Excellent report and wonderful pictures mr & ms_go and Allie. Adding to my SEA itinerary for next year.

jdc

Wow, stunningly beautiful pictures from Bai Tu Long Bay. Definitely worth adding to my itinerary.

BTW, were those two dogs strays or did they belong to a family? The kayaking looked like a lot of fun.

jdc

Thanks jdc26. The kayaking was fun--and would have been even more fun if it was just a few degrees warmer. The puppies were on that little island with the kayaks (you can see it in a different photo) and the cave. I guess they must live there with whoever keeps up the equipment. They're just babies; they were still nursing from the mother.

I want to add that no still shots of Ha Long or Bai Tu Long Bay are going to do it justice. That's because the panoramic effect of having these massive karst monoliths all around you is the really breathtaking part of the experience. We were both even commenting on that fact while we were snapping those shots, "you know, this isn't really capturing the view, but what can you do?"

Trust me, being there is far better.

Lovely, lovely photos! Thanks.

Very nice photos and enjoying the report, too. Glad to hear of all family members fully enjoying the same trip. And it does sound like a value, too.

Gorgeous photos, just breathtaking, can't wait to go. Is this the end or are you continuing your TR?

Thanks!

Shanghainese, we're working on more of the trip report, and I haven't even begun to look at all of the photos that we took in the city. We'll get to some of that in the next couple of days--work has kind of been in the way (and taxes).

OK, I'm wrapping up my work week and leaving the office. But before I do, here's little more trip report. Have a nice weekend, everyone... and thanks so much for all your kind words!

ABOUT THE MUSEUMS IN HANOI
They’re better than you might expect, actually. We visited three of them: The so-called “Hanoi Hilton” (Hoa Lo) prison, the aforementioned Museum of Ethnology, and the Museum of History.

I wasn’t necessarily dying to see the notorious torture-prison, but it did have a few things going for it. First, it was within walking distance of the hotel (although, ironically, we forgot our map and still managed to get within a half block of the museum before having to stop and ask for directions). Secondly, it was one of the very few tourist attractions open on Monday. And lastly, it doesn’t cost much… so what hey. Turns out, the place is fairly interesting and they’ve done a good job of presenting the awful conditions of the place without being too heavy-handed with the agony and squalor. Many westerners (especially Americans) may not realize it, but this prison was a dreaded place long before the war. It was originally built by the French, and the vast majority of its inmates and detainees over the years have been Vietnamese locals. Over 90% of the museum focuses on this reality, with just a couple of small rooms dedicated to the American War. And yes, there’s a picture or two of John McCain in there.

It’s worth noting that much of the original prison was demolished years ago to make room for development. As you stand in the solemn memorial courtyard in the back of the place today, you hear the laughter of wealthy foreign children playing in the daycare center several stories up in the posh high-rise adjacent to it.

The Museum of Ethnology would be better called The Museum of Odd Housing Structures Built by Ethnic Minorities. It’s a pretty cool place, and (we gathered) fairly authentic. It really makes you think about the amazing ethnic diversity in this area of the world, and it’s a good thing that they’ve chosen to honor and celebrate that diversity. (It’s a bit of a cab ride away from the Old Quarter, but cabs are cheap… no worries). While we were there, we saw dozens of young, pretty Vietnamese girls in brightly colored “prom” dresses hanging out with their boyfriends and taking pictures of each other. Apparently, it’s a graduation tradition. Some fun-loving bearded Irishman in a Motorhead t-shirt became part of their photo shoot; we struck up a conversation with him, and then with his buddy who lives in Hanoi (and it was he who recommended the Perfume Pagoda to us). There’s a fairly decent little café on the grounds, run by the Hoa Sua school, which trains disadvantaged street kids (similar to the better known KOTO) where we enjoyed a quick, light lunch.

The History Museum is terrific, and very smartly laid out. It was probably my favorite of the three. The natural sequence of rooms takes you from the very earliest pre-history in the region right through to the modern day, with all important periods of Vietnamese civilization represented. The artifacts and displays are well-ordered and aesthetically pleasing overall, and some of the individual pieces are stunningly beautiful. In many ways, it’s the perfect melding of an art museum and a good history lesson. It stimulates the mind and pleases the eye. It’s also a very striking old colonial building near the opera house, with a nice sculpture garden in the courtyard.

Wonderful report,Go family. I have been to Ho Chi Minh City briefly and want to visit Hanoi too. Definitely want to go now!

<<<While we were there, we saw dozens of young, pretty Vietnamese girls in brightly colored “prom” dresses hanging out with their boyfriends and taking pictures of each other. Apparently, it’s a graduation tradition>>>

We saw them, too, but never did figure out who/what they were, so thanks for the explanation.

<<<(It’s a bit of a cab ride away from the Old Quarter, but cabs are cheap… no worries)>>>

$6.00, but if you're like us, you'll walk back the 5 miles or so to the Old Quarter(despite the fact that the girl at the front desk AND our taxi driver laughed when we told them we planned to do that!)

Great selection of photos, and good info on the museums. Thanks!

I'm planning our visit to Hanoi and your trip report is so helpful.
Do you have contact information for your airport pickup and for the tour company that arranged your trip to the Pearl Pagoda? Thanks. I'm eager to read your next posting!

Hi HappyTrvlr, we booked everything through our hotel, the Elegance Ruby...airport transfers (it was the hotel chain's car and driver) and Red Dragon cruise, and they also made the arrangements for our trip to the Perfume Pagoda (that was decided and done just the evening before). The latter was with a private guide who is an independent contractor and who is a personal contact of the hotel manager. I don't have the guide's info, unfortunately, but he was very good.

sf7307, on a good day we could have walked back from the Ethnology museum (we like to walk, too), but we passed...partly to save some time and partly because DD wasn't feeling 100%.

We'll try to get some more of this done by the first of the week.

We also used the hotel's airport transfer seevive (we stayed at the Hanoi Elegance Diamond). We were picked up by a taxi they sent for us, but were driven back in their own shuttle- not sure why.

Great report and fabulous pics---as usual from the Go Family.
I am so happy you did it so i will not have to go. Just too far for me.

Thanks for directing attention over this way. Loved the report, loved the pics. VN's been very high on my wish list forever, and seems justifiably so.

Really enjoyed your report & photos!

I am toying with a visit to the Perfume Pagoda for a day trip from Hanoi later this year. (I am a believer in 'it's all in the journey'!) Any additional details would be most welcome.

Thanks for sharing your trip!

ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE HANOI KIDS (AND WEASEL POOP?)
Hanoi Kids is a remarkable program that gives local students an opportunity to practice their English skills with visitors, and gives visitors a chance to explore the city and its unique treasures with young local guides. The only costs to visitors are cab fares, admission tickets, lunch and other refreshments. Arrangements are made in advance online, and it simply could not have been any easier. We scheduled our guides for the afternoon of our first full day Hanoi. It wasn’t completely necessary for us to have a guide; Hanoi is quite navigable on our own. But we wanted to acclimate as quickly as possible, and we also thought it would be an interesting experience for Allie to have a few hours of interaction with local college students.

Two bright, personable young men showed up at the hotel lobby right on time, and off we went! Both of them spoke fairly decent English, although we did have to listen closely at times. Our first stop was a local restaurant (Quan An Ngon) for some late lunch, and it was a real treat. We trusted them to order a variety of local dishes for us, and they were more than happy to show us how to go about eating them. Most notable were tasty roll-ups involving thin rice paper, tiny rice noodles, assorted greens, chunks of meat and an amazingly delicious dipping sauce. More about this remarkable restaurant later…

Properly fortified, we took a quick taxi to one of Hanoi’s premier tourist destinations, the Temple of Literature. This elaborate temple complex served as a prestigious university of higher learning for centuries, and is now truly well preserved. It is beautiful, fascinating, and an excellent reminder of the importance of education in Vietnamese culture. The names and academic accomplishments of its greatest scholars through the years are memorialized on tablets in specially designated areas. Our guides were very informative and knowledgeable, and both were eager to make sure we got as much from the experience as we could

After the temple, we asked them to return with us to the Old Quarter and just walk around showing us some of their favorite spots. Following them through the rabbit-warren of little streets was, by itself, an invaluable education in the subtle art of navigating and crossing the streets… it’s nearly effortless for a local to do it! Eventually, they asked us if we liked coffee, and we eagerly accepted their invitation to try some top-notch local coffee at their favorite coffee house. The place is so narrow that we all had to sit in single-file along a wall while they prepared our Vietnamese-style coffee. We ordered their finest kind, the Ca Phe Chon, also known as “weasel coffee.” This is because the coffee beans are (supposedly) first eaten by weasels, whose stomach enzymes mellow out the taste, and then excreted. The resulting beans are then used to prepare an impossibly rich and delicious coffee which is then blended with sweetened-condensed milk and served hot and fresh. Now, I don’t know for sure that the bizarre “processing” of this coffee is 100% on the level, but I can honestly say that it was one of the best-tasting coffee beverages I’ve ever enjoyed and I even bought a small bag to bring home. It is, quite possibly, the only expensive thing in all of Vietnam.

Our afternoon adventure with the Hanoi Kids was soon over, and we bid them a fond farewell. I doubt if they got half as much from the experience as we did, but it was definitely a positive experience and we would have no problem recommending this excellent program to anyone visiting Hanoi for the first time. Their web site: http://hanoikids.org/

ABOUT THE WATER PUPPET SHOW
Any destination guide on Hanoi that you read will make mention of the famous Thang Long water-puppet show near Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s a long-standing tradition, and everyone does it… no matter how kitschy it may sound at first blush.

Well it’s even cheesier than it sounds, but I still recommend doing it anyway. It doesn’t take very long (less than an hour), it doesn’t cost much, and the live traditional music isn’t bad. Just remember to book the show reservation in advance, because it’s pretty popular. Imagine that.

Did you end up bringing gifts from home for the Hanoi Kids guides? It sounds like they gave you a great introduction to the city.