Hanoi Things to Do Tips by mad4travel

In 1070 King Ly Thanh Tong founded this temple to pay tribute to education and to those of high academic achievement. Six years later, it became home to Hanoi's first university.

Even now, more than 200 years after the last national examination, the site's five courtyards still enjoy an atmosphere of higher learning. Today, art students sit on the grass and try to reproduce the traditional Vietnamese architecture on paper.

Stone stelae resting on the back of turtles record the names of successful doctorates, the turtles being revered as learned and wise because of their longevity.

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Now this is the kind of monument I like, it does what it says on the tin. Its a pagoda, and it sits on one pillar. Sorted!

The One Pillar Pagoda is unique to Vietnam. Tradition says that it was first constructed in 1049 during the early Ly dynasty.

Legend has it that King Ly Thai To dreamed of the goddess Quan Am sitting on a lotus leaf and offering him a son. Struck by the dream, the Emperor married a peasant girl who soon provided him with a male heir. In gratitude, the king built this pagoda to honor the goddess. Some have said that the pagoda resembles a lotus climbing out of the water.

The pagoda was destroyed a number of times over the centuries, most recently in 1954 during the French Colonial retreat, but was reconstructed in its present form in 1955 with a concrete pillar. (practical, but not very romantic!)

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I've already written about this a bit on my intro page. It is an interesting place to go and its a real bit of history.

Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 in the village of Kimlien, Annam in Central Vietnam. Like his father, he protested against French colonial rule and would eventually become the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle for independence. He helped to found the Communist-dominated independence movement, known as the Vietminh, when Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941.

Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Vietminh seized power and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh, as he was now known, became president. War with France followed for eight years until the French surrendered in Dien Bien Phu in 1954. With just the north under the communist state, conflict returned in the 1960s as the DRV fought against the US-supported regime in Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh didn't see the end of the war as he died of heart failure in 1969.
He apparantly wanted to be cremated but because he was so revered he got embalmed instead.

Some tips for visiting, go early. It opens at 8am and can get very crowded. Be prepared to get herded like cattle and if you are a westerner you will get searched many times. You will have to leave you bags and cameras before you go and will have to collect them at a different palce on exit. You will be given a chit- don't lose it!

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Directions: 5 Pho Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi

Yup, this is a bit of a cheesy tourist attraction but I thought it was quite fun.

The art of water puppetry appeared in the Ly dynasty (1010-1225).

It was developed in lake and pond-rich areas in the Red River Delta. The surface of water serves as the stage while spectators sit at the edge of water.

The puppeteers both male and female stand waist-deep in the water to manipulate the puppets making them move about and even dance on the surface of the water.

The water serves not only to hide the puppeteers and strings of the puppets but also to create a trembling stage full of reflection, while providing natural amplification for singing puppeteers accompanied by percussion music and fire crackers.

Every puppet is a piece of real folk sculpture. It is made of wood, painted with water-proof lacquer. The prominent character is buffoon Teu with a plump body and a humorous smile. When the curtain is raised, the merry, arch Teu enters onto the stage and introduces the play.

A considerable repertoire of traditional water puppet plays still get a big hand from the audience. They include the Teu Dance, Buffalo Fighting, Duck Tender Chasing Fox and Chess Playing.

It may be cheesy but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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This museum was originally part of the Vien Dong Bac Co School that was founded in 1932 by the French. The collection at that time comprised ancient objects from throughout southeast Asia.

France ceded the building to Vietnam in 1958 (four years after independence), when it became the national history museum.

The museum's two floors house thousands of artifacts, displayed chronologically. The Stone Age features polished stone tools and instruments for hunting and fighting, among which there are stone axes dating from 300,000 to 400,000 years ago.

The Bronze Age section of the museum is renowned for its bronze drums, There are also axes, javelins, daggers, spears and other bronze weapons from the Hung kings' period. Examples of Co Loa's cruel, barbed bronze arrows from the second century can also be seen here.

The museum closes for a long lunch so watch your timings.

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Directions: #1 Trang Tien Street
Hanoi
Vietnam
Tel. 84 4 933 0021

Opening Hours:
- Morning: 8h00 to 11h30
- Afternoon: 13h30 to 16h30
- Closing day: Monday

Ha Long literally means descending dragon(s) and according to local myth, the story goes as follows:

Long ago when their forefathers were fighting foreign invaders from the north, the gods from heaven sent a family of dragons to help defend their land. This family of dragons descended upon what is now Ha Long bay and began spitting out jewels and jade. Upon hitting the sea, these jewels turned into the various islands and islets dotting the seascape and formed a formidable fortress against the invaders.

The locals were able to keep their land safe and formed what is now the country of Vietnam. The Dragon family fell so much in love with this area for its calm water and for the reverence of the people of Vietnam that they decided to remain on earth.

Mother dragon lies on what is now Ha Long and where her children lie is Bai Tu Long. The dragon tails formed the area of Bach Long Vi known for the miles of white sandy beaches of Tra Co peninsula.

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The limestone formations in Halong are both bizarre and awesome

.Over thousands of years the base of many of the formation have corroded to a point where many seem to be balancing on thin air. The shapes and the positioning of these formations often resemble people, animals etc., hence, most are given a name by the locals.

Some of the more famous are: Hang Dau Go ( Wooden Stakes cave), Hang Bo Nau (Pelican cave), Hang Trinh Nu (the Virgin), Hang Sung Sot (Cave of Awe), Dong Hang Hanh, Dao Tuan Chau (Sentinel Chau Island), Qua Chuong (the bell), Con Voi (the elephant) etc..

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There a few caves you can visit on your trip out to Halong Bay.

Situated in the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage area, the Sung Sut or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hun Island, and is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Ha Long Bay.

From the wharf, you climb 50 steep stone stairs to the mouth of the grotto, which lies 25 m above the sea level.

The grotto covers some 10,000 m2. Inside the grotto there have thousands of stalactites and stalagmites along the 500-meter paved passage. Light posts line the passage and serve as signposts and ornaments.

It is partitioned into two chambers; the first one being similar to a wide theatre hall. Many stalactites hang from the high ceiling, with numerous possible forms and shapes.
A narrow passage leads to the second rooms. The chamber is so immense it could contain thousands of people at one time.

Up in the 30-meter roof of the grotto, you can see small, soft and even concave spots, which look like patterns in the ceiling of a theater.

The view out from the mouth of the grotto is pretty good too.

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