We managed to find a hostel with ease thanks to a tout waiting with a taxi at the bus depot. Thankfully, this was not a scam; the hostel was just what we were looking for and located ideally in the Old Quarter. It was simply called 'Sinh Youth Hostel' and I'd definitely recommend it as the staff were friendly and helpful with arranging everything from a Visa to a 2 day excursion. We'd met a couple of Australians and an English girl on the bus, so as soon as everyone was showered, we ventured out to get some food and booze. On various street corners of the city, you can find locals selling cheap beer from large kegs, and people gathered around them on plastic kid's chairs. This 'Hoi beer' cost about 7 pence a glass! OK, it tasted like cat piss, but for 7p a glass, you could afford to down a few, until the alcohol kicked in and they started tasting better. That's got to be the cheapest beer so far.
We spent the first day, exploring the streets of the Old Quarter (which seem to change their names at virtually every junction), walking around the lake, and taking in a few of the sights. The first was the Ngoc Son Temple, situated on an island in the northern section of the lake. The temple houses the preserved body of a giant turtle, a type of which is known to occupy the lake. Legend has it that the gods once gave Emperor 'Ly Thai To' a magical sword to vanquish his invading enemies from China. After winning the war, the emperor was out boating on the lake one day, when a turtle surfaced and stole the sword. The legend states that this turtle was sent from the gods to return to the sword to the heaven, but I hasten to suggest it was the creative dramatisation of a careless emperor who was mugged by a turtle. The people of Vietnam were less cynical and renamed the lake, Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword).
After a short walk around the lake, we arrived at the Temple of Literature. It was dedicated to Confuscious in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thang Tong, and later established as a university. It houses 82 stelae honouring the men who receieved doctorates in the triennial examinations dating back to 1442. Now, that may not be of interest to most of you so I'll just say, it was well kept, nice looking and would be a good place to just hang around, if the weather was good and you had some time to slaughter.
With the Air Force museum being closed, and the Maosuleum restricting access to trouser wearing folk, our choices were fairly limited as to where to go next. So, what better place to check out than the old Hanoi Hilton - the prison. Generally an interesting place, but more so for their interpretation of history, the idealism of communism, and how they reckon they treated the American POWs. "Fiction can be fun, but I find the reference section much more enlightening." Still, I suppose everyone has to tell their own side of a story.
In the evening we went by the recommendation of the Lonely Planet and dined at restaurant Cha Ca 66 in order to try one of Hanoi's most famous specialities, "Cha Ca". It was a sort of DIY meal where the ingredients are supplied and you choose the amount of cooking induced and how the food is presented.
We couldn't leave the north of Vietnam without a visit to the Word Heritage site, Halong Bay. On a good day, you can see 3000 islands rise from the turqoise water of the Gulf of Tonkin. On the day we visited, the fog restricted the count to around half a dozen and gave us an important reason for revisiting this area.
Our first stop was to view one of the many caves inside the islands. Bathed in mood lighting and the expectation of chill out music, the caves were impressive and well worth checking out. Our next and final stop for the day was Cat Ba Island. Unfortunately, we hadn't the time or inclination to explore the island and instead opted for dinner, pool, and some sleep.
By the time we arrived back in Hanoi, it was practically time to jump on our bus to Hue. Fond farewells to the city were short and insincere. We had greater things in mind like reaching white beaches and blistering sunshine. Our journey south had much to live up to and offered no more promise than a more equatorial latitude. Optimism has always been a dominant virtue of mine.
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