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Day 47 & 48- pearls, long journeys, banh mi and water puppets

Day 47- pearls and long journeys

Leaving Halong bay this morning it was slightly drizzly and a little bit cold. Almost like a typical British autumn day. It was actually a nice break after the intense humidity we have become accustomed to.

On the way to Hanoï we stopped at an Oyster Harvesting farm. They talked us through how they implant small beads into the oysters before putting them back into the seawater to produce pearls. It is a fiddly job with only a 30% success rate but the results were beautiful. 



Hanoï is the capital of Vietnam and our last stop.

In the afternoon we had a little walk around the town before heading out for dinner and drinks.



Day 48- Bánh Mi and Water Puppets 

It was a bit of a cold miserable day today in Hanoi so we wrapped up warm and headed out for a day of culture.

We took a trip to the woman’s museum. It is an incredible museum which outlines the role of women in Vietnam 
history and culture. The exhibits focus on marriage, family, 
work, revolutionary women and fashion. 







I think my favourite part of the exhibit was this one paragraph. It is a paragraph which brings hope of equality and also demonstrates that there is respect and value placed on women in Vietnam.

After this we took a stroll to see the the Temple of Literature. This was built in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong. It is the first national university in Vietnam. It is set on a large, rectangular complex encompassing 5 walled courtyards. Whilst there we witnessed quite a few groups of graduates having pictures taken in traditional gowns. 





On our way to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum we saw the flag tower. This was built in 1812 and unlike many other structures it did not get destroyed during the French invasion and was continually used as a military post. It is now part of a military museum.


A lot of walking later we reached the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh dedicated his life to the liberation of Vietnam from foreign rule but died just 6 years before this became a reality in 1969. He is well known in Vietnam with Saigon now being called Ho Chi Minh city. He is also referred to as ‘Uncle Ho’. The Mausoleum houses his body which has been embalmed. We did not go inside to see the body however the outside alone is pretty impressive.



In the same complex there is the Ho Chi Minh Museum which has exhibits focused on Uncle Hos life. It was opened in 1990. Again we chose not to venture in however the outside is pretty cool.

Also in this complex was the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minhs house on stilts. This is the complex where Ho Chi Minh lived. The Presidential palace was built between 1900-1906 to house the French governor before independence. 





After Vietnam gained independence in 1954, Ho Chi Minh refused to live in the bright yellow European style palace for symbolic reasons and instead lived in a more basic house on stilts. 


Finally in this complex we visited the One Pillar Pagoda which was built by Emperor Ly Thai To in 1800s to honour the goddess of Mercy. Built over a lotus pond the one pillar pagoda is believed to have miraculous healing powers. It was pretty impressive.



After all the sight seeing and walking we got a bit peckish and headed to a well recommended spot called Banh Mi 25. The Banh Mi is a traditional Vietnamese lunch and is what we would call a sandwich baguette. I opted for the ham with pate and cheese and can honestly say I was very impressed. 




This evening we went along to a water puppet show. This is a Vietnamese tradition which dates back to the 11th century. It is hard to put the show into words as it really is something to experience however it was the weirdest, most unique and completely bonkers thing I have ever seen and I loved it. 













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