Day 21 - Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Up early; 5:00 am.  I still haven't changed time zones and sleeping habits.  Showered.  Breakfast on 18th floor.  Finished packing.  Checked emails.

Today we are going to be traveling from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Hanoi, Vietnam; from the south to the north.  I am so excited that we will be going by plane; no bus, no train.  We will be going on Jetstar Airline from the Tan Son Nhat Airport (domestic terminal) at 11:40.  We have enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  Although we never saw a McD's there were lots of KFC's and Circle K's.  The people are friendly and hepful.  The city is more modern than we have seen before.  The taxis are metered, no "autos" or tuk tuks except the single passenger ones.  Little honking.

Our last look out our hotel windows from the Renaissance Riverside.

We got a taxi from our hotel to the airport.  We checked in on the ground floor, then up the escalator to the security area.  We found seating at Gate 2, but found it very hot, so we moved to another area where it was cooler.  We discovered a large snack area to purchase food, candy, drinks, watches, and jewelry, etc.  After passing through Gate 2 we went down an escalator and waited for a bus to take us to the airplane.  There were lots of people, especially Vietnamese.  No tourists.  We had seats A and B.  I always take the window.  Then, if no one comes, Kent takes the aisle seat.  But someone did sit in "C" so I will call him Kent's "new friend'.  He wanted to see Kent's watch, look out the window and he threw his fruit peelings on the floor next to Kent's feet.  It was a 2 hour 5 minutes flight.  The child in front of us cried all the way.  I was very glad to get off the two-hour flight (that I had been looking forward to so much!).  

Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

view out airplane leaving Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

flying into Hanoi, Vietnam

the Red River

the homes were un-attached and they had pitched roofs made from clay tiles

outside of the city, homes were in villages with farmland surrounding

After arriving in Hanoi at the Noi Bat Airport, we got a taxi to our hotel, Gia Bao Grand Hotel on Lo Su Road in the Hoan Kiem District and close to the Red River and Hoan Kiem Lake.  The taxi driver stopped and pointed out the window.  I just thought that we were stopped because of traffic.  Kent said, "Is this it?"  The taxi driver pointed again, so I looked out the window.  I was not prepared for what I saw.  It did not look much like a hotel to me.  I turned to my husband, not to give him a dirty look, but to see what his reaction was.  He just said, "the pictures look a lot different".  At check-in they told us that there was a maintenance problem and that the a/c did not work.  They were going to move us to another hotel.  It was called the Gia Bao Palace.  They were even going to give us a balcony.  So, I thought, great, we are going to get an upgrade.  Not so fast.  And I thought that we would be put in a taxi.  Wishful thinking.  Instead, we walked down the street, following the woman from the hotel, dodging traffic and people, to our assigned quarters.  It was only a half a block away and was apparently their original hotel.  (The one that we wanted to stay in was built in 2011 so that's why it was chosen.)  After settling in we realized that it had all the amenities that other hotels do, it just wasn't as nice as we were used to.  Yea, and the Marriott was not completed yet, so that was not an option.  

Since we were starving we took off looking for some western food.  Fortunately we found a KFC and walked along the Hoan Kiem Lake.      

The Huc or Sunbeam Bridge on the Hoan Kiem Lake

The view from the KFC near the Hoan Kiem Lake

The "thing to do" in Hanoi is to purchase tickets for the Water Puppets Theater.  Originating in the Red River Delta, and believed to date back almost a thousand years, roi nuoc or water puppetry is one of the most authentic expressions of Vietnamese culture.  In times past, performances were held in villages, using rivers, lakes, or rice fields.  Today, they are staged in large water-filled tanks at theaters.  Hiding behind the stage, the puppeteers stand waist deep in water and maneuver their wooden charges to the music of a traditional orchestra.  Special effects, including fire-breathing dragons, smoke, and fireworks add excitement to the show.  The tales are told from the age-old perspective of a peasant culture and feature traditional protagonists and villains such as warrior heroes, corrupt landlords, and cruel rulers.

www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org

Water Puppets Theatre

Hanoi, Vietnam

The themes of roi nuoc as usually traditional and pertain to rural life.  Mythical beasts in Viet culture such as dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns, feature prominently, as do water buffaloes and other domestic animals.

Live singers and instrumentalists greatly enhance the puppeteers' performance.  The music rises to a crescendo at key moments in the story and accompanies the show at all times.

An elaborate parasol symbolizes rank and authority.

For the benefit of the audience, the screen introduces the next story and gives some explanation.

Puppets are carved from water-resistant wood, generally that of the fig tree or "sung", and painted with bright colors.

At the end of the show, the bamboo curtain behind the water stage rises to show the puppeteers, standing waist deep in water.

water puppets for sale

Thang Long Water Puppets Theatre

other water puppets on display

After the water puppet theater performance, it was still light so we did some exploring.

Ly Thai To

In 1010 Ly Thai To, the first ruler of the Ly dynasty (1009-1225) of Vietnam, chose the site of Hanoi - then called Thang Long or Rising Dragon - for his capital.  He practiced Buddhism and promoted it as the national religion and gave money to build pagodas.  He reformed the tax system, maintained internal stability and encouraged civic development.

I don't think we saw so many motorbikes than in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi!

Only a few blocks from our hotel, 

we discovered a beautiful upscale mall, Trang Tien Plaza.

ginseng from the Star Korea store

An Asian restaurant where you could pick out your own "dinner".

Their eyeballs were still moving!

a sweet shop

On our way back to our hotel, we discovered an outdoor talent show.

At the end of the evening, we were glad to get back to the hotel (after getting lost) and cool off.  We checked our emails, but our computer was running on the battery since our adapter did not "fit" any of the outlets.  Got tv channels, but not CNN.  A/C stuck on 16 C.