miss b loves ..........Hanoi, Vietnam (Part 2)

During our stay in Hanoi, we were constantly amazed by the volume of traffic, mainly scooters and it's not uncommon to see three people on one scooter .......

 and often a family of four ......

The Temple of Literature, a 1000 year old national treasure and Vietnam's oldest university, is a tranquil place away from the noise of scooter horns...... 

Beautiful manicured lawns, lotus ponds and courtyards........

The 82 steles which sit on stone turtles are carved with the names of students who were awarded doctorates from 1442 to 1779. 
In Vietnamese culture, the turtle is a symbol of longevity.

Outside another cyclo ..... ready for the next tourists to come along......

Our next stop was a short walk just around the corner ...... Craft Link, a non profit-making shop selling high quality textiles and supporting craft workers in rural Vietnam. How could I resist these pretty silk purses, a perfect size for clutch bags!

The brown one for me and two cute gifts

Further along this stret was Koto (Know one, Teach one) a not-for-profit restaurant where disadvantaged youth are given training in Hospitality and they learn English and life skills. They serve tasty Vietnamese food ..... and I can recommend the carrot and walnut cake too ......

We walked to Ho Chi Minh's grey granite mausoleum where his preserved body lies in a glass case (even though he had stated in his will that he wished to be cremated!) Normally queues of visitors enter to pay their respects but it was closed on the day we visited. Would I have gone in there? Maybe not! 

The guards looked very dapper in their pristine white uniforms .......

The French colonised Vietnam more than 100 years ago and made Hanoi the capital of its Indochina empire. The Presedential Palace was oiginally built for the first French Governor.

When Vietnam gained independence in 1954, Ho Chi Minh apparently refused to live in such an ostentatious place and preferred to stay close by in a more simple property which had originally been servants' quarters ...

He later moved into a traditional stilt house in the palace gardens. 

Nearby is the One Pillar Pagoda, a historic Buddhist temple built in 1049 to represent a single lotus flower.

and there was an opportunity to buy more hand-made embroidery .......which we shall have framed...

Many of the very impressive French colonial villas and mansions in this area are now home to foreign embassies ..........

Hoa Lo prison was built by the French who named it Maison Centrale. It was used to hold Vietnamese prisoners, mainly political prisoners who were agitating for independence. Later, North Vietnam held prioners of war there during the Vietnam War and it was sarcastically known to American prisoners as the Hanoi Hilton. There's an interesting museum there including the guillotine room with the original equipment! 

At the heart of the French Quarter is the cream-coloured Opera House modelled on the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris and built from 1901 to 1911 by the then French administration.

There are so many French influences to be seen in the city including wide tree-lined boulevards, outdoor cafés and our hotel  .........the Metropole, a very special hotel steeped in history, which really deserves its own post at some point!

Saint Joseph's Cathedral, designed to resemble Notre Dame in Paris, was one of the first structures to be built by the French colonial government. To erect the Roman Catholic church they demolished the Bao Thien Pagoda.

Just across the road, Moca Café serves excellent coffee!

Hanoi now has its own glamorous shopping mall Trang Tien Plaza which was originally built in 1901 and known then as Les Grands Magasins Réunis. All the usual high-end brands are now there..........

and we came across this sophisticated coffee shop in there too ............

 .......so very different from the quaint narrow streets of the Old Quarter (if you missed our trip to Hanoi, Part 1 you can read about it here)

Finally....I almost forgot to mention the Water Puppet Show  at the Thang Long Theatre .... a fun and quirky cultural show where hidden puppeteers depict rural Vietnamese life and folk tales, all accompanied by live singers and a traditional orchestra. 

There is definitely something enchanting about this city ..... a city of contrasts. The Vietnamese people ...... from the immigration officers at the airport .........to the street vendors (whether we purchased anything or not!) were friendly, welcoming and courteous ..... another reason why we plan to return to see more of Vietnam ...........

miss b also recommends:

• October or November - the best time to visit when the weather is cooler and drier (We chose June as I was celebrating my birthday!)
• Joma Bakery and Café - excellent organic and fairtrade coffee!
• Mosaïque - a beautiful store selling home furnishings

PS I've just realised that I published my first blog post two years ago ...... 11th July 2011 to be precise! Another year of blogging has passed so quickly that I almost forgot my blog birthday!!

It's an ideal time to thank everyone for being so supportive, for reading, following and for taking the time to write such positive comments. I really do appreciate it and look forward to another year! 

          THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!

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