17th March: Hanoi, Vietnam

It was chilly today with a top temperature of only about 16C. Perhaps the weather is easing us back into the European spring? Watching the crazy junction where five roads met just below the room, motorbikes zipped in all directions including against the flow on the one-way streets. On any given day, Hanoi is thought to have 6 to 7 million motorcycles on its streets, almost one per person for the 8.5 million population! Almost all are internal combustion engine powered. No wonder there were weeks this winter where the city was the world’s most polluted.

We popped into a café for a coffee and cinnamon roll to avoid a passing shower, after which we saw another train whizz through train street. This was completely by chance as we didn’t even think there were any trains today! Kaja was exhausted, so decided to go back to the room whilst I carried on for a wander.

I walked northwest, a different direction to previous days, towards Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. A diagonal boulevard cut through the city, forming a grand axis for the mausoleum and surrounding government and party buildings. The imposing neoclassical resting place of the leader who fought off the Americans and reunited Vietnam was fronted by a large and wide expanse of concrete and then grass. Ho was explicitly against personality cults and wanted to be cremated, so I do wonder what he’d think of this place. After security checks, I was allowed into the solemn grounds just in time for the changing of the guard ceremony consisting of two pairs of military personnel in white uniforms being inspected by a senior officer.

I walked on through the vast site and found a bench to chill on in an ornamental garden, where I was joined for a chat by a tour guide who’d had enough of his group and needed somebody to vent to! He told me to come to Hanoi in December or January for better weather.

I continued walking north but it was tricky to find a direct route towards West Lake due to private or official roads. I ended up travelling a couple of kilometres west to find a way through, which at least gave me the chance to try lots of ATMs. I hadn’t been able to get any to work today for various reasons, which wasn’t ideal as Kaja had the last of our cash and nobody seemed to take card out this way.

The view out over West Lake was very grey and monochrome, with a few taller buildings visible through the murk on the far bank. It was total grey scale, as if a heavy filter had been applied to the usually vibrant colours of Vietnam. The waterfront on this south side of the lake was lined by a road with endless coffee and tea shops on the landside of the road looking towards the water. Many also offered the opportunity to take part in the current trend of decorating plaster models whilst you sat with your hot drink. On the muddy shore of the lake, a few people were fishing whilst wrapped up from the chill.

It was a long walk back east but eventually I reached the corner of the lake where a road passed back south. However, a pagoda on an isthmus to the north caught my eye and I couldn’t resist a closer look. The main tower was red and had a style similar to Chinese pagodas, although this one was only around 15 metres tall. All around it were yellow temples and walls, with pink lotus decorations, where prayers were ongoing inside.

Finally, on my way back, the 13^th ATM of the day worked! I was able to get some water and then something to eat. I was knackered but it was worth the wait for fantastic bahn xeo, kumquat juice, and bun thit nuong (seitan peanut noodles)!