Got off the train on Thursday about noon and walked to our hotel. It was sunny and very hot and humid. We didn't have a lot of energy for exploring... We went out for a walk to the nearby small lake in the middle of the city with a Tortoise Tower statue in the middle. Went inside the Hotel Metropole, an old fancy French hotel famous for being where journalists covering the French and American wars stayed. Had a pasta and pizza late lunch which was quite good, then back to the hotel for a quick nap and swim. Early bedtime for me.
Friday was a full day around Hanoi - still very hot and humid, but the clouds came in mid-day for a while for a respite from the heat. We are just used to sweating all day and enjoying whatever air conditioning there is in the museums. Went to Museum of Ethnology in the morning, very interesting museum with indoor and outdoor displays about the lives of the 54 ethnic groups which live in Vietnam. I had no idea there were so many.
Then went to the park and gardens around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Walked to the Temple of Literature and the site and grounds of a university that started about 1049.
Ate lunch near there at a cafe run by an Australian non-profit and shared fried spring rolls and lemon grass and garlic chicken with rice and greens. We each got a beer. Total bill was the equivalent of $15. We walked to the Women's Museum which covers the lives of women in Vietnam, from family life and the way each group produces special textiles for traditional clothing - embroidery, batik, weaving - to their assistance in the war efforts against both the French and the Americans.
Dodged our way across the streets, then back to the hotel.
Went out for a walk Friday night to the Old Quarter and the Market which is held on Friday and Saturday nights. 85° and lots and lots of people. Sensory overload for two country girls. :) Bought chips and beer for dinner and went back to our room. (Passed the young French couple from the train on the street on the way there. Had earlier seen him in the Women's Museum. Random sightings in a big city!) Tomorrow we are off on a 3 day 2 night tour including Halong Bay.
Friday was a full day around Hanoi - still very hot and humid, but the clouds came in mid-day for a while for a respite from the heat. We are just used to sweating all day and enjoying whatever air conditioning there is in the museums. Went to Museum of Ethnology in the morning, very interesting museum with indoor and outdoor displays about the lives of the 54 ethnic groups which live in Vietnam. I had no idea there were so many.
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| Harvest baskets |
Went out for a walk Friday night to the Old Quarter and the Market which is held on Friday and Saturday nights. 85° and lots and lots of people. Sensory overload for two country girls. :) Bought chips and beer for dinner and went back to our room. (Passed the young French couple from the train on the street on the way there. Had earlier seen him in the Women's Museum. Random sightings in a big city!) Tomorrow we are off on a 3 day 2 night tour including Halong Bay.
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