Eleventh Hour

My time here is dwindling away.  By the time I leave Sunday morning, I'll have accomplished everything I really wanted to do with a few things left on my list that won't be terribly missed.  But I'm still trying to squeeze in some things last minute, so Thursday was something of a mish-mash in my last ditch effort to take in all there is to see and do in Hanoi.


First up is Quan Thanh Temple, just down the street from our apartment, dedicated to Tran Vu, the Guardian of the North and the Dark Heaven in Taoism.  According to legend, he aided the Vietnamese in their third century struggle against the Chinese and is the "patron saint," or genie, of Vietnam during adversity.  It's a really nice temple, but I don't think it receives very many foreign visitors, which is a real shame considering the unique nature of its main deity and the temple decoration.

Back of entrance gate. On top of each outermost pillar is a ky lan, a symbolic animal representing intelligence and goodness and is a messenger for peace.

One of a pair of elephants honoring those that helped fight off invaders.

Stele naming those who donated to the reconstruction of the temple in 1893.

This altar houses a statue of the master foreman of the temple.

Beautiful lacquer door painting.

Statue of the Black Genie. He holds a sword wrapped with a snake resting on a turtle, symbolizing protection of the country and death to all adversaries. Women rub his right foot in order to absorb the genie's strength. Yes, I rubbed it--sorry, Amy, but at least it's a fake foot.

I then set out for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, passing by the Presidential Palace.  I didn't go inside the mausoleum, as the guards wouldn't even let me walk on the sidewalk in front of it and were making me nervous, and I didn't stop to take the picture of the palace, because I was afraid they'd tackle me and confiscate my camera thinking me an American spy.  I therefore took it from my hip while barely slowly down.  In the same area is the One Pillar Pagoda, which is...a pagoda built on one pillar.  Not much else to say about it.

Sorry for the wonky angle of the Presidential Palace, but I rather favor not being incarcerated for suspected espionage.

Hanoi...

Mausoleum (with Uncle Ho inside)...

Thang Long (The Citadel)...

One Pillar Pagoda.

After taking tea at Joma, writing up some postcards (which will now probably arrive in the States after I will), and sipping a Long Island Ice Tea in the shadow of St. Joseph's Cathedral, I stopped in at yet another pagoda I'd never noticed tucked away on Church Street.  It seems that few foreigners stop in at Ba Da Pagoda, as well, and I think my timing was rather unfortunate as a monk appeared to be holding a service, so I ducked my head and made a swift retreat.

Smaller pagoda entrance than usual.

Big Buddhas.

Stupa!

Today's highlight was my xe om ride back to the apartment.  I'm trying to fit in as many rides as I can before Sunday, since once I'm back in the States it's back to four-wheeled vehicles.  I'm really going to miss driving down the street and feeling the wind caress my cheeks and danger lurk around every corner.  It just won't be the same surrounded by steel and glass on all sides.

Oh, how I'll miss careening around corners.

Touching the Sky

Today we got off to a nice late start, heading out of town with a friend of my uncles' to Ba Vi National Park, west of Hanoi.  It was nice to get out of the city, but we had to drive through "the least pretty area in Hanoi," through much construction and small villages specializing in goat's milk.  I tried goat's milk yogurt and was pleasantly surprised to find that it married tart and sweet in perfect proportion.  The drive up to the start of the trail on which we were to embark was long, winding and seemingly never-ending, very much like the mountain "roads" I encountered in Greece but with thick foliage through which there were only sporadic panoramic views of the adjacent mountaintops.  So convoluted was this road that I was forced to turn away from my alternating mountainside and mountaintop observations after nearly succumbing to car sickness, a dreadful affliction from which I've only very rarely suffered.  Thus, by the time we reached the mouth of the trail and were taking our lunch, I nearly wimped out and opted to traverse a trail less intimidating in appearance.  Fortunately, Roman talked me out of what would undoubtedly have been a mistake.

All the white beyond the trees is cloud...that's literally how high we were.

Lunch with Roman, Kyle and Yasue on freezing concrete stools in the arctic mountain air.

So begins our ascent.

The forest through which the trail slowly winds is lush and filled with more greens than the English language can name.  It immediately reminded me of the Hoh Rainforest in Washington state, and this series of forest photos is dedicated to my dear traveling companions, Amy and Cassie, who will recognize the similarities to the Olympic Peninsula. 

1,229 steps, each unique in size, depth and smoothness.

Oh, what a tangled web...

About a third of the way up.

Cave!

We were above the clouds, so I got to see the sun!

Light at the end of the tunnel.

We were heading to a temple perched at the top dedicated to Ho Chi Minh.  There was some construction going on nearby, and we kept passing and being passed by workmen who hauled loads over one hundred pounds up the mountain seven times each day.  You know how you get that feeling occasionally that after you've passed by a group of people, they begin to talk about you?  But you tell yourself it's paranoia.  I'm fairly certain I wasn't being paranoid today each time we met this same group of gentlemen.  I've already had a handful of awkward encounters that have only been exacerbated by my discomfort at drawing attention to myself and accepting compliments.  Perhaps I'll soon get used to being an exoticism and point of interest here.


And now I have a surprise for you: a video from an overlook point very near the top.  The view was too amazing and panoramic to try to capture in a photo, so I hope my commentary is not too boring and my voice not too grating, because this should be the first video of many.  Enjoy.

I finally made it to the tippy top and was warmly greeted.

We hung out for about five minutes before making the perilous trip back without tumbling down the mountain.  Roman stopped along the way to dig up some black bamboo, which he secreted into an inner pocket and is now attempting to grow on the balcony.

Kyle with a ginormous fern plant. He almost fell down off the trail twice trying to get this picture.

Back at the beginning.

I made it! I wish my hiking friend, Erica, were here to share my victory.

The other trail, which Roman described as "crappy."

The CUTEST PUPPIES EVER awaited us at the end of the trail!

We then wended our way back down the meandering road until we arrived at the Bamboo Park.

We've got your blue bamboo!

We've got your yellow bamboo!

Heck! We've even got your yellow-and-green striped bamboo! Come on in and stay a while!

Gorgeous mountains with the sun peaking through the clouds...not that you couldn't have deduced that on your own.

Rice fields!

And then, after three hours of hiking up and down, over hill and dale, it was time to head back to the bustling city and hit up a restaurant near West Lake for dinner.  I was initially going to get chicken cordon bleu (I know--I should be embarrassed about such a lame choice, but I was STARVING and wanted something I knew I would like), but was saved from making that faux pas by finding seafood fried rice on the menu.  Mega yums.  Roman and I of course wanted ice cream after this blisteringly cold day followed by an equally chilled night, but I learned about a new strip along Truc Bach Lake that I'll be more than likely to revisit.  Today's highlight?  Being told by one of the mountaintop workmen that I look young for a twenty-four-old Western girl...maybe not all the attention is unwelcome. ;)

I'm Alive!!!

So I was totally going to post last night about my first day in Hanoi, but the internet was giving me serious trouble...which provided a great excuse for me to pass out at 10 pm. :)  Therefore, I'm going to make two posts tonight, one for each of the days I have spent here so far.


I got in around lunchtime yesterday with Roman (my uncle's partner) waiting for me outside baggage claim.  It was so wonderful to hold a conversation with someone I actually knew and who wasn't asking to see my passport or whether I wanted chicken or beef.  I was wide-eyed and open-mouthed for most of our drive from the airport into the city.  It was terribly foggy, which I immediately found out is just how it is this season and I should expect it most days, and the architecture, a combination of French art deco and modern Asian design, was absolutely captivating.  You'll see a lot of examples of that in my next post.


We stopped by the Canadian Embassy on the way to the apartment.  It's near Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and many government buildings, the latter of which I'm not really supposed to photograph, but I'll probably try to surreptitiously sneak a pic or two if there aren't any military men about.

Across the street from the Canadian Embassy of which I couldn't get a pic while being observed by a g-man.

I'm alive!!!

There's also an excavation going on in this area of the Chinese part of the old citadel of Hanoi.  It's not open to the public, but Roman and my uncle Kyle are going to try to get me in to at least do some observation and check out what they've found so far.  Cross your fingers for me!


We then finally made it back to the apartment where I was promptly put to work cooking Roman and me a lunch of rice noodles in broth and stir-fry squid and veggies...it ended up not too terribly considering I was jet-lagged and had neeeever cooked Vietnamese food before.  The apartment is lovely with lots of light provided by windows and sliding doors out to balconies that overlook West and Truc Bach Lakes.  Our building is filled with ex-pats and those who work for foreign governments.

Skyline! My home for the next six weeks.

View from my bedroom window

My temporary bedroom! It's lighter than it appears here.

My closet for the next six weeks...

The living room balcony and view of West Lake beyond

Living room

Roman in the kitchen

Expanded view from the living room balcony

Roman then walked me the five or so blocks to 54 Traditions, the antiquities shop where I'll be having my internship for the next six weeks.  Dr. Mark Rapoport, MD, is an ex-pat and former New Yorker who developed an interest in Vietnamese cultural objects back in the 1970's.  He moved here in the 1990's with his wife and began accumulating the gargantuan collection he now stores, restores and presents to tourists for purchase.  He's incredibly enthusiastic about all these finds, which range from ritual, shamanistic objects to common, everyday ones.  My favorite of the pieces so far are an elephant molar that was grated in order to use the resulting powder in shamanic prescriptions and a mammoth tooth that naturally resembles a dragon and was therefore placed on an altar in religious reverence.  I'm not entirely sure that Dr. Rapoport likes me yet, but I'm fairly certain he doesn't dislike me--and I can definitely work with that.


Afterward, Roman and I dropped in on a show opening at the nearby Art Vietnam Gallery.  I wasn't particularly impressed with the new show, but some of the older work was amazing.  There was a large black lacquer panel, a good six feet by three feet, that was incredibly reflective in the middle while the outer edge was filled with sporadic mother-of-pearl inlay in the shapes of dainty, delicate flowers.  I wish I'd gotten a picture of it...I think I'll try to stop back by there after work one day.  I did manage to snag a photo of my favorite piece, another lacquer work.  Of course, the picture doesn't do it justice. 

Rain, by Truong Tan

Finally, we met up with Kyle to head off to dinner.  Earlier, Roman and I had passed a little shop that had tiny fried rice crabs which you eat whole and cooked larvae of some kind.  I will definitely try the crab, and I'm really hoping to work my way up to the bugs... apparently there will be a ton of variety of edible insects in Cambodia, so maybe that will be my crash course.  Dinner was slightly less taboo, consisting of fried noodles with egg and beef and Bia Hanoi, the local beer with a very light taste.  The beer wasn't the only thing light that night, and by the time we came back to the apartment I was dead on my feet between the alcohol and the jet lag.  This resulted in the highlight of my day, however prosaic it might seem: sleeping in a legitimate bed with pillows and, most importantly, mattress.  It was like sinking into a cloud bath.