Vietnam- Hanoi

Spring Break 2017!!  Nothing like taking the late flight after sending your company home!

Poor brothers.

Our midnight welcome.

After a drive across town to the historic Old Quarter (at what felt like the middle of the night), we finally meet our beds.

Nice, quiet place.

Since we arrived in the dark, when everyone and the city were sleeping, G was eager to see was Vietnam looked like.

The kitchen made the boys cute crepes & smoothies.

And then we ventured out to discover it was not quiet.

This place is crazy. It was raining...something I prefer to see from indoors.

And hard to walk around because there are so many bikes.

After we purchased some ponchos, we set off for this neighborhood dubbed, "train street". When the train comes through (twice daily), everybody pulls all their belongings (and family members) inside.

We got the boys these North Face hats to shield their eyes from the rain. I never took any other pictures, but there were North Face stores everywhere in all 3 cities we visited. Clearly The North Face is manufactured in Vietnam, but I never figured out if all that merchandise were blemished items or knock offs, or what? 

Hayden found a kitty to love. Meet Blossom.

Stepping in from the rain for a refreshment.

I just realized Colter looks like he's enjoying cocktails all over Asia. It's just OJ; his fave.

Hanoi traffic.

Hanoi electricity.

Brent had researched the best Banh Mi in the city. The owner of the stand kindly let Hayden in his home to use the bathroom. He said, "My home is your home".

Yum! Not that the boys and I didn't modify ours ;).

Daddy was happy. His tummy and his wallet. I think lunch was about $5.

After lunch we visited  Hoa Lo Prison- used during the French colonization era for political prisoners & later, by North Vietnam for POWs. More commonly known to us Americans as the Hanoi Hilton.

We set up to have 2 college students be our tour guides for the day. It's a free service; they take you where you want to go and you help them practice their English. 

We kind of went through too quick. But the atrocities the French inflicted on the Vietnamese were unthinkable. The French were finally forced out in 1954.

One part of the prison displayed items from what they (not surprisingly, I guess) call the "American War". This jumpsuit and parachute belonged to John McCain who was shot down by a missile over Hanoi. After he ejected & was injured, he nearly drowned landing in Truc Bach Lake. While I didn't get to read as much as I wanted, the girls happily told us how well the Vietnamese treated their POWs. That was the main point "promoted" there. During my schooling I never stopped to think what Korea, Vietnam, etc., teaches their children about said war from their point of view. Kinda eye opening.

Wet streets and brand new flip flops resulted in a bad rub on Colter's foot. The girls took us to get some new shoes. These "Nikes" were $7. Seeing so many products we buy back home not only counterfeit, but also produced in these developing countries, totally lowers their appeal to me. 

Next we went to see the Truc Bach Lake.

The majority of Vietnamese are atheist. So their temples are not Buddhist, and they have more of an honor system to their ancestors. In this chimney like structure, you place items to be burned to honor/memorialize/give back to a family member who has died. They stopped putting in real money and other valuables (for obvious reasons!) and now burn those things simply in paper form.

So, I was always confused by these temples. No God, no Buddha, Chinese influenced, and a nonreligious culture. Vietnam is one of 5 countries that is still communist today.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Brent took the boys to the bathroom leaving me alone with the girls. They asked me if we were famous. Like, had we ever been on TV? No. In Korea? No- he works for the State Department at the U.S. Embassy. Oh, is he the ambassador then? No. They must have thought they hit the jackpot with us. Sorry to disappoint ya!

Next stop was Giang Café famous for their ca phe trung, or egg coffee. The coffee is poured in a small cup and topped with a whisked mixture of egg yolk and other ingredients (no longer resembling an egg at all). The cup is placed in a bowl of hot water to keep it hot.  Egg yolks were used to replace milk in days when milk was scarce. I tasted it. The egg part was rich and surprisingly sweet and non-egg tasting, but the coffee itself (all Vietnamese coffee) could put hair on your chest. No thanks! 

As we were waiting for a taxi back to the hotel, I snapped a quick picture of this woman. Women in Hanoi will carry food like this and if you want a meal, you wave her down and she'll stop, squat and make you a dinner.

This woman thought it was cute for Brent to wear her carrying pole & hat. Look at G. He thought it was funny!

The next morning we joined the masses to view Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

Getting closer.

Can't say I enjoyed it. It was neat. Something to see. About as cool as Lenin's Tomb in Moscow. Actually, we learned that Ho's body is flown back to Russia every year for maintenance (!). Once inside, there is no talking, stopping, cameras, etc. we walked (quickly) around his body with grown men silently crying in front of us. Most people in the lines are not tourist. They're Vietnamese- including lots of school groups. The irony is that he specifically asked to be cremated.

The mausoleum complex houses several buildings including the Presidential Palace.

However, he refused to live there.

He lived here. The House on Stilts.

We also viewed the One Pillar Pagoda.

These citrus fruits are called Buddha's hand and used primarily for fragrance. I think they're pretty funky.

Across from the complex- a common site.

Such pretty colors.

One word- yikes!

Typical Hanoi intersection. Notice: no traffic lights or even signs!

Next: the Temple of Literature.

Observe: the Asian squat.

The Temple of Literature is a Temple of Confucius & hosts the Imperial Academy; Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070.

Later that day I got a hot stone foot massage at our hotel and then attended a cooking class at a sister hotel. Both were freebies & Brent insisted that I take them both. Thanks, babe!

My teacher was impressed with my cutting skills. I did not say my knife skills. He said I hold it wrong. But he also said they would hire me. He (and the sweet interpreter) wanted to know how I knew this stuff and I said I live with 4 boys who depend on me to feed them! 

Along with spring rolls, we made bun cha. We did all stirring, turning and lifting with giant chopsticks. I definitely did not impress them in that area of the kitchen. If they hired me, I'd bring my own spatula.

The chef me how to carve this pineapple man and we arranged my food into a masterpiece.

I had an adorable audience the last part of my lesson. The 3 little ones stopped fan clubbing me and my awesomeness after they tasted the food. The big one ate.

We headed back out to watch a traditional puppet water show. Brent said I had to wait until we got to Hoi An to buy a lantern.

Baskets, hats for sale!

Water puppet shows date back to the 11th century and originated in the villages of Northern Vietnam. When the rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other with water puppets. The wooden puppets are attached to a bamboo pole under a waist-deep pool. They are controlled by puppeteers that are hidden behind the screen. The performers on the left told a story in song form.

Some retired puppets.

Truc Bach Lake again at night.

Grabbing a snack after the show.

The next morning, we left Hanoi for the mountains of Sapa. I wanted to take a picture of the outside of our hotel. Most buildings in Vietnam are long and skinny dating back to French rule when the owner was charged a tax based on the amount of street front property.

Stay tuned for more...