Hanoi: Ho ho ho and a glass of Bia Hoi
Monday, April 9th, 200728 March 2007
Saddle sore we returned to Hanoi on a one day stopover before we were scheduled to head out to Halong Bay. This time we were determined to make to see ‘Uncle Ho’. Our train arrived in Hanoi at 5am giving us plenty of time to make the 11am cut off for visitors to the Mausoleum so we had a leisurely breakfast at the authentic Vietnamese ‘Baguette and Chocolat’ 😉 before we retraced our footsteps from four days earlier to see Uncle Ho.
We made it to the Mausoleum at 10.10am only to be stopped by a guard who grunted at us and pointed at the far gate which was about another 15 minutes walk. Deducing that we were at the wrong entrance we checked the Lonely Planet only to read that although the Mausoleum shuts at 11am the last entry was at 10.15am! Determined that this trip was not going to once again become a failure and vowing that we would not be returning for a third attempt we jumped in a taxi and sped round the roads of Hanoi.
We made it and after various bag searches and queues we were in. We entered the darkened room to see Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body lying in a glass case – or was it? Chris was of the opinion the body looked suspiciously wax like and was not convinced. I, on the other hand like to give the benefit of the doubt. Eitherway, the Mausoleum, or more precisely its contents, reflects the immense Vietnamese pride in the former Communist leader. The whole experience was certainly not up there in our list of ‘must do’ recommendations from this trip and wa a little sad considering I later read that ‘Uncle Ho’ was a humble man who wished to be cremated upon his death.
Strangely (and worryingly) the whole experience left us both hungry so we made tracks to KOTO (know one, teach one) another NGO aimed to teach street kids a trade. After three courses which culminated in chocolate mud cake for Chris and chocolate bread an butter pudding for me (you can scratch that from the wish list Mum!) we conteplated the options for the afternoon and settled on a visit to Bia Hoi Junction.
Bia Hoi Junction is what it says on the tin….a crossroads which has Bia Hoi vendors on each corner. Bia Hoi is a Vietnamese beer which prices in at an astonishing 7p a glass. I know you can probably do the maths but let me help you out….7p a glass….that’s 14.2 glasse to the pound….or two hangovers for approximately 2 pounds (the glasses are not pint sized!). So the junction is where we settled for the afternoon/evening watching the world go by and jumping up from our seats with the other consumers when a police van was spotted in order to quickly relocate onto the pavement…only to spill back onto the road once they left again.
In case you had to ask – Bia Hoi Junction is definately up there on our ‘must do’ list!
Chris and Charl