It was clear from the beginning that there was a lot to do. I set out determined to spend the morning on cultural endeavors, before hitting what’s been billed as the “Olympics of Shopping.” My companion for the day, thanks to Lisa, was the Luxe guide to Hanoi (http://www.luxecityguides.com/).
The first thing you have to understand about Hanoi is the traffic is unbelievable. Here is a view of the motor scooters as seen from my hotel, the Zephyr (www.zephyrhotel.com.vn). Before I got here several folks told me that when you want to cross the street, you step into the crosswalk (preferably when the light is green) and walk purposefully ahead. The sea of scooters (which never seems to stop) will part. On my walk to the Temple of Literature, I tested this out many times and it’s true, though nerve racking.
The Temple of Literature is about 1000 years old and was dedicated to training scholars for the nation. It is not in use today, but is considered one of the most important historical landmarks in Vietnam. At the centerpiece is this statue of Confucius, with his four disciples on either side of him.It’s very hot at the temple and in Hanoi in general, and by this time I’d been trucking for a couple of hours and was ready to get into a building with air conditioning. I visited the Museum of Fine Arts (http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/vietnam/hanoi/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154665443681)
which is close to the temple. This is a museum which chronicles Vietnamese art from prehistoric times to the present. The art was lovely, but what struck me the most is how little of it there is. I got through the whole thing in about 45 minutes. So much of the art has been destroyed over the years and I guess it is lucky any was preserved at all.
By this time, it was lunch hour. I stepped into Pho 24 for my first official Vietnamese meal. Pho is written up in the handy Luxe Guide as a local chain which is clean and consistent. It was yummy!
Fortified, the shopping could officially begin. I had had enough walking and decided to hire a scooter taxi to take me to the next stop, Art Vietnam Gallery. This was all mine for 20,000 dong (~$1.40) which I later learned was about 5,000 dong too high, but I got over it. Art Vietnam (http://www.artvietnamgallery.com/) gets rave reviews from the Luxe guide, and you can see why. Although I did not find anything I could not live without, I met the owner, Suzanne Lecht, who is a native of my hometown, Austin, Texas. What a small world.
From here it was back on the motor scooter, and when that got too scary, into a car taxi and when that got too scary, back on foot. I spent the rest of the afternoon trolling around for art and purses and made purchases of all. I am not sure how I’m getting all this home but I will figure something out. I also got a $5 pedicure (yes Valerie, I brought my own nail kit).
The last event of the day, after a long shower, was dinner at Wild Rice Restaurant, where the food and atmosphere were fantastic. Here I am at dinner, all cleaned up.
There are some days in your life when you have them, you know you will never forget. For me, this was one of those days.
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