Fun things to do in Hanoi

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This Pagoda is situated on an island at West Lake, and is the.......
OLDEST PAGODA IN HANOI,
having being built between 544 - 588AD.

There is a Bell Tower, Two corridors, Visitors Hall and quite a few Statues.
Outside in the courtyard are burial stupas, these are from the Zen Buddhist groups from North Vietnam.
The Pagoda is linked by a bridge which is linked to a causeway.
It has not always been here, it was moved from Red River to its current position in the 17th century.
In 1959, the visiting Indian Prime Minister offered the Pagoda a gift of a Bohdi Tree. The plant was grafted from the Holy Bohdi tree and is now growing well in the Pagoda's yard.

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In Hanoi are thousands of opportunities per second to make photographs! It is very nice and rewarding to photograph people, specially when the pictures are not “stolen”: people notice when I photograph them, most of times, I show the pictures (ah! Digital technology. . . ), and if they are not happy (or do not want to be photographed), I erase. Making pictures is nice, but important is to communicate with people, even we do not speak the same language, just smile at each other, have a short glimpse, a discrete gesture, in short: communicate.
Walking around Hoan Kiem Lake, you meet young nice people like the ones on the main picture, or this lady playing with the little boy (Picture2).
The girl on picture 3 found herself “romantic” (if I understood well. . . eeuuh), and the one on picture 4 liked herself too; so, I share.
Around Hoan Kiem Lake, there are lots of local photographers, and in fact people are used to see cameras and people making pictures; here, on picture 5 is a local photographer in action; notice he works with a non digital camera.

"Cam Tu Cho To Quoc Quyet Sinh". I am not sure the significant of the monument, but through reliable google I've managed of finding the meaning of the phrase. "Cam Tu Cho To Quoc Quyet Sinh" translated to "Decide to die for the country to live".

Looking at the monument I guess the meaning of the phrase is quite appropriate.

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Why not after all? Thousands of people get their hair cut that way every day in this city! Sorry, ladies, it is not a tip for you; ladies here , like in other places go to the salon. Hair dressers (cutters seems more appropriate!) are found in many streets of Hanoi, in generally not too crowded places, as they need a bit place around their “workshop”, and hair cutting is a relaxing moment for the customer; so relatively quiet places , but it can be on big avenues, parks, near the lakes very often; in fact you cannot miss them and for 2 U.S, you can get a fresh cut; no guarantee it fits your expectations, once its cut, its done, if it is not what you like, it is too late. . . . . In almost all places in Asia or Africa I visited, I got my hair cut, and never had to complain, except about the length may be. . . . And here, getting the hair cut with the traffic noise as background music is an interesting experience. . . . as is interesting to sit nearby workshops repairing bikes or cars, mixed with food shops. . .

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This museum is currently (December 2008) being renovated, and it is not possible to visit inside; so, a small tour for free in the gardens and a look at what is displayed outside only.
The building itself has a particular character, constructed in a pagoda style, with very well chosen colours, giving it an exotic charm and very well integrated in the surroundings; it has been built in the thirties by the French and was the French Far East school (Ecole Française d’Extrême Orient, now based in Paris, cooperating with institutes from Far East countries; Ethnology, history of arts, civil engineering, etc. . . would not be in the shape they are in Viet Nam, if that school would not have worked here; it is a statement, not a post-colonialist lamentation, for instance, these guys “found” and saved Angkor. . . . http://www.efeo.fr/en/presentation/vocation.shtml).
Let us walk in the gardens where we can have a look at the building walking around; in the front garden are many statues like this Nghe (Picture 2), a sacred animal from the 18th century, used to protect and decorate gardens, or this tortoise, other sacred animal (Picture 3). Dragons with a little pagoda (Picture 4), another pagoda and various artefacts (picture 5), and many more statues can be seen outside.
This very very short overview gives an idea of what could be found inside, and lets the visitor frustrated; hopefully, the museum will re-open soon.

Tuesday-Sunday, 8-11 and 1.30-5 pm

This is a tiny temple nestled in the old quarter... There were supposed to be white bearded guards sipping tea outside but I never saw them... (I went more than once) not because of them but because the lighting was good inside the temple... on a sunny day beams of sun light come through holes in the ceiling... It's quite beautiful!

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You may get a shock when you come across the Giarai Tomb, as around the outside of it, are some sexual figures!

The Giarai people hail from Vietnam’s central highlands.

There Tomb was rather interesting, as I, and probably many other people, had never seen anything like it before!

I found out that they send the soul of a deceased family member on a grave-leaving journey to the land of the ancestors, and that this ceremony may be held many years after death.

This maybe because families can't afford the cost at the time, so they do it when they can afford food and drink for a proper feast and when they feel emotionally ready to send the dead away.
Until that time, as many as 50 people may be buried in the same tomb, where their spirits are fed and mourned.

To insure a proper send-off, relatives build an ornate grave house over the tomb and erect wooden funeral statues.
Delegations from several villages dance around the tomb, accompanied by ensembles of people playing gongs and drums.

The mourning families sacrifice dozens of water buffaloes and cows for a feast, and hundreds of jars of wine are consumed, some from the families and some from guests. At the end of the ritual, the deceased has left the village and the mourning period ends.

A Tomb full of interest!

Old Quarters has 36 streets selling different things. The streets are occupied by shops along the narrow path.

From travel agents, restaurant, motor repair shop, incense, casket, provision shops, electricals, lanterns, deco, clothing, swimwear, internet cafe, toys, silk, hotel .... you name it they should have it.