where we visited
Tam Coc, known as 'Halong Bay on the rice paddies'. Named after three caves through which the Ngo Dong river flows, you let yourself be rowed along the river :
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| Tam Cốc |
This is some of the surrounding countryside :
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| farmer on water buffalo |
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| cable car, Perfume Pagoda |
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| at the Perfume Pagoda |
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| unidentified animals, near Perfume Pagoda |
Back in Hanoi we went to see the
Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and which saw the creation of Vietnam's first university six years later.
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| at the Temple of Literature |
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| pineapple seller, Hanoi |
We sometimes saw women from the hill tribes dressed in traditional clothes and headdresses.
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| pagoda, Hanoi |
The
Hoa Lo Prison, now a museum, was nicknamed the 'Hanoi Hilton' by the American POWs during the war.
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| 'Hanoi Hilton' |
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| mural, prison museum |
The centrepoint of old Hanoi is the
Hoan Kiem Lake, which means Lake of the Restored Sword according to a legend associated with the lake. The Ngoc Son temple sits on a small island in the northern part of the lake.
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| Ngoc Son Temple |
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| bridge, Hoan Kiem Lake. |
One evening we went to see a
water puppet show, which is a thousand year old tradition originating in northern Vietnam. The lighting made it difficult to get a usable photo of the puppets themselves unfortunately, but here are the musicians !
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| traditional house on display at the museum |
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| close-up |
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| traditional houses at the museum. |
From Hanoi we made a trip to
Halong Bay.
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