Vietnam 27: First Night in Hanoi

by Pa Rock

My hotel room in Old Hanoi

Cultural Explorer

Street scene outside of our hotel.  Like Saigon, Hanoi is
a veritable warren of motorbikes.

Our first evening in Hanoi involved checking into our hotel which was in the oldest part of the city - and then meeting our guide and heading out into the neighborhood.  We rode in bicycle rickshaws around the local streets before going to the Water Puppet Theater, a small theater with a live band and a puppet show that took place in an around an artificial lake inside of the theater.  It was entertaining to a point, but not something that I would bother seeing a second time.  After that the guide led us to a restaurant that had some American cuisine, and then departed for the evening.  Murphy and I walked some of the local streets after our meal.

One of the places I discovered that evening was a shop that sold copies of propaganda posters from the Vietnam War.  During the next couple of days I found four of those shops.  Making and selling copies of propaganda posters has become quite a cottage industry in Hanoi, suggesting that many of the tourists who visit the capital have some interest in viewing the war's history from the North Vietnamese perspective.

Enjoy the photos.

Hanoi Backpackers' Hostel located next to our hotel.
The people staying there had their own party on
New Year's Eve - and it was a  good one!

A closed shop.  Note the Chinese lanterns.

Some of the puppets on display at the Water Puppet Theater

An interesting painting on display at
the restaurant where we had dinner

Street view from the balcony of the
restaurant where we had dinner

Large stone tablet by thee lake honoring the 1,000th
anniversary of the founding of Hanoi

Red bridge across the lake in central Hanoi