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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2010 21:19:52 GMT
I have lots of pictures of Hanoi, but I'll start off with just a few. To begin with, here is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It took me 3 trips to finally get inside, because I was always there on the wrong day or at the wrong time. The mausoleum is serious business, because there is a queue of several hundred school children and other pilgrims waiting to get in. I am sorry to say that tourists do not have to stand in the same line, and we are ushered in very quickly in a different queue. Why should we get this privilege, since it means less to us than to the Vietnamese? Inside is pretty scary, because there is a stern soldier about every 5 meters along the way. No way to take photos (I'm sure it was forbidden anyway). I think I paused for maybe 3 seconds to admire Uncle Ho, and I immediately felt the hand of a soldier on my shoulder to push me along to the proper speed. And, god, it is really icy inside, like visiting a meat locker. Neverthless, it is very impressive, and I'm glad that I went. While one may not adhere to the values of Ho Chi Minh, there is no denying that he was the absolute icon of his country in a way that very few other countries could ever imagine. I feel that I must follow up with another symbol of Hanoi, to those of us who watched the war on television in the 1960's and 1970's. We heard so much about the "Hanoi Hilton" and so here it is at last, just to the right of the Hanoi Opera. In the center of Hanoi is a lake. While the city does not suffer from the tropical heat of Saigon, it is a relief to walk around the lake on hot days. The main post office can be seen on the far side of the lake. "Buu Dien" is a sign for which I often searched in Vietnamese cities. The heart of Hanoi is the "Old Quarter," a network of streets devoted to various crafts and full of cheap hotels for tourists not of the 'Hanoi Hilton' variety.
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Post by imec on Jun 8, 2010 1:16:13 GMT
Old Quarter looks very cool hw!
edited - Ha! Sorry K - automatically thought of hw when I saw these.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 8, 2010 2:43:29 GMT
Agree, that OQ looks very interesting. It looks like a nice place to live too.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2010 3:31:10 GMT
These are great Kerouac,how long ago was this? Would love to see more. Thanks.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 8, 2010 5:17:16 GMT
This is really interesting, and there's a special something about seeing "real" pictures instead of digital.
I have a question, though. I though the "Hanoi Hilton" that we heard about in the news back during the war years was really a prison, and that the name "Hanoi Hilton" was a bitter sort of joke. Isn't the building you show a real hotel?
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 8, 2010 5:23:22 GMT
And Jack was there at the right time, in Winter!
I love Hanoi in Winter, too hot and wet in Summer.
That little bit of greenness between the opera and the Hanoi Hilton is now a lovely little beer garden. The trees are still there and they even left the grass.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2010 6:39:05 GMT
This is really interesting, and there's a special something about seeing "real" pictures instead of digital. I have a question, though. I though the "Hanoi Hilton" that we heard about in the news back during the war years was really a prison, and that the name "Hanoi Hilton" was a bitter sort of joke. Isn't the building you show a real hotel? Yes, that is the real Hanoi Hilton Hotel. If you squint, you can see the logo on the wall.
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 8, 2010 7:08:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2010 12:51:17 GMT
You've really captured a time and a place, K. So interesting.
Really like that second picture.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 8, 2010 16:45:52 GMT
Thanks, HW. That's a grimly complete article. Also your comments about the seasons were appreciated. I was vaguely thinking it was autumn there, probably because of picture #9. All the trees in that downtown area plus the foot traffic makes for such a pleasant atmosphere. When were the pictures taken, Kerouac? Does anyone know if that section has been kept free of big vehicles? I went looking through the Vietnam sub-board to see if there were any before & afters of Hanoi and was surprised to see that this is the first thread specifically about Hanoi. When were the pictures taken? I have lots of pictures of Hanoi, but I'll start off with just a few. More, please!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2010 21:05:34 GMT
Yes, the Old Quarter has restricted traffic in terms of 4-wheel vehicles. Unfortunately, the other main boulevards that used to be full of bicycles and motorbikes are now mostly full of cars. Most of these photos are from December, but some of them are from September during another trip.
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 9, 2010 4:23:16 GMT
Hanoi has three distinct seasons, Winter from Nov.- Jan., dry and cool, Spring/ Summer from Feb.- July, rapidly getting very hot but dry, then a rainy, drizzly Autumn. During this last period it's worse than Saigon or Phnom Penh.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 9, 2010 9:10:27 GMT
I can see that Hanoi is just the sort of city I'd love to visit. It seems relatively unspoilt. I'd like to stay in the old quarter.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 9, 2010 14:18:42 GMT
We loved Hanoi when we were there in 1993, just before the "renormalization of relations" between the US and Vietnam. It's great to see these pictures. I remember going by the site of the Hanoi Hilton which my fuzzy memory can't recall if it was about to be demolished or had just been...
from the wikipedia article: The Hoa Lo Prison (Vietnamese: Hỏa Lò), later sarcastically known to American prisoners of war as the "Hanoi Hilton", was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War....Only part of the prison exists today as a museum. Most of it was demolished during mid-1990s construction[3] of a high rise that now occupies most of the site. The interrogation room where many newly captured Americans were questioned (notorious among former prisoners as the "blue room") is now made up to look like a very comfortable, if spartan, barracks-style room. Displays in the room claim that Americans were treated well and not harmed (and even cite the nickname "Hanoi Hilton" as proof that inmates found the accommodations comparable to a hotel's). Former prisoners' published memoirs and oral histories broadcast on C-SPAN identify the room (and other nearby locales) as the site of numerous acts of torture.
A Hilton Hotel in Hanoi opened in 1999 and was carefully named the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel.
So is the Hanoi Hilton K2 photographed the hotel? It would appear so. What YEAR were your pictures taken, kerouac?
BTW, when we visited the Mausoleum, we were not allowed to take my purse or Mr. Kimby's fanny pack inside, and cameras were strictly forbidden. We had to trust that it would be OK to leave that stuff in the car with the driver. There was no crowd of school children waiting to get in, but as K2 said, armed guards kept us from lingering to gaze on Uncle Ho's waxy complexion and wispy goatee....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2010 14:25:15 GMT
And it should also be mentioned that it is like walking into a refrigerator in there. I haven't been to Vietnam since 2004 . First trip was in 1997.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 9, 2010 16:48:02 GMT
I can see why you'd yearn to get back!
What's the story, please, on all the red lanterns for sale?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2010 19:58:01 GMT
I'm really enjoying seeing these. Maybe you said it somewhere in here,but when were these pictures taken?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2010 20:10:08 GMT
Most of these date from 2004, some of them from 2001 (or else some that are still coming up will be from 2001).
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 10, 2010 3:14:03 GMT
The red lanterns are a Chinese legacy. This looks like a specialty shop for festival material.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 10, 2010 8:04:28 GMT
Bixa - about red lanterns... I saw an amazing film called Raise the Red Lanterns...made in Hongkong/china... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raise_the_Red_LanternThe red lanterns in this film were symbolic and when one was 'raised' outside a concubine's room it meant that the Master was visiting her that night. This was deemed to be a great privilege.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2010 11:43:23 GMT
The night time shot is fabulous in the one with the Pho cafe sign.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 10, 2010 16:39:20 GMT
Thanks, HW. Vietnam has a very large population of Chinese descent, doesn't it?
I've heard of that movie, Spindrift -- need to find and watch it.
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 11, 2010 2:17:46 GMT
Vietnam was Chinese for 1000 years, they celebrated 1000 years of independence from China just this year I think. Strangely enough Chinese culture remained. Chinese script was replaced just a couple of centuries ago but every educated Vietnamese knows how to write his name in Chinese. Not many Chinese left in Vietnam. Most boat people were Chinese and the rest were kicked out in the aftermath of the Chinese 'punishment' attempt after the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1978. Everything's linked here
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2010 2:27:42 GMT
Wow,did not know all that, HW...it seems to make it all that much more intriguing a place to visit. What I'm curious about,these pics were taken in 2004,do you see much change since then?
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 11, 2010 2:53:59 GMT
Not in the Old Quarter or around the lake Jack mentioned, Hoan Kiem Lake. In fact not that much in the center at all.
Where things have changed is on the outskirts and around West Lake (the name's another Chinese legacy) which has become Hanoi's upmarket living and business area.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2010 2:02:49 GMT
Thanks HW! One more reason I want to go...I love the way the Old Quarter seems to have maintained that Old World charm about it and still have a funkiness about it that appeals to me greatly.
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Post by james on Sept 29, 2010 15:04:50 GMT
Aaahhhh hanoi, i was there about 8 years or so ago. Lots of little motorbikes but not a bad place. I stayed initially away from the old quarter and just took a bike ride in. Normally the same guy, who waited for me every morning. he was upset when i moved to the old quarter but i was just moving to a different town.
Its nice to walk around....esp. around the lake. And that park, forget the name was nice as well.
Streets might be a tad busy to cross though.
Nice pics K. Brings back memories...
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Post by philistine on Oct 7, 2010 3:13:42 GMT
Alas things have changed in Hanoi since these photos were taken ... cars and motorbikes are thick in all parts of Hanoi these days .... but it is still a wonderful city ... there is so much life there
In the Old quarter at one time ... manyamny years ago... the "guilds" had each their own street ... Hang Bac wasf funeral monument street ... another was tin street or music street ... The red lanterns are in the modern paper street where you can buy decorations for Tet ( new year) or even weatern Xmas .... the photos were taken in winter so is was prolly nearTet ... sometime from late January to early March
The Hanoi hilton prison museum is really worth a visit ..... but don't for a minute think that its about the American war. There is a small section in the last room where there are some American artifacts ... but it is essentially about the history of the prison . It covers the different discipline measures of the various colonial invaders .... French, Chinese, Japanese and Viet....very confronting but very insightful.. and a timely reminder that the American war was only one of many before and since .
The hanoi Opera Hotel is indeed of the Hilton chainand is the curved building next to the hanoi Opera house . We never stya there ( a much nicer class of people down market) but we often go there in the evening after a performance at the Opera House .... a very nice thing to do btw. Another attraction... it is the best place to get a Taxi that will NOT rip you off....
We will be back in Hanoi next january ... it is an annual destination for us ... I'd be happy to answer questions for anyone on their way there
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2010 9:29:23 GMT
I don't think that I've ever taken a taxi in Hanoi, except from the airport at a standard rate. I didn't know that the taxi drivers of Hanoi needed to be worried about. The taxis in Saigon all seemed to be perfectly honest with reliable modern meters... Of course Saigon is 2000 km away.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 11, 2010 3:17:37 GMT
Every time I'm in either Saigon or Hanoi I take about 2- 3 days worth of taxis, maybe 20 rides a day. Adding all up it's around 1000 I've taken in Vietnam. There've just been two rip- off attempts. Both unsuccessful Hopefully, I'll be meeting Philistine for a night on the town in January in Hanoi...
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