Dates visited: December 27, 2014 – December 30, 2014
For me, Hà Nội was synonymous with Hồ Chí Minh and the Vietnam War, but after visiting this city, I learned a lot about Hà Nội’s 1000 plus years of history. We stayed in the Old Quarter that has still preserved the street layout and architecture of old Hà Nội. In olden days, each trader guild (e.g. silver traders, paper traders, bronze traders, household traders, etc.) was responsible for each street. Old Quarter is crowded with people, dogs, vehicles, vehicles and more vehicles (motorbikes are aplenty and drivers ride like maniacs), but that’s exactly what adds to the allure of strolling around and watching life go by. There are thousands of shops selling a variety of things and you can spend hours haggling with the shopkeepers or just window shopping. Crossing a street was always a challenge since vehicles authoritatively drive to tell you they have the right of the way. After getting trained by our guide, the technique to crossing-and-staying-alive can be narrowed down to these simple rules:
- If you want to cross the road, just start walking. No hesitation; commit right away.
- Walk confidently and stick your hand out in direction of the oncoming traffic so they know you mean business. Be prepared to use both your hands because sometime motorbikes are driven in the wrong direction.
- Make eye contact with the drivers who are most likely to run over you so it gives them enough time to swerve and avoid you… …they are not going to brake and risk getting rear-ended!
- Pavements or footpaths become extension of streets during rush hour so always be on the lookout for a motorbikes competing for space with pedestrians.
But in addition to participating (against your wishes) in the dodge-the motorbikes game, there is lots to see in Hà Nội. We saw Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum but did not bother paying a visit to see his embalmed body. I have seen Lenin’s embalmed body in Moscow and seeing a dead body just feels creepy to me! But Vietnam has made efforts to keep their revered leader feared and respected by maintaining a strong police presence and displaying messages of communism and socialism. And just like in Moscow’s Red Square, the police will watch you with suspicion until they find another victim to scare.
We visited also visited the Temple of Literature (a Confucian temple built in 1070)… …a beautiful complex with manicured bushes, ancient architecture, a lake and several courtyards. The fifth courtyard served as Quốc Tử Giám (Imperial Academy) which became Vietnam’s first national university. In addition to tourists, there were numerous students in graduation gowns and caps participating in photo shoots. Apparently, it is a tradition for all aspiring graduates to visit the Imperial Academy and get their pictures taken here up to a year in advance.
Two unique things I saw in Hà Nội:
- Tube houses! Also know as rocket houses, these houses have narrow widths, but stretch all the way inside from the road. This is because properties were/are taxed on the basis of their street frontage so it makes economic sense to have a narrow façade in an expensive real estate market. See picture gallery below.
- Road-side restaurants with low stools! Two-feet tall plastic or wooden stools are a common sight and these restaurants are popular hangouts for locals, tourists, professionals and students. It’s not the low stool height that was interesting, but just seeing swarms of people, sometimes dressed in their finest, all gathered, sitting down and socializing is a unique sight to see. See picture gallery below.
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum… … ranked as the “sixth most ugly” building in the world by CNN International in 2012! I believe this is purely out of spite!
- Tube houses are a common sight… …this is because property is taxed based on the width. Thus, houses have a shorter width but extend deep in length!!
- Chùa Một Cột (One Pillar Pagoda)… …the wooden temple is built on a single stone pillar 1.25 m in diameter. It resembles a lotus blossom (Buddhist symbol of purity since a lotus blossoms in a muddy pond)
- These restaurants with tiny wooden or plastic stools are very common in the Old Quarter
- Main gate of Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature), a temple of Confucius, built in 1070… …The centre door was reserved for the monarch, the one to its left for the administrative Mandarins and the one to its right for military Mandarins
- Xích lô (cycle rickshaw) on the busy streets of the Old Quarter… …this area has retained the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi
- A typical shop, packed to the core, in the Old Quarter… …in olden days, each street had merchants that specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewelry, lanterns, etc.
- Entrance to Đền Ngọc Sơn (Temple of the Jade Mountain)… …the tiger and the dragon symbolize yin yang (duality) of the universe
- Dai Trung Thu (The Gate of the Great Middle) at Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature), a temple of Confucius, built in 1070
- Constellation of Literature pavilion (see next picture for description of the yin-yang architectural elements)
- (see previous picture for entire Constellation of Literature pavilion) Architectural elements adhering to yin-yang principles… …the brick platform is square, the symbolic shape for earth; sky is present in the wooden superstructure adorned with four circular suns, outlined in wood, that radiate their light to the four directions, and dragons crown the roof, paying obeisance to the moon
- Thai Hoc courtyard inside The Temple of Literature that served as Quốc Tử Giám (Imperial Academy)… …Vietnam’s first national university
- Two carps paying obeisance to a flask of Confucianism… …these carp symbolize students, on their way to graduating and becoming mandarins
- Dragons, symbolizing students who have graduated and will become mandarins
- It’s a tradition with graduate students to celebrate their graduation at Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature) that also houses Quốc Tử Giám (Imperial Academy)… …Vietnam’s first national university
- Visitors lining up to see Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum… …the banner says “State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam forever”
- Presidential Palace, built by the French colonialists in 1906, as a palace of the General Indochina Governor
- Ho Chi Minh’s Residence… …even though the Presidential Palace (see previous picture) was his official residence, Ho Chi Minh preferred to stay here adhering to a simple and pure lifestyle
- Tomb house of the Jarai Arap tribe… …wooden sculptures of couples in intimate positions and pregnant women symbolize fertility and birth
- “You! With the camera… …do you mind? I’m a little occupied here!!”
- At Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature)… …the crane and the turtle symbolize power and longevity
- Cầu Thê Húc (Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge)… …on Hanoi’s famous Hoàn Kiếm Lake (Sword Lake)
- Tay stilt house at Vietnam Ethnology Museum
- Biological term for these vertical offshoots is “cypress knees”, but the Vietnamese call them “Little Buddhas”!
- These road-side restaurants with tiny wooden or plastic stools are popular hangout locations
- The Old Quarter is filled with shops… …in olden days, each street had merchants that specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewelry, lanterns, etc.
- All dressed up and nowhere to go!
- Inside one of the buildings of the Imperial Academy… …Vietnam’s first national university
- Statue of Confucius at Imperial Academy… …Vietnam’s first national university
- This boat, at Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, has apparently broken all possible records in rowing competitions.
- Grounds of the Imperial Academy… …Vietnam’s first national university
- Statue of Chu Văn An… … rector of the Imperial Academy
- Courtyard of the Sages at Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature)
- Ede longhouse, built on stilts, made of timber and bamboo, and roofed with straw… …whenever a girl living in a house gets married, the house is lengthened by one compartment
- Well of Heavenly Clarity at Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature)