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HANOI & SURROUNDINGS
Hanoi – a mixture of discreet charm
and excitement
To visit HANOI is to steep yourself
in history, tradition, and legend in
a capital that has been inhabited
continuously for almost a millenium.
Visitors often note that the city is
quieter, greener, and "cooler" than
other big cities of Vietnam. Indeed,
Hanoi itself, and the Northern
Vietnam, have quite clear four
seasons, and October to March are
lovely pretty cool months whilst
other towns southward just have dry
and rainy times. It probably
influences in the mentality of the
inhabitants and the city seems
attract more intellectuals and
artists, while Saigon is great for
entrepreneurs and hustlers.
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Hanoi's present architecture is
mainly from the 19th and
20th centuries, and the
French-built section of the town is
largely intact. Yet, the city
preserves many old religious temples
and shrines dedicated to the
nation's heroes or deities, who
supported the farmers to cultivate
and protect the fertile land on the
Red River right bank and gather the
first commercial guilds to form what
later became an exciting urban town.
Hanoi street life now is
fascinating. In the early morning,
you can see people both young and
old practicing "tai chi quan" or
martial arts in the parks and
joggers along pretty lakes. Outdoor
barbers with mirrors simply hung on
the street walls and women selling
great French baguettes and flowers
are also at every street corner. If
you go for a walk, the motorbikes
and cyclos may make you wonder a bit
which directions they move on, but
as soon as you get a chance to try
one of them, you could say they are
not so risky like they seem to be,
as the local drivers have extremely
special skills to avoid one another
(!). Thus a deliberate Cyclo tour
for one or two hours is so far the
best way to visit the Old Quarter,
90% of which are narrow and short
streets.
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During the two Indochinese Wars in
20th century, Hanoi had
been heavily damaged, but there is
virtually no evidence that now and
the particularly thin, tall, often
awkward-looking buildings that you
see on streets are not a result of
bombing, but are created by
landowners who own only a thin slice
of land so build up rather than out.
Hanoi has a number of lovely parks
and big Lakes which inspire the
ancient architects to build graceful
temples nearby, and Museums with
precious exhibits of Vietnam's Fine
Arts, Ethnology, History and Recent
Wars that attract not only
historians but foreign visitors and
local people.
Finally, the Hanoians are reckoned
the warmest and most approachable in
the country. Though English is not
as commonly spoken as in Saigon,
most of the shopkeepers have learnt
English quite enough to discussion
on the commodities and price, and
many of the older generation have a
working vocabulary of French.
Regardless of language, people will
attempt to chat with you
irrespective of whether you can
understand them. Many of the cyclo
drivers speak some English and often
have very interesting pasts that
they are now willing to discuss with
foreigners. At times in Hanoi, you
could be sitting in a café sipping
excellent coffee that Vietnam plant
in the Central Highlands for
domestic use and export, eating
great pastries that is a pleasant
trace of the French time, chatting
in French to an old beret clad
gentleman, whilst as you look out
the window you can see posh
French-style villas in the shadows
of fig trees or malabar-almon trees.
Then you can really wonder just what
country you really are in. In a
single word, Hanoi is a city to be
savoured.
Bat
Trang and other cottage industry
villages
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Separated from the Hanoi downtown by
a bridge over the Red River and 15km
dike in between green rice paddies
and old villages, Bat Trang is worth
a half-day visit not only for its
wellknown cottage industry but also
for the poetic surroundings.
According to historical records, the
villagers have featured some kinds
of excellent ceramic for domestic
use and export since 15th
century. From time to time, the
Vietnamese overseas people and
diplomatic corps have found their
products – valuable antiques now -
not only in neighbouring countries
like China, Korea, Cambodia but in
far states including Egypt, France
and Portugal. The masters of Bat
Trang now are not only supplying a
big deal of porcelain for Vietnam
but receive numerous orders from
Japan, France and USA and are
proceeding to recover traditional
samples that somewhat have been lost
during the war time. Stop-off at the
village is an interesting mixture
between watching the real production
of ceramics and walking around for
some light but fine and
sophisticated porcelain. You can
find in a factory the workmen mixing
clay or dipping burnt vases into
glaze to highlight their crackled
lines, the painting masters, usually
young girls with dexterous hands
drawing on raw terracotta before
they are heated at 900oC
to 1,700oC ovens, taking
inspiring pictures of coal-dust
bakes pasted on the village's walls.
Daily life of the village with a
small exciting market and the wharf
at the Red River where the products
shipped are also very fascinating.
You should go with a local guide to
discover the family factories behind
the shops in front, as it may not
easy to communicate with the
villagers who speak no English.
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If Bat
Trang say they are proud that about
1,000 households live by traditional
job, other cottage industry villages
surrounding Hanoi would be shy a
bit. Dong Ky village – 30km
northeast of Hanoi, has only
hundreds of families specialized in
handmade wooden furniture with
mother-of-pearl and marble inlay.
Whilst local people come here for
ordering cupboards, tables and
wardrobes by their designs or in
catalogues' styles, you would be
interested in wooden statues or
sophisticated utensils made of
ebony, redwood, rosewood and
pinewood. Another village 14 km West
of Hanoi called Van Phuc is famous
for the traditional silk and you can
find here many families using motor
looms weaving silk or washing them
after completed. Villagers from Le
Mat, 08 km northeast of Hanoi, catch
and breed snakes for foods and wine.
Serpents can be found hereabout in
compounds around the house, in
readiness to export or to be dipped
in snake wine or traditional
medicine. Different kinds of other
snakes are to be cooked and served
to the people mainly coming from
Hanoi, especially men. In Hanoi old
quarter sometimes you can also buy
medicines made from Le Mat snakes.
Dong Ho village along the Duong
river in nearby Ha Bac province
produces traditional woodblock
prints. In the old time, a picture
printed that way is a must to
decorate a Vietnamese house in
springtime of "Tet" – the Lunar New
Year. Some families in the village
now change to make paper articles to
burn at the Vietnam's ancestral
anniversaries to send "utensils" and
"money" from the alive people to
their dearest dead relatives, with a
hope that those things will be
assisting the dead souls to
"survive" well in the Hell. As the
villagers' job is somewhat seasonal,
a visit to Dong Ho should be
combined with a sightseeing to the
large But Thap pagoda nearby, which
was restored in 17th
century with impressive antique
statues and stone-carved balconies
and towers.
To the South of Hanoi there are a
few interesting sights within a
day-tour. If you love a visit to see
magnificent limestone ranges edging
a poetic river, come to the Perfume
Pagoda or to Tam Coc. The trip to
Tam Coc is to combined with visits
to Bich Dong pagoda nearby and to
the two temples which are remains of
an
ancient city called Hoa Lu, all
belong to Ninh Binh province.
Also in Ninh Binh you can visit
Cuc Phuong, one of the
few national parks in Vietnam. To
the North of Hanoi is
Tam Dao, an old French
hill station with beautiful
landscape from a height and to the
West is a combination of several
Buddhist temples, of which Thay and
Tay Phuong Pagoda are most
sightworthy. Please see details of
them hereunder.
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Thay & Tay Phuong Pagodas |
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From Hanoi tours to two
different pagodas, Thay and
Tay Phuong are very often
combined in a day trip or
half-day trip from Hanoi
since their neighbouring
locations. Thay pagoda,
located 40km west of Hanoi
in a tranquil and beautiful
village, is combination of
Buddhist pagodas and a
Taoist Temple, which is
dedicated to Tu Dao Hanh, a
Taoist hermit lived in 12th
century who was considered
one of the karmas of king Ly
Than Tong. The temple
preserve many precious
worshipping objects like the
statues of Tu Dao Hanh
describe three "karmas" of
this figure, wooden and
stone bas-relieves and
steles, lacquered statues,
thrones, bells. If you have
much time, take a walk
surrounding to reach the
higher pagodas on the
mountainside or visit the
cave where they have found
some skeletons and ancient
coins in early 20th
century.
Thay Pagoda is also known
for a big pavilion in the
middle of a pond facing the
main temple. Water puppetry
performances take place here
at festival time,
particularly in the third
lunar month where pilgrims
rush in. Two ancient roofed
bridges over the pond built
in 1602 increase the natural
beauty of the combination.
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8km away from Thay pagoda is
the Tay Phuong pagoda, sited
on the hilltop. There are
239 laterite steps uphill to
the pagoda, and from this
height opens a wonderful
aerial view of the
surrounded fields, laterite
mountains and villages. Most
of the structure was rebuilt
in the 17th and
18th century and
has a big significance of
classic architecture. Almost
the tiles, wooden relieves,
rafters are preserved well
with their traditional
ornaments like lotus-shape,
marguerites, banyan leaves,
dragon, tiger which are
quite popular to Vietnamese
decoration style. Inside the
pagoda are 75 famous
jackwood Arhat statues,
which are considered the
best of the plastic arts and
sculpture of Vietnam. The
statues either describe
different legends of Buddha
and his disciples, or
express the meditation and
will of the people to
release themselves from
ordinary pains and reach the
enlightenment. Both Thay and
Tay Phuong pagodas are easy
to reach and suitable for
either visit by bus or
biking tours.
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"Chua Huong" (the Perfume
Pagoda).
Best combination of boat
trip, sightseeing, mountain
climbing and religious
pilgrimage |
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"Chua Huong" - the Perfume
Pagoda is the name of a
collection of Buddhist
temples which are very
sacred to Vietnamese people
of Buddhist faith, and an
annual visit up here in
springtime is a must to a
lot of believers.
Located on the limestone
rocks of Huong Son Mountain
in beautiful and mystical
surroundings, the pagodas
are 70 km or two-hour
driving out of Hanoi. Unlike
other temples in Vietnam,
the only way to reach this
sanctuary is floating along
a narrow but extremely
poetic stream by rowing
boats that takes 45 minutes.
An iron boat can carry 3-5
people and a large wooden
boat – up to 20 locals.
The stream is edged by rice,
grass, small paths, and
temples here and there. A
local pilgrim can spend here
traditionally three days to
visit entirely the area and
pray at all the temples. The
first temple they often stop
is called Den Trinh (i.e.
The Shrine for First
Presenting), where
Vietnamese burn the first
jossticks to inform the
local deities about their
presence and pray for a good
trip and good luck for the
year ahead. If you are
anxious to reach the main
Wharf of Huong Son mountain
to start the uphill trip to
see the Main Grotto of Huong
Tich, you may skip this
temple, especially in the
peak season between January
and early April.
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The uphill trip takes an
hour climbing on the ancient
flat and sometime slippery
stones, which have been here
thousand years ago. The road
is "breathtaking" in all
aspects – you will have some
exercise, and at the same
time have chance to take
some stops to
contemplate beautiful
scenery and daily life of
local farmers, who plant
cassava and apricots in the
valleys, who run quickly on
the slippery stone with
their burdens of tapioca,
apricots or medicinal herbs
whilst you are careful with
your steps. The main pagoda
is set in a huge grotto
containing a highly
decorative shrine. Each
stalactite and stalagmite
inside, which are soaked by
undercurrent, is combined
with a legend about its
miracle and good luck. Most
of them became small shrines
by now. Remember that the
stone grotto is huge and
very cool, so stop for a
while at the entrance to dry
your sweat before coming in.
The main festive days of
Chua Huong stretches from
January to early April, busy
and exciting. Sometimes it's
drizzling and the Vietnamese
all believe that the real
good things will reach you
if you catch rainwater after
praying in a sacred pagoda.
And among all the sacred
temples and pagodas in
Northern Vietnam, Chua Huong
is even more attractive and
mysterious not only for its
spectacular scenery, but for
the painstaking road you
passed over to reach to the
top. |
Hoa Lu - Tam Coc – Bich Dong
most remarkable sights of
Ninh Binh Province
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Hoa Lu used to be one of the
many old capitals of Vietnam
before Thang Long –
presently Hanoi – take its
historical role. From an
exciting town and centre of
cultural and military
activities of the Dai Co
Viet Kingdom in 10th
century, the area now is
more wellknown for its
landscape since almost
relics of the urban
excitement had been
collapsed, except in the
Temples of King Dinh and
King Le. A trip to Hoa Lu
should be started from
Tam Coc ("three caves"),
which takes more than two
hours driving from Hanoi,
and visitors may say that
distance is not a matter
after seating in a boat
rowed by one or two local
persons in Hoang Long river
and see the first limestone
mountains, which will run
along their riverway for
several kilometers. The boat
will run, sorry, will be
rowed, through three caves
on the river, all created by
wind and water from a legend
time, while the sea had
occupied this area. The
tide-mark is still on the
rock about 2m above the
water, and in higher
mountainwall the erosion
have carved some strange
shapes that now filled of
green grass, delicious foods
of the goats that local
people breed everywhere. If
you are lucky, sometimes you
can see mischievous monkeys.
The river trip is wonderful
for photo hunters,
especially when local people
come to harvest the water
rice planted along the
river, or when they
transplant some seedling for
the next crops. The tourists
often compare the place with
Guilin – China, or more
closely, to the limestone
islets of Halong Bay in the
Tonkin Gulf for their
similar geological
structures and shapes. Thus
Tam Coc is also called
Halong-Bay-On-Land.
From the wharf of Tam Coc
you can go further till
reaching Bich Dong Pagoda,
a combination of three
pagodas on the Lower, Middle
and Upper levels of a pretty
mountain. You will need to
climb a little bit till you
get to the top of the Upper
pagoda and your eyes catch
the overall panorama of the
paddy fields between Truong
Yen mountain. All the
pagodas, or lean upon a
cliff, or simply have some
statues inside a large
grotto, deserve the name
"Bich Dong" (emerald-like
grotto). A scene of the
popular French movie
"Indochine" had been
completed here in 1991,
remarking a rush of the
French-speaking tourists to
Vietnam, who usually do not
skip Halong Bay and Tam
Coc-Bich Dong where the
leading actress Catherine
Deneuve left her footprints.
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On the way back from Tam Coc
– Bich Dong to Hanoi you can
pay a visit to the last
relics of the ancient
capital Hoa Lu – the
Temples dedicated to King
Dinh and King Le,
the two heroes who lived in
10th century and
chose Hoa Lu to build the
citadel of the capital city.
From time to time,
archaeologists have
excavated buried parts of
this citadel with rusty
weapons and ceramics. The
temples are said to be built
on the old foundation of
their original palaces in
11-12th centuries
and restored in 17th
century. Though the temples
are not maintained entirely
some precious antiques are
still preserved well like
the whole-stone dragon
thrones, wooden bas-relieves
and lacquered statues of
King Dinh, Kinh Le, Queen
Duong Van Nga who in turn
got married both of the
kings, and the princes of
the two dynasties. |
Phat
Diem
– amazing Catholic Church
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You may say a church is not
your interest in a Far East
country and thus you will be
missing one of the most
remarkable religious
architectures in Vietnam.
Phat Diem Church, a group of
different churches of stone
and wood, is the centre of
Catholicism in Northern
Vietnam and designed in
Vietnamese style mixed
harmoniously with the
European Catholic
traditions. There's a grave
on the ground of the church
of Mr. Tran Luc, a local
Catholic lived in late 19th
century who designed the
whole church without taking
any official course of
architecture and paintings.
Phat Diem Church is divided
into two quarters: the
churches and the clergy's
house, which gradually
completed in 1875 (the first
Cavern built to test the
subsidence of the area
foundation), 1889 (the
church of Saint Mary's
Heart), 1891 (the Big
Cathedral and the Belfry),
and the Saints' shrines of
Giuse, Phero and Rocco, all
finished about
1898.
The
traditional architecture of
Vietnam
is recognized obviously in
each ornament: the Belfry
has curly tiled roof-tops
with decoration of
Vietnamese temples, the
shrine of Jesus' Heart is
made of jackwood, the Big
Cathedral is designed as a
grandiose
Communal House
with sophisticated
multi-level rafters, and all
the churches are decorated
with lotus, lemon flowers,
birds, tropical trees like
apricot and bamboo, and
matched inscriptions in
Chinese which are popular in
Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
The entire structure is
admirable not only for the
beauty of each fabric but
for their amazingly unique
co-ordination and is
considered a pride of the
contemporary folk works.
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Cuc Phuong National Park |
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Cuc Phuong, the first
National Park of Vietnam
which was established in
1962, is 140 km South of
Hanoi, 55km from Ninh Binh,
roughly 25,000 hectares. The
botanical richness of the
forest is impressive as it
supports a wide variety of
flora species and patches of
primeval forest, including
ancient trees with thick
clusters of roots, and
parasitic plants and
ligneous creepers. Some tree
species have been introduced
from Burma, India, and
Borneo. Clusters of orchards
grow near cave entrances,
where the moisture
conditions and light are
ideal. Varieties include
thousand-year dracontomelum
and parashorea trees which
can be visited in a one or
two hour hiking, and coral,
vanilla, snow-white, and
butterfly orchids
everywhere. Large mammals
inhabit the park including
panthers and bears, but
rarely appear, so the most
popular animals you can see
are monkeys, gibbons, flying
squirrels and pheasants.
There are also over 120
species of birds and many
varieties of beetles living
here, and April and May
arrive swarms of
butterflies. At night,
million of cicadas create a
deafening din, and million
of fireflies flicker about.
Lying in a limestone area,
Cuc Phuong includes numerous
caves. At "Nguoi Xua" (Cave
of Early Man), two ancient
tombs have been discovered,
along with Neolithic remains
and evidence of stone
implements; there have been
similar finds at Trang
Khuyet (Crescent Moon),
Thanh Minh, and Con Mong
Caves. Hang Dan Cave is
known for its bat
population. Hiking in Cuc
Phuong is following some
kilometers of trails and
passing through old-growth
forest with long vines
wrapped around strangled
trees, visiting the caves,
waterfalls and streams in
the forest or stopping over
at a Muong ethnic's village.
Since the location in
between three provinces,
it's easy to combine a trip
to Cuc Phuong with a trip to
Hoa Binh or Ninh Binh
province, or you can depart
from Hanoi, spend the whole
day exploring the forest and
overnight at the Park's
guest house. |
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