Kinh Kỳ 4

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Hanoi is blessed with a whole stack of beautiful lakes, parks and gardens. Lying at roughly sea level, the whole city area is part of the Red River Delta, a huge flat sea-level food basket, criss-crossed by many canals and waterways. The Red River runs right through the city.

Hanoi was severely damaged by the relentless US bombing campaign in the late 60s and early 70s, and some of it has been completely rebuilt. But many of the open spaces have become beautiful gardens and public spaces.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake is a relatively small but very beautiful lake on the edge of the Old Quarter. It's a stunning and peaceful place to hang out, and many people gather there in the evenings, especially on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, when many roads in the area are blocked to traffic.

The legend goes that King Le Lời met a golden turtle god while he was out on a boat there one day in 1428, and the god asked him to return a magic sword, which he'd used to defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty in a battle. The King returned the sword, and renamed the lake Ho Hoàn Kiếm, Lake of the Returned Sword.

There's parks, gardens and cafés all around the lake, buskers gather to entertain the masses, people practice tai chi or do their fitness or jogging thing, families gather with their kids to stroll and play.

The nearby St Joseph's Cathedral, built in the 1880s, is a hub of the Catholic community here. It's unsurprisingly bustling on a Sunday.

They went to extraordinary lengths to stop people biting their nails in those days. I don't think it would work for me, personally. I'm sure I'd find a way.

Despite its rather unspectacular exterior, the inside of the cathedral is quite stunning, with some amazing stained glass art, which looks decidedly  unstained, given its age.

Christians didn't necessarily have it that easy during some historical periods. But what they'd already done to believers of other religions is completely another martyr.

Believers gathering en masse post mass

Buddhist temple around the corner

Something old something new

Downtown Hanoi in the early 1900s

And now

International Women's Day is, appropriately, a widely celebrated event around here

I watched a dance being filmed for an ad

Remote controlled vehicles for kid fun

Start 'em young, that's what I reckon

This girl just wouldn't smile, despite her mum's valiant efforts

This Emperor was the first ruler of the Lý dynasty, in the early 1000s, and actually moved the capital from Hoa Lư (which I visited, near Tam Coc), to Hanoi, which was then called Thang Long.

French era

Soviet era

Bo bia, a yummy sweet, basically a sort of crunchy rice paper roll stuffed with grated coconut and these sweet thin crispy wafers. And that's not mouse shit in there, but black sesame seeds.

These little artworks are actually made of plasticine

Parents buy them for their kids, who sit at little tables on the street and try to recreate them. Or just pull them apart and make something else.

The Monument of Determined to Brave Death. Great name. This was erected after the First Indochina War, to commemorate the sacrifices the Viets made in finally kicking out the French.

Carpe Diebus

No, don't die on the bus Carpy.

Seize the days.

I'm so loving my time here in Hanoi. There's so much to see, to do, to eat and to drink. There's 5 million locals to meet, and, wait for it, 9,000 new foreign tourists arriving here every single day. I've met a bunch already, it's been so nice.

Around the corner from my place Blog Hanoi 3

A non-touristy part of the railway line

Incredible jade sculptures

I love the Disinterested bit.

Gaudy art shops

French style extravagance.

Yeah, it does look rather doji.

Ga Hanoi, the Hanoi Railway Station. They stole the word gare (railway station) from their French colonisers. The old French-designed station was destroyed during the war, and this is the Soviet-era replacement.

Jelly coffee. Lali and I went to Highlands Coffee a few times when she came to visit me in the south, all those months ago. I had to return as a memento to us.

My late lunch staple. It's called bánh mì ốp la in the south, but when I first used that term here they didn't know what the hell I was talking about. So I just ask for a baguette with egg and veggies/salad or a bánh mì trứng rau. So cheap and so good. I know all the food words because I've used them every day for a while now.

There's always coriander floating around in the food here. It's a great thing.

Walled in

The Supreme Court. Whilst in theory Vietnam has an independent judiciary, the fact is that the ruling party selects all the judges. Say no more.

Ok I won't.

Say any more.

Nothing at all.

Ubiquitous and ancient Vietnamese bouncy bamboo transport method

My latest fave, tra quạt, black tea with kumquat

Beautiful old buildings

Not Done Yet

I still have things to do in this amazing city.

I need to get my bike serviced, poor Bewdy really has been through the wringer. I need to wait for my China visa. I need to buy a few things I won't be able to get in the countryside, and organise things for the China trip, including sorting out VPNs and registering for certain payment apps etc that I can't necessarily do once I get inside the country.

What an absolute bummer.

I'll have to stay here for a few more days.

It's so sad.

But hey, I'll just have to grin and share it ❤️

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