Well, I just spent a woefully short twenty-four hours trying to tour Hanoi. One of my great curiosities about Vietnam was what differences might be apparent between the north and south. I thought that comparing Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi might give me some insight, but I'm afraid my experience might not reflect reality for a couple reasons.
February 18th was the last official day of the Tet Festival, so most of the shops and local restaurants were still closed. I have heard that Hanoi is a much quieter and nicer city than Saigon, but it was hard to tell during a holiday. Whatever the reason, I was glad to find that the traffic was much less stressful than Saigon, and most other cities in Vietnam.
Had I more than one day to explore, I would have gone back to sleep immediately upon arrival in Hanoi, because I felt quite run down. Instead, I checked into a backpackers' hostel and set out on a walking tour of the Old Quarter. It seemed like a popular plan. Groups of tourists roamed each of the streets, following the suggested route in the Lonely Planet guide.
The Old Quarter is a nice neighborhood with a French feel. The prominent feature is Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of the Quarter, containing two islands. The northern of the two islands contains Ngoc Son or The Jade Mountain Temple and is connected to the lake shore by a colorful bridge. The temple was quite crowded--Vietnamese seemed to be spending their holiday there. The southern of the islands has no bridge but contains a smaller shrine called Thap Rua, or Tortoise Tower. There is a legend that a golden turtle rose from the lake to reclaim a divine sword that the gods had given the Vietnamese Emperor Le Loi.
After seeing the lake, I set out through the northern part of the quarter along narrow streets, lined by tall houses, that gave the impression of a network of canyons. There seemed to be trees on most blocks, giving the city a natural feel. Groups of children were playing with small firecrackers--throwing them into traffic, or at each other, or at tourists. The only storefronts not closed were very geared to tourists so it was hard to get a feel for what the neighborhood was like aside from that.
After stopping back by the hostel to lay down for a bit, I walked west to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. The avenues to the west of the Old Quarter are much larger but the traffic is still disciplined. The open space in front of the mausoleum was filled with Vietnamese families dodging the sprinklers to take pictures.
People seemed friendly. I met some children by the statue of V. I. Lenin that talked to me a little bit and wanted to take some pictures with my camera. On my way back towards the Old Quarter a man introduced me to his young son, who is studying English. The kid wasn't as keen on practicing his English as his father, but it was fun.
I was feeling much better after walking around, but ate a quick dinner and went to bed early anyway. I was sleeping in a dorm room with eight other people, but heard none of them getting ready for bed after I fell asleep.
The next morning I had time for breakfast but not much else before making my way to the airport to catch my flight to Bangkok.
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