29th January, 2017

Today was in fact three wanders through Hanoi as Val and I were given the morning off (for good behaviour, presumably) and so decided to explore the Old Quarter of Hanoi. I then did a solo trip round the French Quarter and the Old Quarter and finally Tam took us on a cyclo tour and walking foodie tour in the evening.

Val and I wandered along what were relatively quiet streets in the morning as many of the shops were still shut for the Tet holiday and the bars and restaurants were still not open. Lots to see though such as two shops obviously opened by my siblings! I looked all over for Mary, Angie and Moyra shops, but to no avail.

Many of the local residents were all dressed up for the Tet holiday and visiting friends and family for open house which made for some colourful scenes in the flag-draped and electricity-enmeshed buildings. A quick word about the housing. Originally the houses were one storey and very long and narrow and were therefore known as ‘tube’ houses. Then they started to go up and up so now you get very tall, very narrow houses, which have been renamed ‘rocket’ houses. These are interspersed with the odd old house or community temple.

Plenty of odd sights – I enjoyed the Obama Cafe (good to see he has found something to occupy his time post President) and the ever decreasing hats and the people, as ever. Note the rooster enjoying his Year (or not!).

We did stop in a lovely old heritage house which gave us a good idea of what the original tube houses were like including the internal courtyard and old kitchen. It reminded me very much of some of the old houses in Georgetown in Penang, especially the one where Sun Yat Sen stayed for a while (see my earlier blog from Penang from last year).

Val was feeling a little tired so we hailed a cyclo or bicycle rickshaw who pedalled us through the headlong traffic back to the hotel, a rather surreal experience as we were going so slowly, but still moving, whilst everyone else was going so fast around us. I am sure that Einstein would have had something to say about it. I dropped Val off as I felt I had unfinished business with Hanoi and strode off armed with the trusty Canon for the French Quarter. You could be forgiven for imagining you were in Paris in some bits what with the wide, tree-lined boulevards and the cathedral and opera house.

It was certainly a lot calmer and quieter, but I soon felt the need for a bit of hubbub and made my way to Hoan Kiem Lake where we had pitched up on our first night in Hanoi. It was just as busy now, indeed possibly even busier with countless balloon sellers and selfie sticks as everyone tried to get the perfect photo with the lake or the wonderful flowerbeds in the background. I especially liked one area where you could hire electric toy cars and balance boards, although crossing the sort of rink where the children were hurtling around was about as exciting as crossing the roads. I wonder if that is where they learn to drive?

And a walk of mine would not be complete without a few characters and oddities. I was amused by the idea of the Vietcongbank! And yes, the other sign is very childish, but it made me smile! As did the two ladies on the motor scooter who spotted me taking their photo.

A short break back at the hotel and the Tam was there to greet us for our scheduled cyclo tour of the Old Quarter. The contraption itself is definitely not designed for two Europeans (well, one European and a lady of Indian extraction) and there was a certain amount of shifting of posteriors to find a comfortable position (though rather in vain, to be honest). It did not diminish from the experience though as we slowly wound our way through some fairly narrow but definitely congested streets as the late afternoon gave way to the early evening diners and drinkers. Note – make sure you keep all your extremities inside the vehicle at all times!

It was then back on shanks’s pony and a walking foodie tour stopping off for bite here and a nibble there, ending up with a sort of Mongolian BBQ affair (as modelled by Tam). I couldn’t resist the dog that was obviously (dog) tired after a long day and eventually fell asleep in the dish!

A great day, our last in Hanoi. I loved the city and would have been happy to spend longer, but we were off again in the morning with an earlyish start for our next adventure, Ha Long Bay. So, so long until Ha Long! Ha!