Hey there readers. For those of you who follow along regularly, I know that you are a bit shocked at how I have been churning out these entries so quickly the last few days. That may mean that you are a bit overwhelmed with all of the information, but I think it is better for me to do it now rather than pushing these back even later.
On Day 8 of my December trip to Hanoi, I got up a bit earlier than the previous two days. After puttering around a bit in the room, I decided to book a guided tour with a cost of 5152 INR ($55.00 USD) for tomorrow: Hanoi, Incense Village, Hat & Lacquer Artisanal with Options. As there were so few participants when I did it, the cost was much more than what you would normally be likely to pay. Having made my basic plan for Day 9, at 10:59 AM I made my way out to the street.
I had actually seen the sign for a place, and I wanted to check it out. So just ten minutes later I was already at Hidden Gem Cafe Hanoi. It seemed to be a bit quirky. You pay at the counter, and then they bring you the order. I ordered some sort of thing with beef, a coconut coffee, and cheesecake…because, why not? If nothing else, I reasoned that the place was pretty. When the food arrived ten minutes later, I saw that it was a refreshing mix of shredded vegetables, noodles, and a bit of beef broth. The cheesecake and coconut coffee were also enjoyable, but pleasantly lite tasting.
I forgot to make a note of the cost. However, I definitely remember it was tasty, so it is probably worth a visit if you find yourself in the area. I stayed there until 12:00 PM.
Like many cities in India, Hanoi is frequently an assault on the senses. However, in this particular case I don’t find that to be negative. There’s just always something interesting to see. Also, despite there being lots of traffic, unlike in Bengaluru, I didn’t constantly feel like I was about to be hit in Hanoi . . . which has actually happened to me a couple of times in Bengaluru. One thing that helps is that people here generally stay on the proper side of the road when driving. On a completely separate note, people here smoke A LOT, so I’m not sure why there is so much constant concern about air quality.
I had debated with myself about whether or not to go there, but at 12:30 PM I entered the Maison Centrale/Hoa Lo Prison. They were really pushing the 100,000 VND audio guide, so I got that along with my base 50,000 VND entry ticket (total of about $5.75 USD). In addition to the fairly decent signage, I found the audio guide to be quite good. At least when I was there, much of the place was closed due to renovations, but I am glad that I made the time to visit. However, make no mistake, this was a frequently sobering experience.
For the most part, it was just looking at posters with some few artifacts to add to the experience. There were many interesting things that stuck with me while looking around.
Female prisoners were required to do embroidery, with the profits of their finished product going back to the prison administration. However, some of them were able to sneak bits of fabric and make their own products. There was a very sad account of a bag and handkerchief made by one of the prisoners, but it was uplifting in that she was later able to leave the prison and lived to an old age.
As is perhaps inevitable in such vulnerable places, there was a lot of corruption in the prison. Guards frequently didn’t properly distribute rations to the prisoners. They of course used these undistributed items to increase their own earnings.
In a similar tale of the ineptitude and/or corruption of the guards, prisoners were actually able to have a fairly organized “academic resistance”. Despite regular checks, guards either weren’t all that interested or simply weren’t that good at finding contraband political materials. Horrifyingly, these items were frequently hidden in the latrines. They were so organized, that they basically had an entire “revolutionary school” organized in the prison. So, those who weren’t politically aligned going in, frequently became politically aligned while in prison.
I was of course only seeing one side of the story, but looking at all of this, it was very hard for me to understand how the United States had become militarily involved with Vietnam from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. These people had already gone through so much. Furthermore, what threat was Vietnam to the United States? Of course, it was a different time and there were many factors involved, but I just couldn’t get my head around it. Honestly, it was very hard reading about all that had happened here, but then I suppose it should be.
Despite all of the horrors, it was heartwarming to see how so many USA prisoners of war who had been here had later come back as tourists and had actively worked to restore better relations between Vietnam and the USA. Again, while I don’t “agree”, I understood why the French had been here; they were empire building. But why would the United States have wanted to be so involved here later on?
Despite my general conclusions, I felt that the audio guide was very well done. It resisted any obvious proselytizing or attacks on groups from the past. Of course, the passage of time no doubt has also helped with such things. The gift shop in contrast to everything else was not overly flashy, but it seemed woefully out of tune with the rest of the museum.
At 2:15 PM I finished up there. Should you visit? That is hard to say. Despite it being an obviously sensitive museum, I felt that they did a good job of trying to be even-handed in their treatment of the past. However, if you can’t handle learning about some incredibly terrible things, you should definitely give it a pass.
Once outside, I started walking towards the Temple of Literature. As always, there were so many interesting things to see along the way.
At 2:44 PM I arrived at the Temple of Literature. As had now happened several times, there was a place to supposedly scan to pay the 70,000 VND entrance fee, but they told me that only cash was accepted. However, I then saw them allowing locals to scan, so maybe they thought that I just didn’t know how to do it?
As of 3:10 PM, from what I could understand, this had been some sort of an important school through the end of the monarchy in Vietnam. The various stele commemorated graduates from as early as 1484. It was interesting to read that during the last war in the sixties, these had all been intentionally covered with sand and surrounded by a thick concrete wall in order to protect them from the bombs. However, given their age, it was still very difficult to make out much of what was on many of the stele.
I was really impressed by both the huge grapefruit which had been left as offerings and also the beautifully manicured potted trees.
Despite all of the picturesque elements of the site, at 3:45 PM I also reflected on the fact that there was also a lot of important historical/cultural information here. While it also clearly serves that purpose, the temple is not just a set of props for people getting their “traditional dress” pictures done. It was clear that they had used a very intense and well-organized system for training their academics.
Oddly, there was also a rather large section with information about Columbia University.
And yes, had I been there with someone else, I would have been sorely tempted to sit on the bronze horse for a picture!
As is the case with most places like this, I could have explored for much longer, but at 4:20 PM I was ready to go find something to have for a late lunch.
At 4:30 PM I arrived at Koto Van Mieu. At that time of the day, almost nobody was there. I ordered the banana wrapped fish, sauteed vegetables, and a Saigon cider. This would be a “more expensive” meal for me, but the place seems quite special. It’s a social entrepreneurship project that intentionally recruits and trains disadvantaged people, thus giving them opportunities for future advancement. The fish was absolutely amazing, and I ended up also deciding to get a bit of desert. The total bill was 724,000 VND ($27.50 USD – able to pay with international credit card), which was much more than I would have paid elsewhere, but the food, service, and ambiance was very good.
I really drew out my late lunch and did not actually leave there until 6:30 PM. As I was out walking, at 6:45 PM I thought it was a really interesting combination to have a spa and a pet shop in the same location, but it might be that the English translation was just off?
Again, there were so many interesting things to see. I think they were planning for some sort of big show on the 31st, but I would unfortunately not be here for that.
Reasoning that it was still quite early and that I only had a couple more nights in the city, before heading into my room, I decided to have an evening beer at 7:45 PM before heading in.
I stretched things out until 9:10 PM and then paid the 120,000 VND ($4.55 USD) for my two beers before turning in for the night. Despite having actually seen quite a bit, I felt it had also been a very relaxing and well-balanced day in the city. What about you, would you like a day like this in Hanoi? Let me know in the comment section below.
Travels with Jay 