Christmas Vietnam Style

Dodgeball Vietnam style

China had been a draining experience and so Hanoi was meant to offer respite and relaxation having covered nearly 12,000 km on trains over the previous 5 weeks!  Our Christmas present was to enjoy three nights in a nice hotel on the west lake where we put our exploring on hold and spent three days eating, drinking and enjoying the sauna! Arriving on Christmas Eve I panicked as for the first time in 30 years I would have no stocking.  To rectify this we walked into the old quarter of the city and explored the narrow streets, hunting for Christmas.  Each street sold a different product from gravestones to Chinese tea but eventually we found Christmas Street.  The competition then began to fill the stocking with presents that would be a) useful and b) fit in our rucksacks.  Separating for two hours whilst we shopped the pressure got to me and half of my shopping time was spent nursing a cold beer whilst I contemplated what to buy (and tried a different beer for consumer research). 

Unsurprisingly when Christmas Day arrived Hannah had been far more successful and my panic buys when walking up and down what I had dubbed Vietnamese Junk Street tested the theory of ‘it is the thought that counts’ to the limits!  The highlight of the rubbish local hand crafts that I bought was a solid handmade wooden box filled with chopsticks that weighed about 3 tonnes but at least we were able to open something on Christmas day!  In the afternoon we headed off to a hostel for a traditional three course Christmas dinner with other backpackers.  Feeling like an old man surrounded by 18 year olds that were drunk following 2 beers we found the only other three people equally horrified to be spending Christmas listening to the Back Street Boys. Logically deciding that if you can’t beat them join them (and with free rum at the bar) the rest of Christmas is a little hazy but with our sauna to help us recover on Boxing Day all was right with the world when we headed back into our usual standard of accommodation the following morning.

The temple on the West Lake

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

Hanoi itself was an interesting city to explore as old French colonial buildings with an Asian twist concealed small temples and courtyards.   The hum of scooters at every traffic light sounded like an angry swarm of wasps and crossing roads around the city was like a high speed game of Dodgeball! We were told to keep walking at a slow and consistent pace, regardless of what looked like it was about to hit us! Ho Chi Minh dominates every area of the city and we visited his mausoleum, complete with a very catchy tune describing his greatness that played through each speaker.  We also took in the Ho Chi Minh museum and learnt about ‘Uncle Ho’ and the defeat of the French and Americans (with just a little element of propaganda thrown in!).   As a single party communist state the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in South East Asia.  Following Marxist – Leninism the Communist Party of Vietnam follows a far more traditional form of socialism than China with the government purporting to represent the interests of the working class and govern the nation through democratic centralism. This year’s 11^th Party Congress saw a change with younger ministers being promoted after questions about the direction the ruling elite had pushed the country in but despite calls of corruption it is hoped the more flexible approach taken this year by the CPV will lay foundations for sustainable development in Vietnam for the future.

We also took in two shows during our time in Hanoi, a traditional water puppet show and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Having applied for jobs in Hanoi for next year we were pleased to find that we could find western comforts in the city as the most futuristic shopping complex we have ever visited was housed underground, just outside the city centre.  Below the 40 story apartment block was an ice rink, water park, cinema and shopping centre!  The water puppets were not quite as futuristic as little wooden dolls appeared from behind the curtain, accompanied with traditional Vietnamese music and singing.  The puppets were operated from sticks below the water and dragons with firecrackers in their mouths (although sometimes they were too wet to light!), fish and swans performed dances.  Although a great thing to see it was very weird!  After the performance we boarded a 30 hour bus to Luang Probang in central Laos although we are heading back to Southern Vietnam to explore more of the country in March.