Hanoi - A beautiful synthesis of past and future

While Megan and I really enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City, all the travelers we spoke to emphasized that Hanoi was much better.  Hanoi is a beautiful and grand old city (a few years past a 1000 years old).  Hanoi still has many of the cultural elements from its history and combines that with the hustle and bustle of a modern dynamic city.  It is a beautiful synthesis of past and future that creates an amazing present experience for tourists and residents alike.

Hostel

While in Hanoi we stayed near Hoan Kiem Lake near the old city center.  It was a great base of operations from which to investigate the city.  Hanoi's streets were quite narrow with plenty of sidewalks so it is an extremely walkable city (if you can cross the street through traffic).  We spent hours on foot exploring the parks, shops, alleys, cafes and street vendors.  We chose Central Backpackers as our hostel in order to experience dorm living for our first time in SE Asia.  Unfortunately we don't have crazy stories about violent cocaine addicts, inappropriate public sex acts, or dramatic cheating scenarios (things I ran into during my backpacker times in Australia).  We did however meet a number of interesting folks from the US, England, Germany and Dubai.

By Hoan Kiam Lake - gorgeous setting in the city center

I'm excited to be by one of the few still existing Lenin statues
#nerdy

Fun Nights

The hostel had a free beer happy hour which helped facilitate the meeting of the cool people.  The most interesting character was a middle aged blue color guy from the US who was amazingly well traveled and spoken for his socioeconomic status.  After the free beer ran dry, Megan, myself, and our new friends decided to try authentic Vietnamese snake wine.  This particular jug of wine had seven snakes and multiple spiders in it.  The taste was surprisingly likeable, better than house whiskey or vodka.  The hangover however did leave a bit to be desired.

The bar nightlife scene in Hanoi is amusing.  There are many regulations on the bars and nightclubs but there's a wink-wink nod-nod culture and lots of blind eye turning by the police.  For example, we had to clear out of a bar multiple times when the police came by but then we resumed our merry festivities as normal after they passed.  We capped off our most exciting night by going to one of the underground clubs.  The part of town was so quiet, I had Megan hold the cab until I could verify the place actually had a nightclub.  Inside it was a rager of a party and we enjoyed letting loose with our new friends.

Our Jug of snake wine

The Sights

One of the most interesting sights we visited was the Temple of Literature which is Vietnam's oldest University.  At the front gate is an amusing sign commanding each visitor to dismount their horse before entering.  The temples inside were ornate and the grounds were immaculately landscaped.  Across that street was a quiet oasis-like park juxtaposed to the busy neighborhood and packed apartments.  Here Megan and I stumbled upon an illicit cock fighting ring.  Quite shocking seeing the poor animals wickedly hurt each other.  Another interesting sight was the Hanoi Hilton.  Famous for having hosted John McCain and other American POWs.  The Vietnamese propoganda about prisoner conditions is quite humorous.  It wouldn't fool many people except maybe for Jane Fonda. The one attraction we were able to see was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  Uncle Ho, the still revered leader of Vietnam's independence, was in Russia for repair.  The respect they pay him to this stay is impressive.

Entrance to the Temple of Literature - hold your horses

John McCain's flight suit

Water Puppets!!

Another cool cultural experience was seeing a performance of traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry.  This artform originates from the rice paddy fields in Vietnam's villages.  The music, puppets and lights display were entertaining: sometimes informative, sometimes funny and sometimes confusing.  It is definitely worth checking out.  We even had a blooper moment where one of the hosts forgot her lines, had to excuse herself and came back later with a printed script and red face.  The other hosts had to stifle their laughter.  The video doesn't quite do it justice so check out youtube.

The puppets

Street Food that Rocks

And lastly we really enjoyed the food.  We raved about the food in Ho Chi Minh City and again Vietnam delivered awesome food for cheap.  The pho was fragrant and flavorful.  Amazingly the ingredients (including the meat) were high quality given the bargain prices.  The bun cha was amazing with the really tasty Vietnamese fish sauce.  And the spring rolls were excellent.  We ate the majority of our meals on short stools  on the sidewalks.  Nothing fussy or pretentious, just really good food.

Bun Cha - my new favorite Vietnamese food

Enjoying some relaxation in the gorgeous cafes by the streets

Conclusion:

• Hanoi has a great blend of authentic and dynamic
• It's a city that is friendly for on-foot exploration
• There weren't any killer sights to see (maybe Halong Bay)
• The nightlife was fun and the food tasty
• Go visit Hanoi!