Part 20: The Red River Capital Of Hanoi

It’s Sunday morning and Sunny is waiting for me in the lobby after breakfast to drive through the French Quarter to the most revered shrine in the country, the gargantuan Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Often there are thousands of people queuing for hours to go through the X-ray machines and security checks to pay their respects to Uncle Ho, but today we breeze through in minutes, following the prescribed route past young soldiers in white uniforms, stood rigidly to attention, with bayonets affixed to their guns.

Total silence is required and I have to surrender my camera before I file past the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh, following respectful school children, before emerging into the daylight of Badinh Square – the third largest public space in the world after Tiananmen Square and Red Square. Opposite the mausoleum is the Parliament building and either side are two huge banners proclaiming ‘The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ and ‘Ho Chi Minh will stay Forever in our Work’.

Behind the mausoleum lies the Presidential Palace, which was formally the colonial governor’s residence. Nowadays formal receptions are held there for visiting world leaders, but Vietnam’s president follows Ho Chi Minh’s example and eschews living there as far too ostentatious. However Uncle Ho wasn’t averse to having a rather lovely house built on stilts for himself in the grounds by a lake, which we pass through to see how he existed.

His life was pretty remarkable. Born in 1890, Sunny tells me the full story of his peasant roots, how he taught himself various languages, managed to find passage on boats around the world in his early twenties, working as a scullery hand on Edwardian cruise ships departing from Saigon to Europe, as a cleaner in hotels in London and Paris, and then becoming a successful merchant in Boston and New York.

During that time, inspired by Marx and Lenin, he questioned the vast inequalities between rich and poor, formulating his own ideals and returned to Vietnam after thirty years to lead the country to gain independence from France and become a communist state in the north. He died in 1969 a beloved figure, and while some of the hagiography on display in the exhibition to him is a bit OTT, he still inspires fierce devotion. In fact Sunny clenches his fist to his chest in fervent patriotic manner when talking of his hero, and even sings the Titanic theme, ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at one point!

Before we leave the mausoleum complex we visit the One Pillar Pagoda, built by Emperor Ly Thai Tong in the winter of 1049. Legend tells that the emperor dreamed about Guan Yin Buddha sitting on a huge bright lotus, predicting the monarch would have a child. He immediately built the pagoda with a unique architectural style based on the lotus blooming in the dream, and it was restored in 1954.

The pagoda was at the heart of the city of Thang Lang, the Ascending Dragon, which was founded in 1010 on the banks of the Red River. It became the capital, changing its name to Red River – or Ha Noi – in 1802, at which point the capital moved to Hué. Now, the capital city of the reunified Vietnam, Hanoi is a genuine melting pot of ancient and modern.

Our next stop is another historical treasure – the Temple of Literature; a palace of Confucianism which is so central to Vietnam that it even appears on the country’s banknotes. Entering via a serene (except for tourists) courtyard with a pond in the middle, at its centre is the Constellation Pavilion with huge statues and an altar which features a bronze crane standing on the back of a turtle that people come especially to touch for luck. I give it a stroke, thanking my good fortune, and wander on past the inscription proclaiming, “Confucius – Teacher of 1000 Years!”

Sunny then insists we have time to visit a factory to see how Vietnam’s traditional lacquer paintings are made. I’m not hugely fussed as I’m painfully aware that these places are usually a hard sell to buy a souvenir, but it’s intriguing to see how the eggshell and mother of pearl layers are built up over days to create the images. And very satisfying to see that the exact same four-piece lacquer painting we paid $70 for in Cu Chi is on sale here for $370. I have no qualms turning the hard saleswoman down!

Sunny’s final trip for today is to ensconce me in a cyclo rickshaw for a tour of the Old Quarter. Whereas the experience in Saigon was a lot of fun, this time the traffic is choking, I’m wrapped up against the gloomy weather, there’s not really a huge amount to see and the city feels like a bit like a drab European metropolis. In fact, without Coman grinning away on another rickshaw nearby it’s a bit of a chilly and solitary affair.

I’m dropped off at the hotel a little under-whelmed but as I walk through the lobby my phone rings and it’s Coman himself, ringing to say he’s just landed at Heathrow and is waiting for the first tube of the day to take him home. Glad he’s back safe and sound – and ready for lunch - I head back out to explore the city again, retracing my steps from last night around Ho Hoan Kiem lake and walking past St Joseph’s Cathedral in search of Jalus Restaurant; a well-tipped vegan restaurant I’ve read about.

Following Google Maps lead I end up heading down a hidden alley, past some old men sitting in a rubbish strewn stairwell, and ascend the dilapidated staircase wondering what on earth I’m doing… but sure enough, on the second floor, I push open a door into a little pine-tabled restaurant full of hipster stylings, back-packers and students. Finding a table by the balcony I order the Lady In Saffron stew (a delicious tagine of chickpeas, apricots and brown rice) with a beetroot and ginger juice and have a very chilled half-hour relaxing away from the bustle of the city.

Revitalized I head back to the lake to cross the bridge to Ngoc Son Temple before continuing down past Hanoi Opera House to the History Museum where I have a pleasant wander through Vietnam’s past artefacts, pausing to buy Coman a wooden mask in the gift shop as I leave. Back at the hotel I repack my bags, ready for tomorrow’s trip south and the start of an entirely new adventure.