Yes, that opening photo is the famous touristy Street Train in Hanoi. You get a good seat at the right time, grab a cup of coffee… and the train comes speeding (kinda) through, so close you can reach out and touch it. A funny must do. Historical note: the French built the tracks. Later, housing was built to house railroad workers. So evidently, they intended the buildings to be this close.
Hello from Vietnam! As I write, I’m now in the mountains northwest of Hanoi. This is the early days of a nearly three week tour through both North and South Vietnam.
Several friends who’ve read my previous blogs requested I do another one (You guys make me feel like I could rank on some “best blog” list somewhere!), and so here I am! As you know, what I write is experiential and definitely not meant to be a recommendation on where to stay or what to do. And while I try to be accurate, what I write is based on what I learn from a guide, what I see or what I read. That is important for this trip as Vietnam does not have a great record on freedom of speech. (It has one of the worst human rights records in the world.) Therefore, what I learn from my guide is what he is supposed to tell me, which is not totally unlike what I experienced in Ethiopia and Uzbekistan.
Why Vietnam?
Those of you who’ve “traveled” along with me on past adventures know I love discovering and learning about new cultures, people maybe a little off the radar, communities holding on to their traditions, whether because of isolation, or limited resources, or maybe by choice. Certainly Vietnam as a whole, with its 100 million people, is very developed and well explored. But somewhere I read that there are 54 ethnic groups. Since the Kinh represent 85 percent of the population, some of the remaining 53 groups are pretty small. So I got curious and did some reading and am here now to travel up in the mountains and central highlands to learn about them. And, of course, to also experience some of the more typical Vietnam.
Thank you for reading. Knowing I will be writing at the end of the day makes me a better, smarter, traveler. I learn more; I ask more questions. And, while I have a travel friend with me, writing this blog for you is a great way for me to share my day.
The trip began with a couple days in the old town in Hanoi. While I did see the beautiful neighborhoods around “Embassy Row” and drove past a mall that had Chanel and Ralph Lauren, I’m pretty sure that some--maybe a lot--of what I share from old town is unique to people living there. Hanoi itself is a pretty cosmopolitan city. Old town is not.
The first thing I noticed driving in from the airport was the architecture. Hanoi’s architecture reflects its history: a village trade culture, its colonial past, the socialist influence.
The most famous trait of the Old Quarter are its areas originally dedicated to one specific trade or guild. Craftsmen from villages around the city used to gather in one area to sell their wares. The streets then evolved to be named after the guild of the area, silk street, silver street, etc. The buildings of this era are called shophouses with a shop in the front and the residence behind or on the second floor.
“Tube houses” date from the late 1800s when the French levied taxes based on the buildings street frontage. Small frontage was cheaper so buildings were built long and skinny. (I’ve heard that same explantation for some of the homes in Savannah and Charleston. I’ve also heard that’s a rumor.)
There are homes with French influence: balconies, maybe wrought iron, painted stucco designs. More recent are the utilitarian, square, concrete buildings with a socialist influence. What struck me were all the greenery laden balconies and rooftop gardens. From grand apartments in the sky to very humble apartments, people have brightened them with plants and trees.
1 of 2
2 of 2
The second thing you notice is ALL the motorbikes. They move like a mass down the streets. No stopping at intersections. It’s kinda a free for all. The local rule here for crossing streets in old town is step out and cross.., don’t pause and hesitate; don’t suddenly dart across. Set a steady pace and the motorbikes will zoom around you. It works. Pretty scary the first half dozen times. But it works.
1 of 2
2 of 2
Somehow bicyclists carrying their heavy loads seem to coexist with the noisey hoard of motorbikes. Those motorbikes, by the way, cost on average about $2000…a lot of money when you only make about $500 a month. Interestingly the Chinese have tried to break into the Vietnamese motorbike market. When this topic came up, my guide was notably dismissive of any Chinese-made product… be it motorbikes or cars or electronics. They are considered inferior to the ‘ high quality products made in Vietnam or elsewhere,”
1 of 2
2 of 2
The next thing you notice is the street food. There are food vendors everywhere. Corn. Tea. Sweet potatoes. Dried fish.
1 of 5
2 of 5
3 of 5
4 of 5
5 of 5
But after awhile, I realized the streets aren’t just for selling food… the streets in old town are where people live. Their apartments are so small …. some are one room and truly only about 10 x 12 with a communal bath and kitchenette …that the street becomes their living area. They prep the food; they cook it; they wash up; they sit and chat over tea with friends …
1 of 7
2 of 7
3 of 7
4 of 7
5 of 7
6 of 7
7 of 7
Of course, there are also shops and vendors for whatever you could imagine. Two of the more unusual were zippers and boxes for burial remains
1 of 2
2 of 2
A full morning was spent at the mausoleum and Presidential Palace for Ho Chi Minh. It was a pretty fascinating place. First, the mausoleum is only open in the mornings, so to avoid long lines, you need to be there before 8 AM. Of course there is a security scan and no videos, or cameras, or shorts or disrespectful behavior allowed. I was told that tourists taking pictures inside the mausoleum have been instantly arrested.
There are guards outside the mausoleum which was built on the exact spot where Ho declared independence 80 years ago. The guards immediately in front go through a “changing” ceremony every 30 minutes, slightly similar to that at Buckingham Palace.
As explained, in life, Ho wanted a simple funeral. But when he died, the government felt the people should be allowed the opportunity to see him because during the war the people of the South were not able to come to the North. A mausoleum would give them that chance.
I will say, after waiting and finally entering the complex, the line to get in the mausoleum itself snaked around the grounds and across the square in front of the mausoleum for maybe close to an hour. When the line entered the mausoleum chamber itself, the mood of the crowd seemed to shift. Filing around a viewing platform around the glass encased body, the room became hushed and somber. The crowd was 90% Vietnamese.
1 of 2
2 of 2
The banner to the left of the mausoleum reads:
Vietnam Socialist Republic Forever. The banner to the right:
Ho Chi Minh In Our Hearts Forever.
The grounds include the Presidential Palace, the simple home where Ho lived while President, a stilt house similar to where he lived while growing up and an excellent summary of his life and career.
Unfortunately, the afternoon visit to the “Hanoi Hilton’ was not so positive. It primarily focused on the prison’s history as built by the French for Vietnamese political prisoners. The exhibits noted the French’s cruelty housing 2000 prisoners in space intended for 600. The relatively little space devoted to the years as a POW prison, however, showed prisoners decorating a Christmas tree and appearing healthy and happy. Much signage was dedicated to former POWs who returned to view the reopened prison and those, like John McCain, who worked to improve cooperation and relations with Vietnam. I was disgusted. I saw a better representation of McCain’s time in Hanoi at the POW museum in Andersonville. I briefly scanned the exhibits looking for some truth and then walked out.
