Since we knew we would be dog tired from the day before, we decided to go on a private tour and start at 9:30 instead of the typical 8am pick-up time. Today, we had the pleasure of meeting Henry our tour guide and Charlie our chauffeur. Both had given us their Vietnamese names and seeing that we had a hard time pronouncing it, they gave us the option of using their English names. Charlie was a nice middle aged man who didn't talk too much and was a very smooth driver. Henry, on the other hand, spoke with a thick Vietnamese accent which made it very difficult to understand anything he was saying. Add to that was the fact that he spoke with his face inches away from yours. Eeeeewwww.
In your face Henry first took us to the Tran Quoc Pagoda which is located by the West Lake. The Pagoda is the oldest one in Hanoi and is frequented daily by the local Buddhists. It is also a popular stop-over of many foreign visitors and pilgrims.
In the picture, Mom is wearing an oversized sunvisor which could easily pass as a fashion accessory. But in reality, mother kulit did not listen to her smart and logical daughter who asked her to wash her hair the evening before! At 9:30 that morning, she was still frantically blowdrying her wet hair. Due to time constraints, she had no choice but to hide her frizzy locks behind that visor. We were all dying of laughter when she came out of the room (me especially) and she got even more inis with us when she found out that we were on a private tour. She should've been allowed to finish daw her hair! Hahahahaha.
Next on our tour of Hanoi was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. In my previous post on Saigon, I said that HCM is a very important figure in this country since he is the acknowledged leader of the Communist Movement in Vietnam. He is revered by his people even years after his death and so they created this massive crypt to honor their fallen leader.
There was a long line out front but what we didn't realize was that the mausoleum was closing at 11am. We arrived 20 minutes before closing and so the wait was not too long. We had to leave all our bags with Henry because you are not allowed to bring any cameras, cellphones or any electronic devices inside that may take photos or videos of the crypt. As you step inside, you will feel frozen almost instantly. You are not allowed to talk nor mingle while in line and you must be completely silent while in the presence of HCM who lay frozen in a glass enclosure. When we got out, we asked Henry if that was really his body? Henry smiled politely but would not give an answer. Maybe it was unpatriotic to even suggest that and so he just kept quiet.
In the vicinity of the mausoleum is a complex housing the residence of HCM. The sprawling grounds has the Presidential Palace out front with a man-made lake behind it. Around the lake, HCM had his garage, his dining area, his resthouse, his pets and his garden where visitors were allowed to roam. HCM was never married and he didn't have children which I think was intentional given his mission in life was to attain the independence of Vietnam. He probably thought that having a wife and children would distract him from his mission. Talk about devotion to his country!
Our next stop was the One Pillar Pagoda which is within walking distance from the Palace Grounds. The pagoda is a cultural and historic relic unique for its architectural features. It is built in the shape of a lotus blooming on its stem.
A car ride away was the Museum of the Ethnology. This is where they collect the historical and cultural artifacts from the diff. ethnic groups of Vietnam. For the Amazing Race afficionados, the bike containing all those baskets was similar to the detour during Season 3 where Flo was bitching to Zach. Remember? Anyway, it was very beautiful and educational inside the Museum but because it was 12:30 na, we could no longer concentrate on the exhibits!
Upon reaching our lunch venue, all of us started elbowing one another refusing to go down. This incident was similar to the HE3 arrival! The restaurant was old, not very sanitary and they had food cooking on the sidewalk. We tried to convince Henry to bring us to another restaurant and we were even willing to pay for our food but he convinced us to stay and try their specialty dish. Thank God we listened to Henry!
The Dac Kim Restaurant on 1 Hang Minh Street only serves two dishes namely: the Bun Cha and the Crab Roll. The Bun Cha is a combination of grilled pork in cold, sweet broth mixed with rice noodles while cucumbers and fish sauce are added for taste. What the restaurant lacked in ambiance, it more than made up for in taste! What a yummy, yummy meal! The crab roll was plain but we couldn't stop raving about the Bun Cha! What a great food discovery.
After lunch, Charlie directed us to the Temple of Literature. If Henry is to be believed, the place houses the very first University in Vietnam and it also has a Temple for Confucius. While there, we had the chance to see a performance of traditional folk music using their local instruments. It was very interesting. I tried to upload the video but no luck! Grrrrrr.
After the 'concert', we rushed on over to the Hoan Kiem Lake and took a bunch of pictures on the red lacquer bridge. Shown here is some idiot who blocked me!!!! Hahahaha. You can also see the Ngoc Son Temple which is located in the middle of the lake. Next to Halong Bay, I think it is the most photographed image here in Hanoi.
The last part of the tour was the water puppet show at the Thang Long Theatre, a short distance away from the Lake. The show was very entertaining and at times comical--this despite the fact that the entire show was told in the Vietnamese language. The show was very graphic so despite 3/4 of the audience not understanding a word, they were still able to convey their thoughts and ideas thru the puppets. Galeng! I imagined the puppeteers to be underwater holding the puppets from below. Yun pala, they were in waist-deep water hiding behind a curtain and controlling the puppets from there with the use of sticks.
The highlight of this very loooooong post was dinner at Restaurant Bobby Chinn. For those who watch Travel & Living, you would know BC is part-Egyptian, part-Chinese, holds a college degree in Finance but now makes a living as a Chef in Hanoi. His restaurant, not to mention the chef, are known the world over and we felt so privileged to experience dining here!
Since our table was not yet ready, the host lead us to the lounge where we were served yummy ribs and spicy sweet peanuts. On the house, mind you. We also had the option of smoking the shisha which we politely declined. As we are led to our table, we are met by thousands of roses and rose petals which not only looked beautiful, it smelled sweet as well. The ambiance in the restaurant is light, homey and super comfortable. And the food, excellent! I ordered myself panfried salmon on a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes. For dessert, I had some sticky rice with mango which was not as exceptional as my main course pero parang masarap na rin. Iba kasi talaga ang ambiance!!! We also had the pleasure of conversing with the man himself. BC was very warm, unassuming, funny, witty and had initially refused to have a picture with us. Hahahahaha! Joke lang pala. He obliged and as you can see, we were all teeth! Kilig na kilig kami.
While waiting for our cab inside the resto, the song WHO THE FUCK IS ALICE starts blaring over the loud speakers. I had never heard of the song but the tune was really catchy and so in a few seconds, we found ourselves singing and laughing with everyone else in the resto joining in! It was classic! The group from New Zealand was so drunk that they even obliged Mom by dancing with her and Tita Cora. Ano ba. Nakakatawa talaga. When we reached our hotel, we were still singing and dancing that obscene song. Imagine our surprise when silly front desk officer stands up then starts dancing with Mom and Tita Cora. What a way to end our perfect day. Please search for the video on youtube so you'll understand why that song keeps ringing in my ear! Alice? Alice! Who the fuck is Alice!
