Part 73 - Good evening Vietnam

 

Hanoi from a rooftop bar

A busy street (there is no other kind)

We were all looking forward to our trip to Hanoi, as it promised to be a bit cooler (35C as opposed to 40C) and only appearing in the top 20 most polluted cities in the world (rather than the top 10). Despite it being slightly cooler than Bangkok, the traffic was somehow even busier and more hectic. Traffic lights might as well be Christmas decorations, and the quickest way to cross the street was just to close your eyes and go for it. Here is a typical junction in Hanoi ...  

 

Hanoi is the resting place of "Uncle Ho", Ho Chi Minh, the chap who fought for Vietnam's independence from France, and against the USA in the Vietnam war. Indeed, in the North Vietnam, he is revered almost as deity, although not so much in the south, despite the government changing the name of Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. 

Anyway, I tried to get into his mausoleum FOUR BLOODY TIMES, each time being scuppered by public holidays, long lunches, and secretive opening times. 

Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Not sure how reverential my shirt is. 

It turns out that he's only open for viewings on certain mornings, as I found out on my last day there. I did manage to have a look round the museum dedicated to his life, although it did suffer a wee bit from "too much information" (seemingly every letter he ever sent or received is in there). 

Ho Chi Minh still beavering away, more than 50 years after his death

Walking round Hanoi, there was plenty of other interesting stuff to look at, such as...

The Presidential Palace. The Czech president was in town hence all the Czech flags. 

The Temple of Literature. Or rather, a pond outside the Temple of Literature.

A rather funky looking row of shops/houses during the day

The same funky row of shops/houses at night

The Post-It Note Café

I also paid several visits to the "Train Street" - a street which also doubles as a railway. Several times a day, the residents and business owners rush outside to clear all their belongings and wares from the line before it gets crushed by the train. Unfortunately, despite me consulting several train timetables, no trains turned up while I was there, although there was no shortage of people trying to entice me into their café to watch the trains go past. Here's someone's video if you want to see it in action.

Train street at day. Sadly without trains.

Train street at night. Still no bloody trains.

Sadly, Hanoi was our final stop on our 2 week long G-Adventures tour, and I was genuinely sad to be saying goodbye to so many people I now look upon as friends. When I booked the two week long trip, I was apprehensive about spending two weeks with a complete bunch of potential arseholes, but it turned out my only regret was not booking the full month long trip and hanging about with them for another two weeks. 

Our last dinner

 

Our last drinks

Covid? What Covid?

But no time to get maudlin ... I'd already booked the next leg of my trip to South Korea. And as much as I was looking forward to seeing the architecture, learning about the history, trying the local cuisine, and experiencing a new culture, I was most excited about experiencing a sensation I hadn't felt this year, COLD (or rather, NOT BOILING HOT).