Day 54-55, (17-18 July) Hanoi – David Jenny Travel

We were knackered by the long bus ride from Guilin to Hanoi and had a relaxing day, on the 17th doing absolutely nothing. We ate in the hotel in the evening and the food was nice but too European for my liking. On the 18th we got a taxi to the Old City and I had planned out a route which would take us to Train Street, Flower Street and Hoan Kiem Lake (“Lake of the Returned Sword”) with Ngoc Son Temple. Train Street is a narrow street with a railway line running down the middle. I don’t know how often it runs, but we waited for some time and didn’t see it. We were constantly pestered by people wanting us to go into their crappy little cafes and the visit was underwhelming. I was under the delusion that the Old City consisted of 36 traffic-free lanes, but the way to Flower Street was a misery because we had to fight our way past huge numbers of scooters parked on the pavements and there were no rules for crossing roads; you walk gingerly out into the road as thousands of scooters go flying past and you hope and pray that they drive round you. As they invariably do, but the process is somewhat nerve-racking. The Vietnamese are used to it and they saunter nonchalantly across without a care. I finally caved in to demands by Jennifer that I get my beard shaved off and, for a surprisingly small cost given the time and effort taken by the friendly young barber, it was all shaved off. A waste of time really because it is growing again. I gave him a big tip. The internet (bollox alert) says that Flower Street is a riot of colour with hundreds of shops selling fresh flowers and the scent is overwhelming. The reality is a small number of shops selling plastic flowers and the only scent is that of scooter exhaust fumes and the drains. The walk down to Hoan Kiem Lake was so exhausting in the overpowering heat and humidity that even I had had enough when we got there. Still, I left Jennifer sitting in the shade and struggled round the north end of the lake to see the pagoda. The lake is named after a legend learned by every Vietnamese school kid that Emperor Le Loi (who won Vietnam’s independence from China in 1428) acquired a sword from a friend who found it while fishing in the lake. The sword helped him to win victory against the Mings but when he subsequently went boating on the lake, a giant turtle rose up and demanded that he return the sword to the Dragon King. Which he did, hence the lake’s name. The Ngoc Son Temple is on an island reached by the “Huc” hump-backed bridge. Ngoc Son means “Jade Mountain” and the temple was built in the 18th century. It is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, a general who defeated 300,000 Mongolian invaders in the 13th Century. There is a preserved specimen of a 250 kilogram of a giant turtle caught in the lake. We then went to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and after being pestered by taxi drivers all day we couldn’t find a taxi. We got a bicycle rickshaw but he wanted £13 for a 3-km ride which is a rip-off. I (thought) I beat him down to £5.50 which is about right, but when we got there he wanted £5.50 each. To get him off our backs I gave him another £2.50 and we walked to the mausoleum, which was closed. However the day was saved by a splendid meal of beef noodle soup in the evening at a restaurant recommended by the hotel.