Hanoi, Vietnam

On June 21st we traveled from Halong Bay to Hanoi, Vietnam. That night would be our last night of the Contiki Tour. Hanoi is Vietnam’s capitol city, with a population of nearly 6.5 million people. The city is very very busy, and there are motorbikes everywhere!!

When I said in an earlier post that crossing the road in Vietnam is scary… well crossing in Hanoi has been the scariest of all the Vietnamese cities!! There is this one intersection that is enormous, and is in the shape of a big triangle. In order to cross you must stroll right down the middle of the intersection and hope that all the motorbikes coming from every direction will swerve around you! I’ve never crossed the intersection alone… I always find someone to walk beside me and shield me!

I spent that afternoon getting lost in the streets on Hanoi with my friend Manuel. A lot of the streets are narrow and packed with people. It was very interesting, and a lot of fun to just walk around and explore the area without the help of a map. I liked seeing the chaos of the streets and watching how normal the Vietnamese people found this lifestyle.

That evening we had our final dinner with the Contiki group. It was sad to say goodbye to the people on the tour, but I was also excited to be starting a new section of my trip: one with no schedules or planned activities! I was excited to travel around at my own pace, and see the sights that I wanted to see, instead of the sights that were pre-planned for me. I would also be meeting up with my friend Madeleine who will be joining me for the remainder of my travels!

The following morning, June 22nd, I met up with two of my friends from the Contiki tour who were staying in Hanoi for a few days, and we set off to see some of the sights. Our first stop was the Temple of Literature, first constructed in 1070. The Imperial Academy, built in 1076, is located within the complex, and was Vietnam’s first university.

Later that day we took a nice walk around the Hoan Kiem Lake (or “Lake of the Returned Sword”), a small lake situated in the middle of Hanoi. There are parks and walkways around the lake, and it’s a really pretty area to walk around. It’s a pretty big contrast when you look towards the lake and see peacefulness and tranquility, and then turn around and watch the hundreds of motorbikes swarm past you at lightning speed.

We then crossed over the little bridge to the island on the lake that houses the Ngoc Son Temple (“The Temple of the Jade Mountain”). The temple was built in the 18th century to honour Tran Hung Dao, a 13th century military leader.

Later that evening we decided to go see a Vietnamese Water Puppet Show. Water puppetry is a Vietnamese tradition that dates back to the 11th century. This was how the villagers entertained themselves with the rice fields flooded.

It was very interesting. There are puppets made out of wood, and they dance on top of a pool of water (the water is about waist deep) acting out a story. On the side of the water pool there is a small orchestra that creates the background music and dialogue for the performance. The puppeteers are hidden behind a screen and control the puppets from there.

The show was only about an hour long, but it was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t understand any of the dialogue or the story line, but I still found the show very interesting. It is interesting to see how different people and cultures create different forms of art and entertainment that we aren’t used to at home. Maybe if I had grown up in Vietnam years ago I would have preferred watching a water puppet show to seeing a film in the theatre.

I enjoyed the Water Puppet Show and I’m glad I had the opportunity to check it out.

This was my last night in Hanoi, as I would be flying to Ho Chi Minh City the following morning (June 23rd) to meet up with my friend Madeleine! I liked Hanoi, even though my visit was quite short, but I was super excited to be going back to Ho Chi Minh City, and very ready to start my 2nd half of my trip!