Finding Light and Darkness in Vietnam
Our tour begins in Hanoi
The direct flight from Washington to Seoul took 15 hours followed by another four-hour flight to Hanoi. Before joining our guided tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, we booked two daytrips out of Hanoi. We found a well-reviewed company called Vietnam Top Travel and I give high marks to gracious and soft-spoken Hien.
We were picked up by a driver in a comfortable SUV to start the two-and-a-half hour journey to scenic Ha Long Bay. With the streets of Vietnam crowded with more than seven million motorbikes and scooters darting every which way, we were happy to let our driver have that task. The dock at Ha Long Bay is lined with day cruise ships that were mostly unused as the usual throngs of Chinese tourists were not present for various reasons.
Our ship motored through the soaring granite formations and stopped at an island to explore the Sung Sot Cave, one of the largest caves in the bay. Unfortunately, I jumped off the back of the ship and tweaked my knee. I may have forgotten that I am not meant to be taking that risky move at my age. I took it easy as we were fed (over-fed) a freshly prepared seafood lunch. In the afternoon we docked and took a flat-bottomed rowboat ride through the Luon Cave area.
We had bright sunshine and thoroughly enjoyed the iconic views of Ha Long Bay before heading back to the dock and the 2.5-hour drive back to Hanoi. The next day, we headed off in the opposite direction to Ninh Binh. The drive was not quite as long, but we managed to pack a lot in this day as well. The first stop was to tour the remains of one of Vietnam’s ancient capitals, Hoa Lu, with Dinh King Temple and Le King Temple dating back to the 17th Century. Not much remains of a once great citadel. Our guide, Hien, taught us all the local history and folklore.
After lunch at the area of Tam -Coc, which means three grottos, we went on a 45-minute bike ride through the surrounding countryside. Similar limestone formations to Ha Long Bay soared into the sky around us. At one point we parked out bikes and visited an ancient pagoda built into the mountainside. From there we took a flat-bottomed rowboat tour through the Trang An Grottoes, where “majestic limestone massif at 20 square kilometer rise dramatically out from rice paddy fields. Deep into the linked chains of towering mountain are pristine places of mystical valleys, numerous freshwater ponds, and jungle.”
The natural scenery is only part of the show, however. The rowers on the 90-minute journey down the river and back start out using their arms to row. Then they sit up on a perch and row using their feet! They even manage to rotate the oars to maintain just the right hydrodynamics. Dozens of row boats were out in the area with many tourists enjoying the mostly quiet tour. They try to sell you stuff but they accept a polite no and leave you alone.
Our trip back to Hanoi allowed us time for a much-needed nap. At dinner, we got to meet the folks who would be our traveling companions for the next two weeks and our guide. We started the tour the next morning with a golf cart ride around the old Quarter of Hanoi. Many of the streets are named after the original guilds that were located there. The area is a bustling marketplace in this communist country.
We then took the compulsory tour of Ho Chi Minh’s tomb and the governmental complex surrounding it. The mausoleum containing Ho is super creepy, like Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square. The guides claim that Ho never wanted to be preserved and revered in this way, but his followers obviously followed the Soviet playbook. He died in 1969 and his body has been on display since 1975. All guided tours are required to visit there, and all Vietnamese citizens aspire to visit the mausoleum one day.
Near the monumental mausoleum structure is the very yellow and stately Presidential Palace, constructed in 1906 by Auguste Henri Vildieu — a famous French architect. This was intended to become President Ho Chi Minh’s official residence, but he chose a traditional stilt house that is still located nearby. The home sits beside a lovely pond filled with giant koi fish.
Very near in this protected area is the One Pillar Pagoda (Vietnamese: Chùa Một Cột), also known as the pagoda of extended blessings. The pagoda is a historic Buddhist with the most famous part being the single lotus shaped pedestal. The original pagoda was built in 1049, had some additions and was perfected in 1105. This site should not be missed.
The most somber portion of the day was visit to the Hoa Lo Prison-Maison Centrale Museum, known by Americans as the infamous Hanoi Hilton. The prison was built by the French colonial government at the end of the 19th century and used to house prisoners, mainly political detainees acting for Vietnamese independence. The inhumane treatment of the Vietnamese prisoners (complete with a guillotine) is enshrined in the facility through artwork, relics and pictures.
The brutal treatment of American prisoners of war within the prison is totally glossed over in the museum exhibits. According to the government sanctioned exhibit, the Americans celebrated a lovely Christmas here and spent their time playing chess. As we know from the first-hand accounts of the late Senator John McCain and others, the men were regularly tortured and abused. The victors get to tell their story. The exhibit also documents the re-establishment of relations with the United States in 1994. This absolutely revitalized the Vietnamese economy after the embargo was in place for nearly twenty years after the war ended in 1975.
After lunch and a mostly free afternoon, we headed back into the central district for Thang Long Water Puppet show. This performance is a real treat. Puppeteers backstage control the puppets who basically swim in a pool at the front of the theatre. The telling of traditional fables is accompanied by a live musical performance including vocals. A recorded translation is available on personal devices for those who chose to do so. The energy and endurance of the mainly female puppeteers is amazing. They come out for a bow at the end of the show.
Water puppet shows in Vietnam goes back 1000 years and provided the opportunity for talented artists to perform puppet shows in the waters of the rice fields. The theatre troupe is world famous and has performed around the globe. Some of the ornate puppets are displayed in a small museum area of the lobby. This little gem of a historic art and modern performance lasts about 75 minutes and happily, the theatre is air-conditioned. I highly recommend.
Our last must do in Hanoi was to visit the iconic ice cream store Kem Trang Tien. I had seen that several Instagram and You-Tubers frequent this place that has served ice cream since the French people were around in 1958. One should understand that just walking through the streets of Hanoi and particularly, crossing the street, is quite an accomplishment. We found the lime green store and navigated our way around dozens of motor scooters to get inside. A variety of flavors and combinations are available, and the featured cones are very inexpensive. The ice cream itself was not great but the experience gets a solid A.
This evening outing and snack ended a whirlwind visit to Hanoi and a great start to our Vietnam tour. Natural beauty in the area abounds. The people are industrious and welcoming. Underlying is some dark history of how man has treated man over the centuries. It's all there. We were looking to get up early for a short flight to the ancient capital of Hue.
More in part 2 and beyond.