Michael Powell's Blog, page 28
October 16, 2017
Biking Around West Lake In Hanoi
By far the largest lake in Hanoi, Hồ Tây, or West Lake, actually sits at the north of the city. At seventeen kilometers in circumference, it’s not a lake you’d want to walk around. But a bike tour makes perfect sense.
We took a Grab to THBC (The Hanoi Bicycle Collective), a small shop at the northwestern corner of the lake, and rented two bicycles for a half-day. Both our bikes were of excellent quality; light and smooth with perfectly-working gears and brakes. As its name suggests, THBC isn...
October 14, 2017
Our Favorite Street Food in Hanoi
We weren’t as impressed with Hanoi’s street food as we were with that of Saigon. In the capital, there’s not as much variety, and the locals are far more keen to overcharge tourists. But over the course of the weeks, we managed to find a lot of new dishes, and some great places in which to try them. Here are our favorites.
A popular Northern Vietnamese dish that’s virtually unheard of in the south, bún thang literally means “Ladder Noodles”. It might be because the thin strips of...
October 12, 2017
A Walk Along the Train Tracks Through Hanoi
Most cities have train tracks which cut through them; it’s nothing too special. But there aren’t many cities in which the tracks are basically just another street, with houses and businesses lined up right along the side. Hanoi doesn’t have time for your conventions or common sense! If there’s a place in the old town where someone can live and work, someone will be living and working there.
The well-trodden path along the train tracks starts, naturally enough, at the city’s main station. The...
October 11, 2017
Bạch Mã: The White Horse Temple
Located in the heart of the Old Quarter, the temple of Bạch Mã, alternatively known as the White Horse Temple, is among the oldest in the city. It was originally constructed in 1010, at the time of Hanoi’s founding by Lý Thái Tổ, though the current structure dates from the early 1800s.
Legend maintains that while Emperor Lý Thái Tổ was out scouting, a white horse appeared as though by magic, and stamped out a specific area with its hooves. Celestial guidance doesn’t get much clearer than tha...
The Ho Chi Minh Museum
Opened in 1990 on the occasion of his 100th birthday, the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi is found within the same complex as his mausoleum. The museum is heavy on symbolism and does an excellent job introducing and celebrating Vietnam’s most famous historical figure.
Our visit to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Saigon had been a real disappointment. We had been excited to learn about one of the most consequential statesmen of the 20th century, but Saigon’s museum was nothing but a bunch of nonsensica...
October 10, 2017
The Military History Museum in Hanoi
Found within the same complex as the Citadel, the Military History Museum is spread across a couple buildings, and includes the famous Flag Tower of Hanoi.
Vietnam regards its military with a lot of pride, and rightfully so. After all, they’ve managed to defeat enemies vastly more powerful, expelling the Chinese, French and Americans from their land. Considering this ample history, we were a little disappointed in the museum. It’s not really bad, and there are some interesting exhibits, but...
October 8, 2017
The Forging Village of Đa Sỹ
Hanoi is surrounded by hundreds of so-called craft villages; communities which have historically dedicated themselves to a particular craft. Though they’ve lost much of their prominence in the modern age of industrialization and mass production, and many have been consumed by the expansion of Hanoi, some of them are still plugging away. One such place is the forging village of Đa Sỹ, thirteen kilometers to the southwest of the capital.
This wasn’t the first craft village we’d attempted to vi...
A Performance at the Ca Trù Club
Ca Trù is a form of royal court music which dates back to the 11th century. The style almost died out completely after the reunification of Vietnam, but it’s been making a comeback, led by musical scholars and organizations like UNESCO, who have named Ca Trù an example of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We went to see a performance by the Ca Trù Club at the Kim Ngân Temple in the Old Quarter.
Though it got its start within royal palaces, Ca Trù eventually spread to inns around Hanoi and northe...
October 7, 2017
The Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts
Vietnam’s premiere art museum is housed inside a beautiful colonial-era building near the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. The three floors of the Museum of Fine Arts take visitors on a journey through the country’s artistic history, with a special focus on lacquer painting and war-time themes.
Originally built in 1937 as a boarding house for French school girls, the mansion was converted for use as a museum in 1960. Spacious and atmospheric, it’s a perfect place to appreciate the nation’s art...
A Journey through Vietnam’s Past: Visiting the Citadel of Hanoi
Established by the Lý Dynasty in the 11th century, and used as a command base throughout the American War of the 1970s, the Citadel of Hanoi was the seat of Vietnamese power for nearly a thousand years. Visiting the citadel provides glimpses into various periods of the country’s complex history.
Having already visited the citadel in Hue, we expected something similar in Hanoi. But it wasn’t the case at all. Hanoi’s citadel is both much older than Hue’s, and at the same time more modern. Hist...
