Hanoi: Food, Turtle Stories, and Other Adventures

     Before describing our adventures in Hanoi, I have a final Hue picture that I hadn't downloaded from my camera when I made my previous post. During our last evening in Hue, we went on a dragon boat ride again, this time on a party boat with folk singers. Vietnamese folk singers.

costumed folk singers

    These four ladies sang and were joined for the final song by one of the male musicians, a song probably about marriage. Although Phillip and I had no clue what the lyrics said, everyone on the boat was laughing at times. The expression and word emphasis gave the song meaning that we couldn't get from the words.
     A few hours after arriving in Hanoi on Sunday, two lovely young women from Hanoikids met us for a food tour.

Nga and Chinh from Hanoikids

     Chinh and Nga are university students and we spent a delightful evening walking around and eating great food. Our first stop was for pho, Hanoi style which is different than pho from the South. It isn't served with a plate of raw bean sprouts and herbs, as the broth is more seasoned than that of the South. Vegetables are added before it is served.

pho (Hanoi style)

     This restaurant, Pho Gia Truyen, is very popular with both locals and tourists. We were there fairly early and waited in line. When we left, the line was even longer.

waiting for the best pho

After pho, Chinh and Nga took us for banh cuon (freshly made rice paper wrapped around seasoned pork with an excellent dipping sauce), egg coffee (yes, raw egg yolk - it mellows the strong Vietnamese coffee) and coconut coffee (sweet and smooth).
     Monday morning, another set of young people, Mon and Daniel, met us for a tour of the Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo Prison, followed by lunch. The Temple of Literature was constructed in 1070 by the emperor, dedicated to Confucius. Vietnam's first university was created here.

one of the Temple of Literature courtyards

     The grounds had five courtyards and several pavilions. One of our favorite areas had 82 turtle statues. Turtles represent longevity and wisdom. During the time the Temple of Literature was active under the emperors, the names of top scholars were inscribed here. More recently, students would come and rub the heads of the turtles before they had a major exam! Most recently, however, the foks who run the facility put up a fence to try to stop the turtle head rubbing, as it was damaging the artifacts.

darkened head where thousands of students have rubbed it

     This site is important to education today. The area was filled with graduating kindergarten students, lining up in various states of order and disorder, to have their class pictures taken. So cute to watch, as kids are kids world-wide.

one of many kindergarten classes

     After the Temple, Mon and Daniel took us to the remains of the Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the US pilots who had been incarcerated here. The prison was built by the French for political prisoners. Only about 1/5 of the original structure remains, as a museum. The barbed wire and broken glass at the top of the wall looks original, exactly like that we saw in the historical pictures inside.

Hoa Lo prison wall

The prison was not totally secure, as the sewer system was used by numerous prisoners to escape.

even after th French added bars, prisoners still escaped thru the sewer

      After the visit to Hoa Lo, we walked back toward our hotel and had lunch at a restaurant whose name I did not get, but the food was delicious, especially the pork in a red sauce that Mon said she makes for herself by simmering pork with sugar and fish sauce. We also ate a lemon grass beef and a tofu dish. So tasty!

Phillip, Daniel, and Mon

     Phillip and I rested yesterday afternoon, then went out after dark to Hoan Kiem Lake, just a few blocks from our hotel. Chinh and Nga had taken us there Sunday evening, but it started raining right after we finished our coconut coffee so we didn't walk around then. Last night, we did walk about a fourth of the way around, far enough to see the red bridge that leads to a temple on Jade Island.

"Morning Sunlight Bridge" to Jade Island temple

 This morning, Phillip and I walked all the way around Hoan Kiem Lake, on a lovely wide pathway with benches.

Hoan Kiem Lake walking path

Flowerbeds had been planted all around the lake. These flowers, which are expensive and only available at florists in the US, were planted in grand beds.

only seen as houseplants from florists in the USA

     In the lake is a second small island containing the Turtle Tower. According to legend, during the 1400's the emperor was boating when a turtle god surfaced and wanted his magical sword back. The emperor did return the sword after using it to fight off Chinese invaders. Hoan Kiem translates to "Lake of the Returned Sword," so this Turtle Tower directly ties to the legend and name of the lake.

Turtle Tower

A more current activity that Hoan Kiem Lake is known for is exercise class. Although we were not early enough to see tai chi classes, we did see the women, most about my age, at their dance/excercise class.

dance/exercise class

     Tomorrow, we head for Halong Bay for our 3 day, 2 night cruise. Only one more week in Vietnam before we make that grueling return flight. We won't think about that yet!