We started our day with another city wide blast of music and news at 7:30 am. The song is always the same but we aren’t sure of its meaning. Apparently the talking that follows is the morning announcements and news.

Our first focus was a walk to the area where Dale worked during his trips here almost 9 years ago. He worked on the top floor of a tower surrounded by embassies and a cute park.

We then strolled to the National Fine Arts Museum. It was a long walk but took us through some interesting neighborhoods. We had a quick lunch at the museum cafe before venturing into the 4 story historical building. The museum was structured according to era and art form. It was an interesting stroll through some fascinating art.

We left the museum to head over to Beer Street. What an experience! We chose to sit on a balcony overlooking our street level seats yesterday. While we enjoyed our beverages the police showed up and cleared all the seats in the square. Apparently the seats the beer bars put out for their patrons are illegal and the police show up a few times a day to get them to remove them. There was a huge amount of scurrying as the bar staff gathered up as many chairs as possible while at the same time, the police confiscated some of the furniture. As we were asking our waitress about the process and how long it takes to get the chairs back out, she simply pointed to the fact that they were already out again within a few minutes.

We enjoyed the conversations we had with our waitresses and decided that adding food to our day was a good idea. We ended us at an Indian restaurant just down from our residence before calling it a night. Simply walking in Hanoi has been interesting. There is always something going on. We have now become relatively fearless at crossing the streets and have lived to tell these tales.

We started our day at exactly 7:30am when a loudspeaker in the street started blasting a loud, lively song which was followed by animated speeches by at least two people. The fellow we bought our pastries and coffee from (a priority for any civilized folk on holidays) told us it was just information about what is happening in town. It sounded more like propaganda but, what do we know. Our mission today was to explore the market streets and we set out around 10am.

The market streets cater to both tourists and locals. There are food stalls of all kinds, some of which would never fly by Canadian standards, but are normal here.

Many of the streets have a unified focus. For example, there is a shoe street, hardware street, underwear street, etc. Of course our favourite street was Beer Street. Our first stop was a little rooftop bar however, to get to it we had to go into the clothing store and climb narrow chipped stairs to get there. The beer was cold and delicious. I had a draft while the others had a raddler type of beer in this case a Pummelo (a mild grapefruit) beer.

As we wandered, we dodged all the usual traffic and enjoyed the chaos.

We decided a little museum time would be nice and we set off to find the Klimt Gallery. We laughed when we realized that it was a tourist trap and simply a few stalls selling reproduction art, including posters by Klimt.

One of the highlights of the day was sitting at a crossroad on Beer street watching the chaos around us.

We went to a lovely restaurant for supper that served upscaled street food. They also served us ice cream for dessert. They added shaving from a cinnamon stick in the same manner that someone at home would serve Parmesan cheese over pasta. It smelled incredible. Vietnam is one of the largest exporters of cinnamon in the world. Brian bought a $2 bag of ground cinnamon at the wholesale market that will last the rest of his natural born life.

After dinner we strolled around the lake again, enjoying the atmosphere.

Of course there were several people who wanted to be seen with Dale. This little one caught his attention more than most.

We were home and in bed by 9pm. As I write this it seems like we did very little, however, it was a day full of sensory experiences and just being in the moment. It was a good day.

We shifted to our AirB&B today. Getting into the building took a bit of figuring out but eventually we got into our 4 story skinny house. There is a living area on the main floor, a bedroom & bathroom on the first floor that had a very low ceiling. There were three further floors with a bedroom, bathroom & balcony on each floor. All in all – a lot of stairs. The great news is that it is across the street from a bakery that also serves coffee.

Our first stop was for a snack by the Lake of the Returned Sword. According to legend, an Emperor had been given a magical sword by A golden turtle god to defeat a Chinese enemy. After he defeated the Chinese, the emperor was boating on the lake and the Golden turtle god asked for his magic sword back. The Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, The Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of the lake is linked to the legend. The legend is a little confusing so please don’t take my word for it that I got this correct.

We set out to find bespoke clothing manufacturing for the guys. Dale & Brian ordered bamboo fibre shirts that they will try on tomorrow for a fitting and they will be finished on Sunday. We wandered by the Catholic Cathedral and a lovely park dedicated to a historical hero.

We then went out to explore Hanoi on our own. We made our way to the Metropole Hotel for Charlie Chaplin martinis. Apparently Charlie Chaplin spent his honeymoon with Claudette Goddard at this hotel and he created this martini. We had two. They were delicious and somewhat of a show to pour. The martini was served with a glass of lime sorbet that could be added to the drink for a little more sourness or sampled on the side. I did both. I strongly encourage you to try one at some point in your life!

Charlie Chaplin Martini.
Metropole Hotel Hanoi Vietnam

60 mL Gin. 30 mL apricot brandy. 20 mL lime juice. 10 mL simple syrup. Served with a lemon twist.

60ml is 4 tablespoonfuls, 2 ounces – gin
30ml is 2 tablespoonfuls, 1 ounce- apricot brandy
20ml is 4 teaspoonful – lime juice
10ml is 2 teaspoonful – simple syrup
Lime sorbet on the sode

We left the hotel to find dinner people shared pizza for a bit of a change. On our way back to our residence we realized that the main streets were closed to traffic and we were free to wander without the fear of being picked off by a wayward scooter. There were side shows on the street, people line dancing and during Zoomba in the park and live music. It was so much fun. We are now looking forward to another fairy unscripted day tomorrow. This was a nice change of pace today. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

The last day of our tour was entirely in Hanoi. We started off with a visit to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam. It was founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, scholars and education in general. Initially the focus was on educating the elite. The gates entering the temple were wonderfully named. It was clear that education was important in this space.

Those who passed their exams had their accomplishments and names written in stone steles that were mounted on the backs of stone turtles. Turtle were thought to represent longevity and luck. Some of these monuments of accomplishment date back to the 14th Century.

Confucius and his best students are commemorated in the inner buildings. Confucius’s teachings form one of the three founding philosophies of Vietnamese culture, the other two are Taoism and Buddhism. Confucius influences can be seen in the deep respect the Vietnamese have for their parents and ancestors and education. Confucius promoted the “5 contestant virtues” of benevolence, righteousness, ritual/propriety, wisdom and trust.

While we were there, a group of high school aged youth arrived for teachings and a tour of the facility. Of course, many wanted to practice their English and take pictures with Dale.

There was an extraordinary sculpture garden at the temple reflecting the New Year of the Horse.

Our next stop after the Temple was the Women’s museum, a tribute to the contributions of women to Vietnamese society. The 4-story museum told the story of women’s roles and leadership during the wars of the 20th century. It also described and displayed the daily lives of families and in particular the cultural clothing of women from the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

At this point we were ready for lunch and were once again whisked off for a delicious meal of local food. Sated we returned to the hotel for rest before our farewell dinner. Jane and I took the opportunity to get a pedicure.

Our tour ended after dinner. It was sad to part with this lovely group of folk. We were so lucky to have such a compatible group of companions. Everyone was game for whatever was thrown at us. People showed up on time and were respectful to each other. We had a lot of fun and many laughs along the way. Our group guide was phenomenal and we felt lucky to get led by someone who was so knowledgeable about cultures, faith practices, and politics of the 4 countries we explored.

We shift to our airB&B on Friday at noon. We have 4 more days in Hanoi to explore more of the city and what Dale experienced on his trips to Hanoi almost 10 years ago.

We had an early start to the day with a pre-breakfast visit to the Sung Sot caves. These caves have formed in the karsts (limestone rock formations scattered throughout the bay). The Karsts are made of soluble stone (I.e., limestone) that are slowly dissolving over millennia. The caves we saw yesterday and today are a product of that process. The Sung Sat caves were “discovered” by the French in 1901 who named them the surprise caves because of their size and the shapes within. The caves have stalagmites (grow from the ground) and stalactites (growing from the ceiling) formations in the three large caverns. The government developed the caves for tourism after the 1990’s.

We returned to the boat to check out and have brunch. We then headed back to shore and a return trip to Hanoi. On the way back we stopped for a water puppet show at one of the villages. It was fantastic! The puppeteers stayed behind the curtain in chest high water and manipulated the puppets through long poles under water.

We returned to Hanoi for our next stop – the Hanoi Hilton. This prison was initially designed to house, torture and kill Vietnamese dissidents, including women, during the French Indochina war. It later housed American pilots captured during the Vietnam/American war, including John McCain. The exhibits were from a Vietnamese perspective and highlighted the resiliency of their people. Much like the visit we had to the Chu Chi Tunnels, this was an important and educational stop that depicted the horrors of war. I found it difficult to take pictures so you will just have to imagine dark, dank cells with horrible lighting and conditions.

We ended our day back at the hotel. After a brief relaxation followed by our ritual of happy hour, we headed off for supper. Our destination of choice was a 1 star Michelin restaurant (my first ever). The food was great but we had difficulty understanding the difference between quality of this restaurant compared to the others we have eaten in (the food here is fantastic in general and our tour company has made sure we eat well). We were amazed at the total bill which, for the two of us came to a whopping $60 cdn.

Tomorrow starts the end of our last day of our tour.

We left our hotel at 8:15 for our 2 hour drive to Ha Long Bay. We stopped for coffee along the way at a very busy highway stop. It was massive and included a snack shop, bathrooms, temple area and bonsai and grapefruit trees.

Our second stop was at an oyster farm. OK, it was a pearl sales opportunity, but they did a great job of describing how cultured pearls are made.

We made it to our boat. We are on the largest wooden boat on the bay. Our group has the boat to ourselves and it has been really fun. We cruised the bay and took in the amazing views.

It was somewhat overcast today so the colours didn’t come through as much as we’d have liked them too.

We took the tender off the boat to explore Ti Top Island where we had the option to climb 400+ steps to a look out or go swimming. I did neither as I am nursing my knee injury from November. While the climb was manageable, the 400+ uneven stairs that didn’t have a handrail seemed a bit too much. Dale was aware of how much Ha Long Bay has changed in the 10 years since his visit. The bay is much busier with both boats and people.

We then went for a cruise into a lagoon through Luon Cave.

We ended our day with happy hour (2 for 1 drinks are never dangerous) and supper. However, before supper the men in our group were challenged in a spring rolls making contest. The good news was that Greg was declared Master Chef in charge of spring rolls with a certificate to prove it.

Once again we ate well and are now crashing in readiness for another busy day tomorrow. I hope we sleep well tonight. It is really quiet on the Bay but we are also at anchor and the boat has been turning slowly for the past few hours. Not dizzy yet!

We got into travel mode again as we made our last plane trip before heading home. The two hour flight to Hanoi from Saigon was largely uneventful.

The name Hanoi means “inside the bend in the red river” and was established in 1010 AD. It’s original name was Hung Luang or Soaring Dragon. This image remains an important one in the community.

We immediately went for lunch at a local restaurant. It was our first opportunity to deal with crossing roads in Hanoi. Our guides encouraged us to be like “sticky rice” as we waited for a lull in oncoming traffic. The idea is to find the gap, walk slowly and confidently across traffic and expect people on scooters or in cars to go around you. So far so good!

After lunch we headed into the downtown area and toured Ho Chi Min’s mausoleum. Ho Chi Min had originally wanted to be cremated and have his ashes divided between the three parts of Vietnam (north, central and south). The government decided to ignore his wishes and arrange for him to be embalmed and enshrined in the capital. The building itself was designed by Russian architects. People can see his body in the mausoleum on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The site is closed for a few months every year when they re-embalm the body. They used to take him to the Soviet Union for this task but are now able to perform it locally.

We also saw the single pillar pagoda. An 11th century king of the area prayed to the lady Buddha to help him have a son. His wife became pregnant soon after and he built the shrine in her honour. The original shrine was rebuilt in its current form after the French left. It was initially built on a wooden pillar and was somewhat larger. The current pagoda rests on a concrete base. It is an active shrine.

Our next adventure was an electric car tour of the old city. This warren of market stalls was incredible. The chaos was overwhelming. Historically the markets were organized by streets dedicated to selling specific goods (e.g., shoe street or metal working street, etc.).

We then checked into our hotel and, after happy hour, went to find dinner. We have yet to find the method of ordering the right amount of food. We ate family style and still had too much! However, it was too much of a good thing and we retired for the night comfortably sated.

Tomorrow we are off for a cruise to Ha Long Bay on a Junk ship. The ship will likely be filled entirely by our tour. It should be exciting.

Our day was fairly laid back compared to the last week. We had breakfast, boarded the bus and headed for the Mekong Delta. We stopped at an interesting religious site called Cao Dai. This is a new religion developed in 1926 after the leader consulted with a Ouija board. Our guide explained that Caodaism is a merger of  Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. They believe in one god, that all religions come from the same source and that people can access spiritual connections through seances. Their main symbol is the left eye – a sign of god’s omnipresence, spiritual awareness and universal truth. This faith has become popular and has millions of followers around the world.

Our next stop was the river. Our tour took us to several villages where we had the opportunity to see the crafts and culture of those living in the Delta. The cruise was laid back and interesting. The villagers get around by canoes, either motor or hand powered. The eyes painted on the boats are protection from the river monsters and to see the way home. There are no eyes on the fishing boats so that they don’t scare the fish away.

At one of our stops we watched the women turn water hyacinth stems into baskets. When fresh, the stems break easily. When dried they make strong fibres for baskets of all kinds.

We were served at least 10 different fruits on the cruise, including coconut water (still in the coconut). Drinking coconut water is the natural and Local way of getting electrolytes into your system. Given the heat, this was welcome.

We stopped at one site where the locals demonstrated folk music in song and dance accompanied by interesting instruments.

We also stopped at a shop that made popped rice, rice paper for food and coconut candy. The gift shop allowed us to purchase the snacks (and taste the rice wine they also made) and local handicrafts.

Lunch was at an historic wooden house built in 1886. More food was provided than we could possibly eat (as usual) but it was so good we tried our best. The most unique dish was the grilled tilapia fresh rolls prepared at our table.

The 10 minute walk back to the bus was helpful for our digestion. The journey back into Saigon was mellow. We called it a night after a drink on the rooftop bar. Tomorrow we head to Hanoi.

We started our day with a visit to the Fulbright University of Vietnam for a lecture from Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trung entitled “Vietnam’s Culture, History & Economy: From ancient roots to modernity.” He provided us with a huge amount of context for understanding Vietnam. He covered a lot of ground and was candid about the strengths and challenges facing this country. We also had the opportunity to speak with university students from the International Student Club. They shared about their lives and allowed us to ask questions about all sorts of topics. They got to practice their English – it was a great exchange.

We then boarded our bus and headed to Cu Chi tunnels. We stopped for lunch and were fed incredible food in a beautiful environment.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a connecting network of tunnels in the Cu Chi district near Saigon. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong during the war in resistance to American and the South Vietnamese. The Viet Cong used this network as their base to engage in gorilla warfare. Viet Cong soldiers lived and worked from this sophisticated series of underground living quarters, meeting rooms, ammunition supply rooms and medical centres. They were designed to be well hidden so that the Viet Cong could surprise and ambush their enemies. We viewed traps, entrances and different bunkers that remain in the area.

Visiting this site reinforced all the stories I’ve heard about how horrible the war was for everyone. While the Viet Cong were ambushing, setting traps and doing what they could to resist, they were being bombed by B52 bombers, set on fire with Napalm and devastated by horrible living conditions. The land has still not recovered. While the jungle has grown back, the soil is still poisoned and fruit growing in the area can’t be eaten.

The reality of the site also emphasized how horrible it was for the American soldiers trying to survive in hot, humid, dense jungle conditions. They did not know the environment and didn’t know their enemy well. Terror must have been a daily condition for everyone.

It was a draining day and the bus ride back to our hotel was subdued. We went to the rooftop bar in our hotel for a drink before heading out for food. The Main Street was closed to vehicles Saturday night and we felt comfortable walking around. We only had to cross one street (twice) and we survived both times.

We were off just after the crack of dawn to catch our flight to Ho Chi Min City (AKA Saigon). The trip was uneventful until we landed. What a crush of people all trying to get through customs. We had to have visas for each of the countries we have visited on this tour and we were warned that Vietnam was uniquely specific about having all data consistent and accurate for all visas. One of our tour mates had a glitch that made us anxious about his ability to continue with us, but all was well and we were able to start our exploration of Saigon.

It was a long bus ride to our hotel in the city centre . We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and experienced delicious spring rolls and Pho.

We checked into the Grand Hotel Saigon, built in the 1930’s with a definite European flavour.

Without much of a break, we went off on a walking tour of Saigon. We noticed the opera house, post office, city hall and other sites before heading to the roof top bar of the Rex Hotel. This was the watering hole for American journalists during the Vietnam war. Correspondents would meet daily for the “5 o’clock follies” when the allies broadcast the news of the day. They were called the follies because the official statements were often too optimistic and didn’t match the reality of the war.

We wandered through the city until we found food (which was delicious) and finally found our way to bed. More exploration of Saigon and area tomorrow.