Hanoi - 23rd Jan

The guide had arranged to meet us this morning at 7.30am so it was an early start for breakfast. The view from the window of the breakfast room seemed rather bleak so we really weren't sure what to expect from Hanoi. We waited in the lobby for our guide Dai who finally turned up at 8.00am. We then met our other two companions for the trip – 2 Americans – Carolyn from Michigan and Bonnie from New York. Although a similar age they were travelling independently of each other and had only met the night before. It was a pretty chilly day and I had had to run upstairs for another layer before heading out.

View from the breakfast room

We jumped into the minibus and headed for our first stop Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. I have to confess that I hadn't properly read the itinerary before heading out for the day so when we were asked to stand in a queue I obliged not realising we were queueing to file past the embalmed corpse of Ho Chi Minh himself. He'd died in 1969 and they'd preserved his body for the last 40 years. Every year the mausoleum is closed for 3 months whilst his corpse is flown to Russia for maintenance. I'd never seen a dead body before and it was quite strange to see him. The guards were very strict and no bags were allowed, no shorts, hats had to be removed, no hands in pockets and no photos and no talking. Guards were placed 5 paces apart along the route to the room to ensure you properly conducted yourself as you filed past. The whole experience was over in a matter of a minute.

Next we were taken to the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh's stilt house where he lived for 11 years until 1969. The rooms were all preserved as he'd have had them however the Guide Book questioned just how long he'd lived here as surely the place would have been bombed by the Americans if it had been his permanent residence. Regardless we dutifully filed past the room and past a peacock in a really tiny cage.

We then passed by the One Pillar Pagoda. This had been originally built in 1954 to resemble a lotus blossom which is considered the symbol of purity. The temple had been burnt down by the French in 1954 and has been rebuilt since.

Next was the Ho Chi Minh Museum. Dai left us to walk round ourselves but we struggled to get the purpose of the museum. The Vietnamese were intently reading articles but the translation for us wasn't great and to this day we're still not sure what the table of fruit was all about.

Next we filed back in the minibus and were taken to the Temple of Literature. This was the site of Vietnam's first university in 1076 to educate the sons of mandarins. The Temple has 82 stelae upon which the names, dates of birth and achievements of mandarins are listed who completed a doctrine between 1076 to 1484. They are all sitting on a tortoise which is considered a sacred animal symbolising longevity.

Dai had pre-booked a place for lunch. Bonnie and Carolyn had said they wanted local food and not a touristy place however when we got to the restaurant it was disappointing to see wine glasses and napkins. The food was good but we felt a bit ripped off as we'd have preferred to have gone to somewhere more simple where the Vietnamese ate. This was only further tempered when a bus load of Germans filed into the restaurant.

After lunch we were taken to the Hoa Lo Prison or 'Hanoi Hilton' as nicknamed by the US POW. The prison was first used by the French in 1896 to house Vietnamese revolutionists and then later to house American soldiers during the Vietnam war. John McCain was held here. The section dedicated to the French Revolution showed how cruel the French were to the Vietnamese prisoners who were kept shackled to a bed by one foot in a communal room so they couldn't stand up and walk about. Some were kept in solitary confinement and some were even beheaded. The section dedicated to the US POW was rife with propaganda. There were photos of prisoners smiling, playing snooker, volley ball, singing Christmas carols etc. The key message was all about how well they were treated by the Vietnamese however how much of this was true …..

Next on the itinerary was a cyclo ride around the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Bonnie was feeling unwell and Carolyn tired so they asked to be taken back to the hotel. Andy and I went on a cyclo each and wow what an experience. When Andy got in his cyclo the first question he was asked was what football team he supported. The driver was a Manchester United fan. In the cyclo I started laughing hysterically both through enjoyment and fear. The traffic in Hanoi was crazy with motorbikes everywhere. No one stops at junctions they just find a spot to file in onto the road and when I saw big dents in the side of the cyclo it just added to my hysteria. Dai our guide was somewhat more laid back as he fell asleep in his cyclo. On the cycle tour we spotted westerners walking around but they were few and far between.

In the afternoon we had a few hours free time and so we had a bit of a rest in the hotel before heading out for a walk around. There was a lot to taken in – many street stalls selling lanterns for the Chinese new year, no pavements with all the stands spreading out to the road, a lot of rubbish in the gutters, a mother holding her child over the gutter to poo into it, street stalls with people ordering pho (soup with rice noodles) – don't ask how they wash the dishes.

Crossing the road was an experience. There are zebra crossings but no one stops for you and the only way to cross is to step out into the road. You then don't stop but keep crossing – if you stop you confuse them.

Later that evening the itinerary included a Water Puppet Show. We sat there as the theatre filled up with all the other tours of westerners equally unsure about what to expect. The show included puppets in water who re-enacted 'vignettes' of different scenes or legends such as the harvest dance, and the coconut dance. You had to take it for what it was but I quite enjoyed it and the ability of the puppeteers was impressive.

After the show Dai dropped us off at a restaurant that Bonnie had been to before. It was very good and had a nice mix of Westerners but also Vietnamese. The food was tasty although I muddled the order and got a fish dish as well as the beef dish I wanted. After dinner we got a cab back to the hotel.

Overall being part of a tour was good. Logistically getting around Hanoi would be quite complicated without the minibus. We'd also packed a lot into the day and felt very safe at all times. The only frustrations were always being held to a time. In the Hanoi Hilton I felt a bit rushed and Dai didn't seem to want to share much information with us as he'd probably been there a 100 times before. Also outside the Water Puppet Show there was a lake which was beautifully lit up and it would have been nice to have taken a walk around it but the itinerary didn't allow for this if we wanted a lift to the restaurant.