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| Hoan Kiem Lake-The Heart of Hanoi |
We made it to Hanoi yesterday (Monday) around 11:00 AM. After a good nights sleep I think my brain has arrived as well. Getting here wasn't easy, but it's quickly proving to be well worth the time and effort required!
We left Anna Maria Island before the sun came up on Saturday morning. Thanks to our good friends Kandice and Nathan, who live very close to the Tampa airport, we had a place to park the car for no charge. We flew Southwest from Tampa to San Francisco by way of Dallas.
By design we had a layover of 10 hours in San Francisco. Sarah and James picked us up at the airport. Unfortunately, Joey had other obligations and wasn't able to be with us. We were able to spend the afternoon and evening with them. After playing at Pacifica State Beach for a few hours, and getting a bite to eat, they dropped us off back at the airport for our mid-night flight. We flew Korean Air from San Francisco to Seoul (12 hours). There was a three hour layover in Seoul, which has an amazing airport. It was then another four hour flight before we arrived in Hanoi. All in, our travel time was around 40 hours of which a little more than half were spent in the air. It was a long journey. We arrived a little tired but in relatively good shape.
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| How to make the best of a long layover-Pacifica State Beach |
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| He's usually happy, but just pull out a camera and you're guaranteed a big smile |
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| Krispy Kreme in the Seoul Airport...……...it doesn't get much better than that! |
We had arranged to have someone meet us at the airport to assist us with the entry visa process. It was a welcome sight to see him standing where we were told to meet him. In less than 10 minutes we had our visa, cleared immigration and customs. I'm not sure how long it would have taken otherwise but it was well worth the small fee to have the assistance.
We are traveling independently, but arrangements for the entire 29 day adventure were booked through the Hanoi based travel agency, Tonkin Travel. Our driver and guide for the first few days met us outside the airport. Our guide is named Tony. We quickly had a sense that he would be someone we would enjoy. His English is very good. His knowledge of his country is excellent and the pace of the tour has so far proven to be exactly what we wanted. Our driver, Ang speaks limited English, which isn't a bad thing because it allows him to focus on the seemingly billions of motor scooters that are weaving in and out along the highways and narrow streets.
We made a quick stop at the travel agency to meet our representative who worked tirelessly with Beth to put the itinerary together. Her name is Dzung and she was as kind and friendly in person as she had been in her correspondence.
We were then driven by Ang to our hotel, the Golden Rice Hotel which is located in the heart of the old city. As we made our way, Tony sensing our fatigue kept the conversation light but did provide a brief overview of Hanoi as well as what we would be doing the first few days.
Golden Rice Hotel
We were happy to get a shower and peel off the clothes that we had on since leaving Florida. Not wanting to fall asleep at 2:00 PM we headed out to explore the area around the hotel. Tony had shared with us that one of the eighteen lakes within the city was located less than five minutes from our hotel. He also informed us that this lake, although rather small was considered the "heart of Hanoi". The name of the lake is Hoan Kiem Lake which means "lake of the returned sword". It received its name based on a legend from the fourteenth century. As the story goes, the emperor was boating on the lake when he was approached by a golden turtle asking for his sword. Being a wise emperor he gave the turtle his sword. Afterwards he had the lake drained but the sword was nowhere to be found. He then concluded that the golden turtle had come to reclaim the sword for a Dragon King that had given him the sword to use in a conquest against the Chinese. It makes for a good story and centuries later the legend of the Golden Turtle remains alive.
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This statue of the Golden Turtle was in the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university
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If the lake is the heart of the city, it was beating strong when we made our way to it. The tree lined shore was bustling with activity. Everything from small babies in strollers through senior citizens were enjoying an afternoon stroll around the lake. We too enjoyed strolling around it and getting the circulation going again after spending so much time flying.
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| Looking for a Golden Turtle |
I like massages but I don't get a lot of them. The main reason is I'm very tight so it's a combination of pleasure and pain mixed together, plus I think it's cruel and unusual punishment for the massage therapist. You'd think I'd at least get the name of the woman who spent 15-20 minutes of the hour massage sitting on my back attempting to knead out the knots. I didn't get it, but she was not only good but had the ability to contort my arms and legs behind me into positions they had never been in previously! I think those lyrics from the song "hurts so good" must have been written while getting a massage!
We topped off our first afternoon in Hanoi enjoying a very nice dinner at a restaurant (Nha Hang Ngon) recommended by our travel agent. The Spring Rolls, Vietnamese Pancake and Beef Salad were outstanding. We made our way back to the hotel, tired but happy and with full bellies...……..a nice way to spend Day 1 in Vietnam.
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Back-Vietnamese Pancake & Spring Rolls
Front-Beef Salad
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| The lake after dark |
A few things we learned today:
1. Hanoi is a bustling city. With a population of around 8 million people it's going to be busy, but in spite of it's size and pace there is a peacefulness about it.
2. This may seem to contradict #1. You do have to watch out for the motor scooters! It does make crossing the street interesting and not something for the faint of heart.
3. As advertised, we have found things to be very inexpensive. Our meal last night was less than $15 for both of us. A one hour massage, $17!
4. Not only are things inexpensive, but the Vietnamese currency makes you feel really rich! They
use a lot of zeros. I withdrew $2,000,000 Vietnamese Dong from the ATM. That's about $85 US Dollars!
