Sunday 27 April
After a night on rails which does not give one the best sleep we arrived this morning one hour late in Hanoi. It was too early to check in but we went to the hotel and got some breakfast. The hotel is close to the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake so after breakfast we took a morning walk around the lake watching the busy life in the middle of this big city. The hotel is in the old part of the town with markets and shops and we saw many people already working as well as people taking their morning exercise. The temperature has been right for us. We have not seen the sun for the latest days so it has not been as hot as in Hoi An. After our morning walk we hired bicycles and then it was time to drive out ‘into the real world’ on our bikes! Henning leads us around as if he had never done anything else and we just follow him. We arranged to stop every time we had passed a traffic light to check that we were all there. But there are many big crossroads without traffic lights and you see bicycles, mopeds, scooters and cars passing you or coming towards you but we just followed our leader and everything went well.
We went to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and had to queue up and walk around in a queue all the time as there were many people there. In the Mausoleum there were many guards and we were not allowed to speak or stop. Ho Chi Minh was lying in a big coffin made of glass and the light was on his face and hands.
You could not help being caught by the atmosphere. The mausoleum is placed in a big park which is beautifully kept and there are other buildings there, too. A big Presidential Palace being used for political guests, his first and second homes kept just as when he lived – small, but nice houses with simple furnishing, two of his cars in a garage and then a big museum with many informative displays from his personal and political life. There is also a very big statue of Uncle Ho as they call him in the museum.
When we returned to the hotel the rooms were ready for us and after a bit of unpacking we went out to have some lunch. It had already been a long day so in the afternoon we took it easy and then met again at 7.30 pm to go out and dine.
Monday 28 April
The traffic in Hanoi is what fills my mind after our first day in this crown of people and vehicles! We started out from our hotel on a bicycle ride at nine o’clock this morning and were soon part of the chaos of cars, mopeds and a few bikers with big loads on their bikes and therefore driving very slowly – and then there were us!! To begin with it was not very difficult but then we took a turn and suddenly we were on a very busy railway bridge – the Long Bien Bridge – very famous and very long. I was pleased that we were driving away from the town centre because the traffic looked murderous going in. What I was not aware of was that we would turn round and go back as soon as we came to the other side of the river, and shortly after we were part of the heavy traffic driving towards the centre. If it had not been for the other bikers – those with the heavy loaded bikes – it would not have been so difficult, but they were driving so slowly that we had to overtake them and at the same time all the mopeds wanted to overtake us, so we – or I anyway – were deeply concentrated. But all went well and later I found out that the bridge was nothing compared to some of the crossroads where there is no traffic light. When you have cars, mopeds and bikes coming from all directions at the same time I think it is a wonder that everybody can find their own way to pass everybody else. We visited two museums – the Fine Arts Museum and the Temple of Literature. In the Fine Arts Museum there were both older and newer art. When we first came to Vietnam and heard music here we were surprised how western we found it and it is the same with the paintings, but of course the French influence has meant a lot. The Temple of Literature consists of five courtyards with lawns, lakes and buildings and served as a centre for learning for several centuries. In one of the buildings we sat down and listened to musicians playing and singing which we found very relaxing
After that it was time for lunch. In Hanoi there are many tourists and the menus are quite international. And such a fine lunch may cost you as much as 15 Danish Kr. – not bad!! Then it was up on the bikes again and out in the traffic. We got home without any problems but for me it is an act of concentration –I do not know if I am the only one who feels it that way. In the late afternoon we met again to go to the theatre. Not an ordinary theatre but water puppet theatre as they have played it in Vietnam for many centuries. The puppeteers only emerge from behind the curtain at the end of the show to be acknowledged with clapping and cheering. The show consisted of everyday stories from the old age perspective of Vietnamese peasants.
This was something quite different compared to what we have experienced up to now and a fine show. When we got out for dinner tonight Khoa and his wife will dine with us and also Mr Thang and his wife Hong. We have not met the Tangs before but we have been invited to dinner at their house when we get back from our first trip out of Hanoi.
