November 17th
After breakfast we decided to complete our walking tour of the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake is close to our hotel and the famous Ngoc Son Pagoda (Temple of the Jade Mountain) which sits on an island and is reached by a footbridge. It was built in commemoration of the 13th-century military leader Tran Hung Dao, renowned for his bravery in the battle against the Yuan Dynasty. The pagoda and the lake are considered an oasis amid the bedlam which surrounds it. Nevertheless, on a weekend it attracts a never-ending stream of locals and tourists…
On the other side of the lake is a good view of Thap Rua (Turtle Tower) which commemorates a local folk hero, Le Loi, who had freed the Vietnamese from Chinese forces in 1425 and was constructed on a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake in 1886 …
Our walk covered several other historical sites which were somewhat underwhelming. The Old Quarter does speak to its history through its day-to-day existence occupying and re-purposing this area for some 2000 years. What is striking is that everything happens on these streets, people conduct every type of commerce, eat, celebrate, and virtually sleep in these incredibly tight quarters which for us are largely alien. Following are several pictures blending these typical street scenes…
Many streets are dedicated to a specific activity or business e.g. traditional medicines, hardware door knobs etc., bamboo items including bongs, and the like….
There are several refurbished traditional homes open to the public one of which we toured at Ma May #87 (click on a photo to enlarge) ….
A lateish lunch, as we followed up on one of Sunflowers’ recommendations (Oh Foods)…a true hole in the wall but easily the best spring rolls we have had ….Oh so good!!
Finishing up our walk at the Quon Chuong gate (the last remaining gate of the old fortifications)…
……we headed back to the hotel, it had gotten sunny/muggy and we were beginning to fade…so time for a siesta.
Having done a fair bit of walking, the surroundings are becoming familiar and we found our resto in short order, a hotel recommendation. Ate on the street and were entertained by the cat & mouse game between the resto staff and police who were trying to control the placement of tables on the street itself (it had been closed to traffic for the night), in the end, victory to the resto !! A decent meal and a stroll back to the hotel…a good day.
Tomorrow a new adventure awaits……