see Insignia waiting for us!
Leaving Hanoi, we head out into Ha Long Bay, slowly passing many of the beautiful islands!
We watch the limestone karsts slide by as long as we can before dinner calls!
After two long days, we bid adieu and tạm biệt to Hanoi, but not Vietnam yet!
Next port – 2 days in Hue, Vietnam!
