Goooood Morning Vietnam!!! Our first full day in Vietnam promised to be a busy one, and didn’t disappoint! The GradyBunch have regularly been asked if we ever stop to take a breath… today, even we were tired!
Breakfast in the hotel was very Western-style. The locals must think Caesar salad, pate and potato lasagne (potato bake) for breakfast is odd… and I agree with them! Something has been lost in translation :). Overall the fruit and veges are wonderfully fresh and great quality.
Andrew ducked out early this morning to take some photos of Hanoi as it came to life – what a difference! At 7am the streets were quiet, shops were closed and vendors were working hard to prepare for the day – chopping vegetables and meat on the pavement. There’s clearly a strong sense of pride for the merchants of the town.
With Duc as our guide, and Anh our driver we headed off for a packed day. First stop, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – a very serious and highly secure place. OK, so we all had some sense of what we were likely to find in a mausoleum, but the girls and I had no concept that we’d come face to face with Ho Chi Minh himself! The building was built as a gift from the Russians, and was a clear reflection of the Communist heritage of Vietnam. Still today, being a member of the Communist party is a pre-requisite for a good job and government support.
Surrounding the Mausoleum were the homes of HCM. The yellow building was built by the French, but after living there a short time he decided it was too opulent for one person so moved into more humble homes nearby.
Next stop – Museum of Ethnology. This gave us a chance to understand the different groups of people that inhabit Vietnam, their homes, history and cultural diversity. While this wasn’t originally on the itinerary, Duc felt that it would give us good context for our trip to Sapa. Again, we were struck by the simplicity of life… small homes that keep families and generations together. This home would have housed a woman and all her husbands, copious amount of wine to keep the men occupied, and a few rooms for kids and parents.
For lunch we headed to have our first taste of Pho (pronounced ‘fuh’). This noodle soup is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Girls enjoyed it until Emma thought she found a brain in the bowl. This brought her willingness to experiment to a grinding halt!!! We may now have a vegetarian in the making.
Short trip to the Museum of literature after lunch, the off on our cyclo tour. What a great way to see the city, even if dodging cars through some of the intersections was a little hair raising!
Final stop for the day was the Water Puppet show – this is on the agenda of every tour company so has become a must-see in Hanoi. The puppeteers are standing in water behind the screens – very cool.
A short walk back to our hotel, and farewell to Duc. We couldn’t let him go without participating as an honorary member of a GFP – we think he was pretty chuffed to share in our family tradition :))
That’s enough for today… A long one, but a great one in a city like nothing we’ve ever experienced! Tomorrow we have the day in Hanoi before the overnight train to Sapa – not sure how good our Internet connections will be, so don’t panic if we’re offline for a couple of days.
Love M & TheBunch x
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