Old Quarter with Hanoi Kids!

Yesterday, we visited the Old Quarter with two students with Hanoi Kids, an organization that provides free tours.  It was a great way to meet the locals and they spoke English very well.  Both were studying economics in university and had parents with good jobs (dentists, doctors and government employees).  The women said that they learned English grammar in school but learned how to speak by watching You Tube.  We visited the temple on Hoan Kiem Lake, the various sectors of the Old Quarter, as well as a Heritage House.  We stopped mid morning for a coconut coffee, a coffee with chocolate sauce and a gigantic scoop of coconut ice cream... so delicious!  Our guides explained the cafe was decorated in a 1980s Viet Cong military style and the waiters were dressed like soldiers.  After touring the Old Quarter, including a wholesale market, we had lunch with our tour guides at a restaurant serving bun cha (vermicelli noodles with pork patties).  We tried to tip our tour guides but they would not take the tips -only a donation for their organization, which we would highly recommend.  They told us there is a similar organization in Saigon, called Saigon Hotpot, so we will try to check it out in a few days.

Mike, Aidan, and Maya on bridge with "Em" and Tu, our tour guides

Family photo on bridge

 Inside the temple was a preserved turtle, a symbol of longevity

 Walking in the Old Quarter

Lots of fruit and vegetables for sale

 Mike and Maya with Tu (from Hanoi Kids)

In the cafe waiting for our coconut coffee

Em and Carol

Here it is.. coffee, coconut ice cream and chocolate sauce.. delicious!

 There was not much coffee in the drink so Maya and Mike sampled it too

Heritage House

This house was built in 19th century

The Heritage House had a small courtyard and would have been occupied by a rich family (e.g., rice seller)

We walked through many markets

It was quite busy, possibly because it was Saturday

Here we are inside a wholesale market, selling all variety of dried mushroom and fish as well as fabrics.  It was very cramped inside.

Getting ready for some bun cha

Bun cha served and delicious

Day Trip to Tam Coc

Yesterday we took a day trip to Tam Coc in Ninh Binh to see the ancient capital and the temples and to take a boat ride along the river through the karst mountains.  Mike and Aidan also went bike riding around the nearby rice paddies.  We had a nice buffet lunch, with delicious local goat meat (sautéed and in a nice soup), stir-fried vegetables, rice, and fruit. Here are a few photos from out day trip.

 Outside the gate of the ancient capital

Tourist photo op on water buffalo

 Aidan took a turn too!

Approaching the temple

The alter

 The offering of dragon fruit, bananas and Buddha's hand fruit.  Inside a lot of people left cookies and coke for the gods!

Family with limestone mountains in the background

Aidan and Mike ready for their bike ride through town and the rice paddies

Off they go...

Sampans waiting to take travellers up the river

Now they have lifejackets.  Two years ago when I was here there weren't any.

Ready to go

Rowing is hard work!  They locals frequently use their feet for this 1.75 hour trip

The limestone cliffs are very steep.  We saw goats and cranes along the way.

Here we are in our sampan.  I got to row at one point and learned how hard it is

We saw many little temple like structure which we think are memorials to the dead

The cliffs are very steep 

We rowed under several rock structures along the way, sometimes in almost complete darkness!

The caves were not very high.  Aidan almost hit his head a few times!

Some enterprising ladies selling snacks on the river

Interesting rock formations

Getting ready for a celebration (New Years?) by outfitting sampans with candle in lotus flowers

Arrived Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi around noon on December 27. We flew on Eva Air via Taipei. The airline was very nice and allergy friendly so we felt comfortable and safe with Aidan. They offered us nut free meals and did not serve peanuts as snacks. I was extremely nauseous due to a bad migraine; so not very much fun for me! First time in my life I had to use the barf bag on the plane - not pretty!

We are staying at the Somerset Grand Hanoi in the French Quarter, which is quite pricey but has apartments with kitchens so that we can cook for Aidan. We didn't see much the first day as we needed to grocery shop and we were tired.

 Today we started with pho for breakfast and then visited the Museum of Ethnology, which features artifacts from the various ethnic groups in Vietnam. The kids enjoyed checking out the various ethnic houses in the museum courtyard. We had lunch at the museum restaurant that overlooks the courtyard.  

Next stop was the "Hanoi Hilton", the prison where the French incarcerated the Vietnamese and where American POWs, like John McCain, were held during the Vietnam War. 

We ended the day by taking in a water puppet

show, complete with live music.  The kids really enjoyed it!

Starting the day with pho and bun cha

First stop - Museum of Ethnology to learn about the 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups

Maya pointing to her birth province, Ba Ria Vung Tau

Much of the museum shows handicrafts, marriage and death ceremonies

The kids enjoyed exploring all the ethnic home replicas in the courtyard

They also had an interesting southeast Asian exhibit

Next stop was the "Hanoi Hilton" prison, which showed the vicious treatment of the Vietnamese by the French

Stone carving in the prison courtyard showing treatment of prisoners

On to the water puppet show, with traditional Vietnamese musicians 

There were some fireworks

 And the usual stories about rural life and fishing. All storytelling was in Vietnamese

At the end the performers (puppeteers) dressed in their hip waders come out to take a bow

We walked back along Hoam Kiem lake and bought some delicious inexpensive chocolate coconut ice cream for 7000 dong (about 40 cents Canadian).