Greetings from Hanoi

The Vietnamese coastline, as glimpsed from the plane

We arrived in Hanoi yesterday after a short one hour plane ride. Expecting to be accosted by waves of heat, we were instead greeted by overcast skies and warm, balmy weather. The weekend here so far has been an odd mixture of dazzling sunshine, blue skies, gray skies, and raindrops the size of hailstones. We experienced this almost right away. After stopping at Craft Link, a non-profit organization that sells crafts made by indigenous minority peoples, we ate lunch at the Koto Restaurant. Koto is another non-profit place, a restaurant that is staffed by young adults who grew up on the street. Koto acts as a training ground to help street children learn skills that they may be able to use in the job market (as well as for life). The portions were Western-sized, and the kids (our age, actually) were polite and vigilant in their work. I've heard of these places back in the states--bakeries where the pastry chefs are homeless, etc--and it's really neat to see one here in Vietnam. It always saddens me to see people begging on the streets here in Vietnam, and I feel guilty for not dropping a bill in their palm or hat. Koto and Craft Link offer ways for people to give aid to others less fortunate, and receive something in return. I can't say I still don't feel a twinge of guilt, however, when a beggar with one blind eye thrust his cap at me today...

Tourists in the rain

But on to more pleasant things. As soon as we stepped out from Koto, rain began to fall. I love and both dislike the rain here in Vietnam. When it rains, it pours--literally. It's nice because it gives respite from the heat, but it's not so nice because it's hard to go out in the rain. The rain began to pick up speed as we debated what to do, and just as it started to fall more forcefully, a woman appeared selling disposable rain ponchos. I quickly snapped one up for 5,000 dong, and not a moment too soon--as soon as I slipped the plastic-bag like material over my head, the raindrops grew to the size of tiny pebbles. It hurt! If I hadn't known it was rain, I would have thought they were hailstones. Armed with our plastic bag ponchos and undeterred, we followed our tour guide across the street to visit the old University of Literature. The University here is where Confucian scholars back in the Le Dynasty studied. The place is a beauty--soaring scarlet wooden gates beckon hoards of tourists hiding under the multi-colored hues of umbrellas. We passed through a small courtyard where scholars used to gather to chat and practice their memorization and music skills. The Star Gate is a portal to the Mirror Pond, in which we spotted tiny turtles with moss-covered shells and the usual goldfish. Stone turtles carrying heavy stellas bearing the names of scholars who had successfully graduated lined the sides of the pond, the architecture on both sides reflections of each other. Past this area was the Confucian Temple. I'm not sure what was in the last area of the complex, for we had to leave before I could explore it.

The drive to the hotel revealed Hanoi as a beautiful city, quite different from Saigon. It's interesting how the three major cities of Vietnam--Saigon, Hue, and Hanoi--are all unique reflections of the distinctive regions they play capital to. Saigon is a bustling metropolis, filled with billboards and overcrowded streets choked with a smog of motorbike dust. Hue is quiet and sleepy, filled with cultural relics that surround the city with an ancient ambiance. Hanoi is an odd mixture of both. There is the busyness of Saigon combined with the timelessness of Hue. Driving past Hoan Kiem Lake, where Le Loi was rumored to have returned the magic sword that enabled him to defeat the Chinese invaders back to the giant turtle that gave it to him, we glimpsed the pagoda-like silhouette of 'Turtle Tower.' Lover's Lane divides West Lake and its partner into two--an alleyway dotted with gnarled streets and stone benches where people sit resting or hawking goods. We drove through wide streets built by the French during the colonial era when they blasted down the tiny, cramped streets they hated to build roadways which would apparently prove more useful to independent, modern Vietnam and its clusters of motorbikes. Our hotel for the weekend, Boss Hotel, is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. This is a place filled with small streets lined with the miniature, store-front businesses that you see everywhere in Vietnam. Each street is known to sell a particular item: for example just today we walked through 'Shoe Street'. Take a look and you know why: piles of sandals line the sidewalk in front of storefronts, shelves with sparkling high heels and muted leather formal wear stack the insides of shops. Crouching outside of some stores were men and women making shoes. We witnessed a woman nailing together wooden heels with shiny lacquer designs and a man stitching together rubber sandals.




After our first day arriving in Hanoi, today we visited the Ho Chi Minh Memorial complex. A sprawling area overlooking Ba Dinh Plaza, the place is a must-stop for the Vietnamese. Uncle Ho, as they call him, lies in preserved state within the imposing, Soviet-style mausoleum. There was a long line filled with both native and foreign tourists who were waiting to see the father of modern Vietnam. I was expecting to see a more wax-like figure, but after seeing Uncle Ho's body, I'm inclined to say that I think it's the real deal. An old, wispy man lay within a glass-walled coffin, his hands crossed lightly on his chest. His skin looked pale yellow and soft, as if one touch would collapse it. He looked almost like one feigning sleep. I was, to be honest, more amazed at the fact that here was a preserved human body that had been embalmed for decades more than the fact that this was Ho Chi Minh's body. It's interesting to see how some countries preserve their revered leaders: The Soviet Union and Lenin, Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh, and China and Mao.

One Pillar Pagoda

That day was blistering hot, and after the Mausoleum we visited the old guest house where Ho Chi Minh used to stay out (he preferred the Vietnamese-style house over the bright yellow French governor's mansion), the HCM museum, and the One Pillar Pagoda. We ate lunch at an interesting place. The restaurant was very large and all the food was cooked outside in little stalls that mimicked street food eateries. After the before mentioned shopping trip down Shoe Street, we retired back to rest until dinner. A few of us went out to indulge in Hanoi's nightlife, but I was tired and went back. Tomorrow will begin bright and early--5 AM sharp for a morning stroll down Hanoi streets.