We spent a major part of our Vietnam vacation in Hanoi. It was supposed to be just Aimee and me but after our Camodia-Thailand adventure, Glenn decided to go with us. It was our first out of the country trip as a couple and as always he took care of the flight and hotel details. Lucky for us, Glenn had several classmates in Hanoi when he was still studying in South Korea. He contacted them and they took care of our hotel reservation and prepared an itinerary for us. And because I’m a sucker for history, I asked Glenn to give them the itinerary that I prepared. I wasn’t going to miss the chance to visit the Hanoi Citadel and the Temple of Literature. Little did I know that I was in for some history overload since Tuan, one of our Vietnamese hosts was also into it.
We took a Jet Star 6am flight which was moved to 8am without us knowing about it. After a two hour flight, we finally arrived to find Phi and Tuan waiting for us outside the airport. These geologists took time off from work to show us around. We made a stop at the Ho Chi Minh museum before checking in at Hanoi Dragon Hotel. After freshening up, we took a stroll around the city and visited Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, old temples and Hoam Kiem Lake.
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| Ho Chi Minh Museum |
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| Governor's Palace |
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| Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum |
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| Hoam Kiem Lake |
Lunch was at a lakeside restaurant and a treat by our very generous and accommodating hosts.
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| Delicious snail dish |
After a hearty lunch, we went back to the city tour by visiting museums and the office of the Vietnam Geological Society which was housed in a building with French architecture. The Museum of Vietnam history at that time had an exhibit of imperial treasures.
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| Royal tea set |
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| Golden plate from the Imperial treasures |
Our last stop was a visit to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. It was a love at first sight with my first glimpse of the church interior. It was a perfect end to our first day in Hanoi.
Our second day in Hanoi was spent cruising Halong Bay and visiting Thien Cung Grotto. The Halong Bay day tour that we took included a cruise around the bay plus one cave visit. It was $15 well -spent, especially the moment spent marvelling at the gigantic stalactites and stalagmites inside the cave.
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| One of Halong Bay's famous formation |
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| The "kissing rocks" and the tour boat |
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| Majestic stalactites |
Dinner was another gastronomic delight. The receptionist at the hotel recommended a restaurant (whose name escapes me until now) and the long cold walk to get to the place was oh so worth it. We capped the night with a coffee date with some of our hosts at Highlands Coffee.
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| Delish Hanoi dish |
A perfect start on our last day in Hanoi was having Hanoi’s famous Pho’. That breakfast was enough to get us through walking the grounds of the Hanoi Citadel and the Temple of Literature. The Hanoi Citadel, where the Bac Mon Relic can be found, has a vast area with several notable sights. The Temple of Literature or Văn Miếu on the other hand is Vietnam’s first university. Turtle steles with inscribed names of graduates are still in good condition.
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| Vietnam's famous Pho |
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| Hanoi Citadel: A UNESCO Heritage site |
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Văn Miếu's turtle steles |
Our last stop was at the Museum of Ethnicity which has house displays of the country’s ethnic groups. It also had an example of a water puppet theatre.
