Backstreets of the Old Quarter
It was nice to start the morning on a quiet note - the whole day lay stretched ahead so we had plenty of time to lazily slurp some Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) while making some rough plans for the day. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was an option but Uncle Ho’s body had been sent to Russia (or London?) for embalming so it didn’t seem quite the attraction it would otherwise be. Instead we decided to have a look at the Temple of Literature, then track back to the Old Quarter, get some lunch on the way and then stroll around the OQ using the Lonely Planet walking tour as a guide. The weather was on our side so we set off on foot - deciding it would give us more flexibility than a cyclo.
The Temple of Literature is out of the OQ and proceeding along Pho Hang Bong was a fascinating transition from the narrow streets, weather beaten walls, tunnel buildings and cyclos to a more modern era of digital billboards, designer shops and cars. It took about half an hour to get to the Temple of Literature - which again was not a temple at all. It’s more a shrine built to honour ancient academics - led of course by Confucius. It became Viet Nam’s first university in the 11th Century and walking in through the impressive gates (which asks visitors to dismount their horses before entering) it feels like a rare place amidst the chaos of Ha Noi in which academia could flourish. Greenery and small waterways line the quiet paths that lead to the main complex - we walked along the middle path, in its heyday reserved for the sole usage of the king. Whilst being a serene and beautiful place, it was also pretty commercialised with numerous tourists and a souvenir shop taking up much of one of the halls in the courtyard. The other hall was lined with stelae placed upon those revered tortoises - each listing the names and achievements of past scholars. The main temple was more of a traditional Mahayana temple with the usual wafting incense, various offerings, low entrance roofs - forcing you to bow, a lot of red, a lot of gold.
I liked the Temple of Literature but wished it was a bit less commercial. Our appetites dragged us out around mid day and we headed towards Pho Cam Chi - a specialised food street. I didn’t even realise when we got there bc it’s more a tiny alley rather than a road as you’d expect with most food streets in South East Asia. It wasn’t particularly busy so it was hard to choose a spot based on popularity among locals - but we settled on a place having glanced through a pretty extensive menu. Char grilled chicken, fried rice, fish braised in beer and morning glory was ordered. Washed down by Bia Halida. Fantastic stuff. Viet Namese food just kept getting better and better. The fish braised in beer was outstanding, as was the chicken though in somewhat marginal quantities. Morning Glory, of course, never fails to impress. Thoroughly satisfied (again) we ambled back towards the OQ as a few rain clouds gathered overhead.
Having tried the excellent LP walking tour of Katmandu in July I was very keen on doing the same in Ha Noi. It suggested we start at the Hoan Kiem lake in the Ngoc Son temple, crossing the iconic red Huc bridge. By this time the drizzle had increased and I was forced to wear my godawful bright yellow raincoat (trust arpico not to have my size in a decent colour). So looking like a hazard beacon, I took shelter in the temple - which wasn’t too impressive other than for the approach across the bridge and the lake itself. I got chatting with a couple of Viet Namese who judging by their cameras, accents and dress were probably based abroad and back home on holiday. Having seen off the rain we returned to the road, starting at Hang Dau’s array of shoe and sandal shops - fending off an army of umbrella sellers who had arrived like meroos following the rain. The first highlight was the fantastic memorial house. We would come across many of these in Hoi An but this was the only such place in Ha Noi. It was restored with the help of the French, preserving the old wood dominated Chinese influenced architecture. We spent quite a while exploring the place, admiring the ornately carved lattices, the little balcony overlooking the open courtyard and the elegant attendants dressed in the traditional Viet Namese Ao Dai. I marveled at how small and delicate everything was - from the furniture to the staircase.
What really stands out about Ha Noi is the little backstreets of the Old Quarter. The persistence of trade clustering is fascinating and exploring this was a real highlight of Viet Nam. The streets today retain the name of what was sold there - in some cases as far as 700 years ago. There are 50 or so such streets, ranging from Hang Gai (silk), Hang Trong (drums) to Hang Mam (pickled fish). We could only explore a handful of these but it was fantastic. Every single sense was tantalised as we walked through the spices street (which included traditional medicines such as sea horses and assorted reptiles), the blacksmiths street, the visually spectacular altar street and silk street and the eerie gravestone street. As we walked around wide eyed, the city moved along at its brisk pace - women carried vegetables balanced on their shoulders, old men played cards squatting on the pavement, a man watched us as he took a long drag from an opium pipe (now used for tobacco) and scooters buzzed by as commerce raged on. By now it was close to evening so we stopped for a coffee break and I had my first Viet Namese drip coffee. While waiting for the coffee to filter through the tiny metal filter placed over the cup, we discussed the rest of the day’s plan - which was just 4 hours before catching the night train to Sa Pa. The espresso sized coffee came with condensed milk on the side. I had a sip without the milk and it was hardcore - easily the strongest i’ve ever had. But with a teaspoon of condensed milk it was absolutely superb - nothing like i’ve had in the past. R had a dragon juice (the fruit) which was pretty decent and we continued along the remainder of the path - dropping by at Kinh Dao temple where two charming old ladies shared some green tea with us, before moving over to the neo-gothic St. Joseph’s church which was unfortunately closed.
We wound up the evening with a fantastic dinner at the family run Cha Ca La Vong - a restaurant that does only one dish - steamed and sizzling fish with noodles, assorted herbs and peanuts. All cooked at the table. Yet again, a fantastic meal. We headed back to Prince II to collect our backpacks before heading to Tamarind Cafe to relax before catching a taxi to the train station. The station was pretty full and it looked like the sleeper to Sa Pa was quite popular. We had booked soft sleepers and the cabin was excellent. The beds were comfortable, clean and roomy - I was pretty happy to be spending the next 9 hours here. A Viet Namese lady and a shady Aussie chap had the other two bunks but everyone was pretty tired and after a few minutes of gazing out at the fantastic city we were leaving behind, I dozed off to the rhythm of the train.
