The cool Hanoi

I mean literally - we are back to wearing socks! After over a month of super sunny, hot, and dry weather, Hanoi welcomed us with cool temperatures, drizzle and rain. Still carying our shnazzy matching red rain jackets :) we were ready for it. We strolled the streets trying to see as much as possible but not stress ourselves too much as the sightseeing was starting to get very tiresome.

James' top interest was going to the "Hanoi Hilton" where local political prisoners and shot down American pilots were held. Not surprisigly the propaganda did not escape this place either. You got to see the brand new yellow sweater and shiny leather shoes that supposedy the pilots were given while imprisoned there. You saw pictures of them playing cards - looked more like a fun dorm than a prison. The American pilot stories heard back in America were quite different... There is no such thing as one history... My favorite place was the Museum of Ethnology. In this great place they have collected exhibits showing different local cutures with their clothing, some ceremonial artifacts and super interesting recreated huts on the outside ground of the museum. It was neat to be able to walk in, sit down and have some tea at the different style huts. We were also lucky to go there during the weekend when they had a special weaving exhibit where people form different countries from around the Mekong River were showing their local weaving specialties. My favorite were the fishing traps. So many different types! Forget fishing rods or nets - wicker "traps" are the Mekong specialty!

James really liked the exhibit about food coupons during tough times in Vietnam. For me it was a weird reminder of the Polish rationing days. So far yet so similar...

One night we attended the traditional Vietnamese water puppet show. Basically puppets are performing over water with the operators standing knee deep in water behind the background. The show was about the different everyday activities on the mekong River with some dragon legends intertwined. Accompanied by traditional Vietnamese music it was cute but since it was all in Vietnamese we were not getting the full show.

Fresh beer (unfiltered and untreated) was another local activity we absolutely could not miss. Imagine an intersection in a middle of old town, lots of plastic stools, and kegs around (some people too :) . A glass of beer 12.5 cents. Doner Kebab about 70 cents. That comes to a light dinner for 2 people for about 3 bucks! The beer is not great (as judged by beer drikers) - a bit on the light side but with this price you cannot complain. I (non- beer drinker tolerating Rolling Rocks and such, with hot wings) enjoyed the lightness with the bit spicy kebab.

More in Hanoi - if you look closely at the first picture in this entry - James and I are taking a picutre of ourselves in front of the Haonoi Opera House where we went to see/hear the local symphony performance. It was stunning (both the music and the place).