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Hanoi? Yes it’s a city in Vietnam. Yes, it’s the capitol. Other than that, the brief time there afforded us a limited experience in this 1000-year-old city. We fly from Saigon – we arrive in Hanoi – we get picked up by a travel service – we are brought to a hotel. Somewhere during this brief transit we determine it might be better to first visit Halong Bay, a destination we were planning to visit in any event.

So – we re-enter our vehicle – we ride and we ride – we arrive in Halong Bay and – – you can read all about that by clicking on the Halong Bay menu item above.

A couple of days latter we once again arrive at the same “Time Hotel” we had left two days earlier. Is that deja vu? Our room was clean and comfortable but I had never before experienced a hotel room with no windows.

Hanoi Hilton

The affectionate name for a terrible place – the prison that held many South Vietnamese and American prisoners during that ill advised war with the north. Last year (2009) Sen. John McCain paid a quiet visit to the "Hanoi Hilton" prison where he was held for more than five years during the Vietnam War. He went there with my own Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. There were ample pictures of McCain, which I suspect is good politics for American tourism there.

Vietnam's communist government has turned the facility into a museum. McCain, the prison's most famous detainee, says he and others were severely tortured during their time there. The museum features a display of what is supposed to be McCain's former flight suit.

I’m not a big fan of McCain but I give him credit for being a leading advocate of normalizing relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Water puppet show

Our guide said the water puppet show was a "must see" in Hanoi. I was rather skeptical, but was happily surprised to find that the show really is something that shouldn't be missed.

Water puppetry is performed in a pool of water with the water surface being the stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. A Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers chant songs that I assume tell the story being acted out by the puppets.  Stories of the harvest, of fishing and of festivals are quite obvious.

Prior to the show, some of us went to “Papa Joes”  for dinner. I had a cheeseburger. Although I love Vietnamese food, I was ready for one of my comfort foods.

Temple of Literature

I’m not so sure whether the Temple of Literature  represents the Confucian values which were instilled in scholars who studies there; or the importance of education and study of philosophy. In any case it is representative of ancient Vietnamese architecture and is very old. (ninth century I’m told). It was the he country's first University. The names of its graduates were engraved on stone steles. They are mounted on the back of stone turtles and enclosed on one side of the complex. Some of the names have been scratched off leaving an obvious void in the list. I understand that those who were named in those spaces had somehow brought shame on their families or the university. Too bad they didn’t have computers. The delete key is a lot faster.

It certainly is a quiet and peaceful refuge in the sea of traffic and chaos that is Hanoi.

Museum of Ethnology

A great place to visit if you wish to know more about Hanoi’s history and culture.  The museum conserves and exhibits the many of Vietnams ethnic groups like the Muong, Thai, Tay, Yao. It displays hundreds, if not thousands, of artifacts and pictures.

Outside the museum dwellings of the various ethnic groups are displayed. A real treat was running into a gaggle of enthusiastic students from elemenatary schools.