Hanoi

Good morning Vietnam, the land of the spring roll. How exciting is that!

First stop Hanoi, a place that I think can best be described as complete pandemonium. We absolutely love it.

I really must read our itinerary though, as shortly after arriving Mags announced that we were off to see a water puppet show. Yes, I thought I was hearing things too, a water puppet show.

This is a traditional art form that originated in the paddy fields of Northern Vietnam. The farmers would entertain their children with home made puppets operating them from behind a bamboo screen in the water logged fields, Our show was in a theatre in the centre of town. A small rectangular pond was the stage with musicians either side playing traditional instruments.  The performance was very skillfully done with traditional farming scenes interspersed with dancing serpents, phoenix, turtles and ducks. Unfortunately, the target audience is clearly children, and not aging tourists who can’t understand what’s being said.  The fifty minute performance was possible forty minutes too long.

First thing next day, the mandatory city tour. All aboard to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum located in Dinh square. This is a very impressive, very obviously Soviet inspired monument to honor the father of the communist state. Also on site are two residences that Ho Chi Minh lived in surrounded by beautiful parkland, and the presidential palace. The residences are relatively modest as the great leader wanted to set a modest example to the people. The presidential palace is a grand yellow building erected by the French but used in Ho Chi Minh’s time for official functions and is sometimes now used to house VIP international guests.

Two more temples (one Confucian and one Taoist), a short stop for coffee, and we’re off on our street food tour with guide Tu, dodging the traffic down the back lanes of Hanoi, sitting on very low plastic stools along the roadside being cooked improbable meals all along the hustle and bustle of everyday Hanoi life. This really is an assault on all the senses. First, you have to negotiate the traffic. Hanoi used to be known as the city of a million bicycles. Now, it’s more like the city of 10 million motorbikes and scooters. No one stops here for pedestrians (they don’t often stop for traffic lights). You cross the road by slowly walking into the traffic and trusting that the motorbikes will weave around you. Keep a steady pace and trust to luck! 

Tu knows his way around and guided us expertly to the best (and safest) places to eat. We stopped first for a bowl of fish noodles; crispy fish in a broth of rice noodles and a mount of fresh greens all prepared before us, with chili sauce to add as required  - yum. Next an omelette with Vietnamese greens cooked by a girl on the kurb with her portable kitchen. She spent a few minutes looking for trade after she’d served us and then upped sticks to find another patch. Lots of other dishes swilled down with the occasional local beer. I think my favorite was crispy prawn pancakes that were deep fried in front of our boggling eyes and served piping hot with a green salad and dipping sauce. Not forgetting fresh sweetcorn, stir fried with butter, dried shrimp and fresh herbs by a girl who looked twelve years old and, oh, what I think can best be described as a Vietnamese hotdog; a small thin baguette filled with pork paste, cucumber, spring onion and a peanut and chili sauce – wonderful. I’m getting hungry again just writing this. Quick plug for Tu’s blog http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com/