“Good Morning, Vietnam!”: Hanoi In One Day

by | Jun 8, 2010 | How's the weather?, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Vietnam | 0 comments

 

Being a big fan of movies like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Forrest Gump, The Deer Hunter, and Full Metal Jacket, I am truly excited to finally be in Vietnam.

We arrived to a flood.

 

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But we woke up to sunshine.

 

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It’s as hot and humid as they say it is. In fact, I’ve already had a water, frozen drink, and a froyo within the last hour and a half…sitting next to an open fan feels as sweet as swimming in candy.

 

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First we headed to Hoan Kiem Lake:

 

 

In the middle of the lake sits Ngoc Son Temple, a Confucian temple:

 

 

Then we walked north to Ancient/Memorial House, an example of an ancient Hanoian home.

 

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Then we walked west to Bach Ma Temple

 

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Then we bough tickets to a bizarre untranslated Water Puppet Show, during which I took a nap because I couldn’t understand anything:

 

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After the show, we headed to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on the west side of the city:

 

 

Right next to it stands the One Pillar Pagoda, a rebuilt iconic Buddhist temple designed to resemble a lotus blossom when it was built in 1049.

 

 

Finally we headed to Temple Of Literature, a Confucian Temple which hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam’s first national university.

 

 

The excess, can be, well, excessive:

 

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The old city is littered with museums of the war, and temples before it.

 

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Just be careful when you cross the street!

 

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Uncle Ho, here we come!

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- At time of posting in Ha Noi, it was 35 °C - Humidity: 59% | Wind Speed: 6km/hr | Cloud Cover: scattered clouds

 

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