Vietnam - Hanoi

For the Christmas holiday, Jim and I started our exploration of Vietnam.  We started in Hanoi, which is in northern Vietnam.  When we landed in Hanoi, we were stunned by the chilly weather and chaotic traffic.  It was complete departure from our typical beach vacations, which we both grew to love.

For our first meal, we tried some famous Bahn Mi Vietnamese sandwich from a local restaurant recommended by the hotel.  We quickly gobbled up the $1 sandwiches on tiny plastic stools - just like the locals.  A wonderful Christmas Day meal ; ) 

2 Bahn Mi's cooked on what appears to be a George Forman

Jim on a toddler's stool ; ) 

After an amazing lunch, we started taking in the sights of Christmas Day.  Ironically, not many people celebrate Christmas in Hanoi BUT they LOVE Christmas decorations! Jim and I laughed that there were more Christmas decorations in Hanoi than we have ever seen before.

St. Joseph's Cathedral 

Famous Red Bridge

Night Market Foods

Video of the Traffic. 

 It would be too hard for me describe what traffic in Hanoi - a video is the only way to sort of get it across.  It is absolute chaos –  motorbikes swerving in and out of pedestrians on the same skinny streets and traffic lights are not obeyed – at all. 

Christmas in Vietnam proved to be memorable. The next morning tour, we arranged a private English-speaking tour guide to take us around the city and show us the sights!  First up - the Ho Chi Minh complex.

The Ho Chi Minh complex/mausoleum was impressive - sprawling grounds with incredible French architecture.  The embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh is located in the mausoleum, which we opted not to see.  Instead, we explored the outside complex, and saw his office, living room and garage full of Soviet cars. 

Guards at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum 

Line to see Ho Chi Minh's Body

Ho Chi Minh' House - where he lived prior/post the war

My biggest regret in Asia is not having a video/picture of what happened next....

While at the mausaleum, a group of Buddhist monks walked by and started taking pictures of Jim.  Well, this confused a nearby tour group so they ran over to snap some pics as well!  A very confused Jim was surrounded by “paparazzi”, and I was belly-laughing on the ground.    We have no idea if it was the red hair, or if they thought he was a celebrity – but seriously - AMAZING! 

Once Jim recovered from his 10 seconds of fame, we headed to the Temple of Literature.  The temple was beautiful – it was divided into 5 sections, each one representing a different pillar of buddhism.  It started to rain while touring the Temple, so we ran to a local lunch joint for some delicious Pho and beer before touring the Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton).

Braving the rain for a picture

O MY Pho! Best Soup Ever.

Our last stop of the day was the Tran Quac Pagoda.  Architecturally, this pagoda was my favorite.  The detail that went into the design is truly incredible. 

That evening, Jim and I checked out rice beer corner and enjoyed a fancy French dinner at the Green Tangerine.  In my humble opinion, dinner was one of the best meals we have ever had.   After stuffing ourselves with 4 courses and a bottle of wine (total cost was $70 - love Vietnam prices), we headed to the water puppet show. The water puppet show was an entertaining 40 minutes about Vietnamese legend with traditional music.  It was very entertaining and the perfect way to cap off Hanoi. 

Rice Beer is the lightest beer in the world.  Essentially, you sit on plastic stools and watch the beer trucks deliver beer to the bars along the street corner  At the end of the night, all the beer gets dumped on the street since there are no preservatives.

Water Puppets   

Next up - the Halong Bay! 
Cheers,
Jenna and James