Exploring Hanoi

 

Monday, February the 19th was still a holiday and most establishments were closed so checking out shops and museums was shelved for a while. I tried calling some people to meet up with them but they were all out of town visiting their families! I then browsed over my three dollar map and found several places that seemed worth visiting. I asked about bus routes at the hotel but Dung [pronounced 'dzoom'], the friendly night-shift personnel wasn't much of a help. Since most locals moved around the city with their motorbikes, he said that they were not very familiar with bus routes and stops but he directed me to the nearest bus stop where I hopped on the first bus that came along. I had no idea where I was going. I just sat there and checked out the places along the way through my bus window. Two bus stops away from its destination, I got off and re-traced the bus route. It was a fine day for trekking and so I walked, trying to take note of where people congregated. Ten minutes later, I came upon Dong Da Hill, a small memorial built for a local hero in 1789. Except for a mother and son having an early morning walk, there were no people around. I wandered a little bit and continued re-tracing my path. Then I stumbled into a throng of people pushing their way into an alley. My curiousity got me shuffling with the crowd. There were rows of open restaurants along the alley so I thought this was a famous dining place, then at the corner of my eyes I saw a 'ban my' stall. Yeah, I was going to have a real 'ban my' afterall! This was one of my favorite foods back at the refugee camp in Bataan. The 'ban my' is actually a sandwich where 'ban' means bread and 'my' means American, but there's nothing American in it. It's a thick crusty French bread [baguette] filled with liver pate, pork or beef slices, vegetables, chili sauce and a sauce I'm not exactly familiar with. The one's I had in Bataan were grilled over a pit of charcoal and this one wasn't. Still, I was glad I found one. I finished my loot and followed the crowd. At the end, I was amazed that the crowd was heading to a church, yes a Catholic church and it was overflowing! Families were everywhere trying to get as close to the church as possible so they could hear the priest. I got hold of a man who can speak English and asked what occasion were they celebrating since it was a Monday. "Now is Vietnamese New Year," he replied. But of course! Uh, silly me.

The church was part of a hospital complex which, according to my new interpreter, was built during the French period. The hospital now is government-owned. In the guy's words, it was borrowed from the church when the communists took over. I wanted to peek into the church but there was no way I could get through the crowd. I decided to move on instead after getting some directions. Further down the road was the Temple of Literature. Built in 1070, the small complex that includes a Buddhist temple, a drum tower, a bell tower and halls for the performing arts, calligraphy and painting and Chinese chess - was dedicated to Confucious. There was a big Chinese chess board on the ground with giant chess pieces that were carried and moved around by the players. Now that I was getting the hang of just finding interesting places, I walked around the block to the north and found St. Paul's Hospital complete with St. Paul's statue still intact and well kept. I went inside, checked the clinics, the garden and the red and yellow edifice with its green wooden windows that was very common in many of the old buildings in Hanoi. Well, it was clean and didn't smell like a hospital. [Now, do I sound like a sanitary inspector!]

I wandered farther up north and chanced upon the Ho Chi Minh Museum which was closed but next to it was the One Pillar Pagoda that was built in 1049 to resemble a lotus flower in bloom. Nearby was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace which was not open to tourists. To the east facing the mausoleum was the Martyrs' Monument. Both structures were imposing and were fittingly solemn for their purpose. There were guards in white military suits manning the mausoleum and other guards in green outfit all over the grounds to keep people from misbehaving. I walked back to the main street by the Temple of Literature and got on a bus, again not exactly knowing where it was going. The bus went through the same area I came from alright but I got off too late and got lost. I got off in front of an impressive building called the Opera Theater. Beside it was an equally beautiful structure - the infamous Hanoi Hilton. [Thinking about the pictures I took of these places and were gone in a second now makes me feel really bad.] I tried to find my way back to the hotel. Unknowingly, I went farther and farther away from it. I accidently walked towards the old quarters and went walking in circles for two hours wondering where was that street that led to the church. Soon, a 'xe om' driver found me and brought me to the cathedral. I went back to the hotel, freshened up and went to church. This time, kids in traditional Vietnamese costume did the singing. After the mass, the priest distributed candies and gifts to the kids that were gathered at the front pews. I went back to the lakeside from the church and was rewarded with a wonderful acrobatic show at the corner of Hang Dao and Le Thai To. Well, that was my Tet celebration - one adventurous day indeed!

 

Hanoi Slideshow