Hanoi: The Sights

This post is a continuation of our Twelve Day Food Tour Of Vietnam.

When you arrive in Hanoi you are more likely to experience bedlam – heaps of it – before you find peacefulness. Friends who have visited Vietnam will have warned you about the traffic, the extraordinary number of motor scooters and the wave of “panophobia” that will overcome you any time you want to cross a street.

You will notice the bedlam on your drive on the freeway from the hotel to your airport. You might also notice some amazing roadside murals. You definitely won’t miss the motor scooters zipping along beside you. And it might be these scooters that continue to attract most of your attention as you head towards your hotel, especially when your first impression is that the coffee shop right next to the hotel is a scooter parking lot.

When you venture out of your hotel, your intention of a walk of several kilometres through the streets might in fact turn out to be a quick walk around the block, as it means no roads to cross, even at traffic lights! But eventually – some hours later, the next day – your bravery will grow and, walking behind or with some locals, you will learn to make those crossings, enabling you to venture further.

But bedlam probably isn’t the correct word, as everything in Hanoi – and indeed Vietnam as a whole – while often appearing chaotic, seems to function, in a systematic, cultural and respectful process.

The influence of the French colonisers provides a familiar relief for Europhiles. The melding of that architecture with that of Asia provides an intriguing contrast.

You will want to see the sights. Some, such as the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ – a prisoner-of-war museum – will start to provoke an interest in the French and USA involvement in Vietnam, an interest that will stay with you, even after you leave the country. There are, thankfully, religious, cultural and artistic monuments that relieve you from the hustle and bustle in the streets. Museums may offer different reflections on colonialism and imperialism. And you are likely to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a memorial that you might remember more for the delightful buildings and gardens in the surrounds nearby.

Head to Hoan Kiem Lake (or Turtle Lake) for the peacefulness you will start to crave. Yes, you will find there is plenty going on as you make your way around the shore. But there are also pockets of serenity where you stop and watch, relax and marvel.

If you want upmarket there are many options, though it will be peacefulness at a price.

After a couple of days of the wondrous melding Hanoi has to offer, your “panophobia” might have become a thing of the past. It did for our fearless photographer who stopped in the middle of the street to take this photo of the traffic halted momentarily by a red light. She had one nanosecond to get off the road before 200 hand-held throttles roared into life to mow her down.

Ultimately though, while there is plenty of variety to Hanoi, it might be the food that drives you to its varied corners.

Click here for the next post in our Vietnam journey: Hanoi – The Food