Hanoi Highlights

I spent a month volunteering in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2009, and while I was there I tried to fit in as many "must see" tourist hot-spots into my spare time as I could. I've blogged about Snake Village, Bia Hoi Corner and my trip to Sapa already, so here's the edited highlights of the rest...


Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
"Uncle Ho" as he's affectionately known, is revered in Vietnam - they even renamed their capital city after him. So, when he died, he was preserved in a mausoleum for people to pay their respects. 40 years on, and he's still there - with a little smile and looking like he's asleep - I half expected him to jump up any moment and shout "surprise, I'm alive!" but he didn't of course. People file past in silence, just looking. Not sure if it's how I'd like to spend all eternity after I'm gone, but each to their own.

We also wandered around the grounds, taking in Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House, One Pillar Pagoda and Presidential Palace - well worth a visit.

The Temple of Literature
I spent a happy afternoon walking around here, admiring all of the many buildings and gardens. Oh, and a massive drum and bell. There was also a cultural show from local women, which was fun. Afterwards, I ate lunch at Koto - a restaurant staffed entirely by former street and disadvantaged youth who have been trained up and employed by Vietnam's answer to Jamie Oliver. Pricier than other local restaurants, but for a good cause and yummy!

Hoan Kiem Lake
The central point of Hanoi centre, and worth a visit across the famous red bridge to the temple and pagoda on the central island. I tied this in with a visit to the nearby "Ambassador's Pagoda" which was also a nice way to pass an hour in the afternoon.

Comments on the "train driver hat" can be kept to yourselves, thank you!

Museums
I visited four - the Museum of Ethnology, the Women's Museum, War Museum and Prison Museum. All worth visiting, but do some reading up before you go... I felt a little like I was looking at things but not really understanding as well as I could sometimes, but the prison and war museums especially are very moving.

I know it's juvenile, but willies on a tomb are funny - end of. That's the Museum of Ethology, t'other pic is the Prison Museum.

In summary, there's a LOT to see and do in Hanoi. It's amazing. Go there.

Vietnam: Bia Hoi Corner, Hanoi

Another blast from my past with Bia Hoi Corner, circa May 2009...

Bia Hoi Corner is a crossroads in Hanoi centre, with shops on each corner of the crossroads selling home brew beer. There are lots of little plastic tables and chairs, and people sit on the kerb too, enjoying the lethal brew for a bargain 3000 dong a glass (that's about 12p)

It's very nice beer (which surprised me, it being home brew!) and the atmosphere is great - a happy mix of locals and backpackers, all drinking, chatting and laughing together. The only issue is the lack of toilets in any of the shops - after several glasses I was bursting - but this was solved by an entrepreneurial gent a few buildings down, who allowed access to his outdoors toilet for 1000 dong a time!

So I didn't take many pictures, sorry. This is Rosie, me and Tom (my housemates) after a few Bia Hois, chilling on the plastic children's furniture :)

I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a lightweight, and the very strong home brew had me swaying pretty quickly! It's the first time (and only time, so far!) that I've been drunk for less than a pound, and I happily boogied the rest of the night away in our favourite dance bar - Funky Budha -without another drink required :)

Bia Hoi Corner was great fun. I'd recommend it as a must visit for anyone going to Hanoi. Cheers!

Vietnam: Snake Village, Hanoi

I've been reading through my Facebook "notes" from when I was in Vietnam, and I've decided to try and translate them into something cohearant to pop on here :) First up, Snake Village...

"Snake Village" is situated just outside of Hanoi, in Northern Vietnam. I visited with a group of people from Hanoi Backpackers back in May 2009, during a weekend break from the volunteer project I was doing there. I don't recall exactly how much I paid for the trip, but it was around US$30 - 40 which included transport there and back, a guide to show us around, all the snake you could eat and all the "happy water" you could drink. I thought it was good value, and signed up.

Snake is a delicacy in Vietnam, and they're farmed for their meat. Snake Village gives you the chance to hold some snakes and see them in the farm, before enjoying a feast of snake delicacies! We even watched as the staff killed the snakes we would be eating... gruesome, but as a meat eater I couldn't complain - if you're going to eat something that was once alive, you need to understand that it had to be killed first!

I'd decided that I would at least try everything that was served up, and I was true to my word. The snake spring rolls were delicious, as was the dried skin and crushed bone combination (nothing goes to waste!) but I couldn't stomach more than a small taste of rolled skin or seasoned liver, and washed that down quickly with a beer! We were also offered a shot of snake bile and a shot of snake blood with a still beating snake heart in it. I downed the bile (disgusting) but turned down the blood and heart, as I had images of choking on the heart and having to explain the associated doctors bill to my travel insurance company!

All in all, I enjoyed Snake Village and thought it was a fun way to spend an afternoon with other travellers. For the non squeamish (and non vegetarian!) I would recommend it for anyone going to Hanoi. My trip was a pretty boozy affair  but I'm sure there are tour options run by less "backpacker-y" companies if that's not your thing. Personally though, I think the beer helped me pluck up the courage to eat a lot of the snake, and Hanoi beer IS delicious, so...

Down the hatch!