Contents   Cambodia Saigon Hoi An Hue Hanoi Tam Coc Mai Chau Sa Pa/Bac Ha Hanoi 2 CatBa Finish

Hanoi 3

Monday, April 30 Today is the big day of celebration for Vietnamese. The 30th april 1975, North and South reunited and it is celebrated in many ways. Many take time off and go home to their families in the country, so it can be felt on traffic and smaller crowds. Today we have chosen to see the Catholic cathedral, St. Petersburg. Joseph's Cathedral, built in 1884-1887 as an imitation of Notre Dame in Paris. We are so lucky to see a bride and groom enter the church, just as we arrive, and we have lists in and keeps us discreetly on the sidelines. Later we will see another large Catholic church, but unfortunately it is closed on Mondays. In the evening we ate at Kieu Anh, who lives in a newly built house at the Red River along with husband and two children plus mother in law. A house on four floors, but not quite finished. We drove very long in the taxi, but it cost so also Dkr. 25 to get home. Home to the street where everyone is now celebrated the holy days, so it was hard to reach young people on the backpacker corner. Kieu Anh and her husband Tuesday, May 1 Morning to visit the Historical Museum, where we are led through Vietnam's history from the indigenous population to modern times. In the afternoon we take a tour of the great Lenin Park, 60 hectares. Lenin is here replaced by Ho Chi Minh. Despite the bank holiday is here not many people, but peaceful walk along the lake. The lake was dredged and the park brought when the Communists came to power and forced labor announced, so everyone had to work 2-14 days. Alternative would have been levying taxes that no one could afford to pay. Thu invited to dinner at home with himself. Thu is an engineer working on water supply throughout Vietnam. In the house lives Thu, her husband and two children and mother in law. It is a large four-story house. The ground floor is a dining area with kitchen, dining area and garage for motor bikes. On the other three floors are bedrooms and bathrooms. An entire room is used for prayer rooms in which to grow our forefathers. Dinner was very good and consisted always of many small dishes with rice at the end. Sun would like to serve wine for us, along with beer, so that was conjured up a bottle of German "Goldwasser", a sweet liqueur, and a jug of arak. After dinner was served green tea on the first floor, and then proceeded otherwise than for the sharp drink. Large glass jars with arak with different tastes. The jars contained the entire bird with feathers, geckos and plant roots doused with arak. It was not anyone who had the courage to taste. Thus home. Thu Thuy's sister Thus home Thu and daughter Thu and Thuy Wednesday, May 2 We are tempted by a trip out of the hot Hanoi to Chua Huong, Perfume Pagoda. The trip is organized by a local agency. First, run approximately. 60 km to the southwest, it takes 2 ½ hours. So are we expecting a refreshing walk on the river with a local beets for a starting place for the cable car that takes us up to the pagoda. Unfortunately, we start in the worst heat of midday, the boats of iron is almost impossible to touch, there are many stairs up to the cable car, but we will then forward to the pagoda in a huge cave and feel the smell of incense, which has pagoda name. The trip home on the river was quite as we had dreamed of, and we returned tired back to Hanoi for dinner at a rooftop restaurant. Perfume Pagoda Perfume Pagoda View to the east of West Lake in Hanoi in the background