Hanoi - B52 and Water Puppet Show

2014 January, The Long Trip - Vietnam, City of Hanoi



I went for a walk to the West lake to see Tran Quoc Pagoda. It was closed but I had enough of pagodas so it was a good idea to see it only from outside. Near the lake were many fishermen. It seemed there were plenty of fish because they were successful almost every few minutes.
I also heard that in one lake you can find half-sunk an American bomber B52. It was easy to find this place as there is a museum of B52. It is located on Doi Can street. Unfortunately, the B52 is no longer in the lake. It was moved to the museum. They are very proud that they have this bomber here.




In the evening it was time for Thang Hong Water Puppet Theatre. It became a tourist must see attraction so it's better to buy tickets in advance. What's so special about it is that the scene is actually a pond full of water! An hour long show consisted of short episodes depicting village life or some old legends.Puppets were mostly wooden. Some of them were playing tricks, ie. swimming, spitting water, spinning and so on. The artists behind the scene are very talented. I believe it must be hard to control those puppets from behind bamboo mats. 

Tran Quoc Pagoda

The B52 is here

B52

Thang Hong Puppet Theatre

Thang Hong Puppet Theatre

Mausoleum Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi

2014 January, The Long Trip - Vietnam, Hanoi

During my first day in Hanoi I decided to visit the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh which is free of charge. On the way I spotted Lenin monument where I stopped for a while. There was a queue to the Mausoleum but everything went quite fast. They checked my camera and deposited it but all my mobiles and small camera was still in my pocket. I couldn't stop inside, I had to walk slowly around the person laying inside. There were a few soldiers inside so no chance to take a photo. Outside the building was a place from where I collected my camera. One is able to take pictures from that point.
Near the Mausoleum is One Pillar Pagoda, a very small pagoda. For me, everything was within a walking distance so I went for a small walk around the Old Quarter. Like everywhere in Vietnam if they see tourists they see US Dollars and it isn't nice especially for backpackers. There is a chance that soon they will pay the price for it as a lot of people exchange information how to avoid being deceived by them. 

How does it work?

Lenin

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

One Pillar Pagoda

Hanoi by night

Bike in Hue

2013 January, The Long Trip - Vietnam, Hue

The first day of 2014 was also an active one. In the evening I had a bus to Hanoi so in the morning I rented a bike and went for another ride.
I heart about one famous pagoda in Hue. It is Thien Mu Pagoda, the tallest Vietnamese one and it is located on the river bank, around 3 km from the city. 
Hue was a magical place for me as I found there a Nelson DeMille's book 'Up Country' which action took place in Vietnam. I'd visit more interesting places in this country if I had it before my trip.
In the evening I took a bus to Hanoi. The price was 280,000.00VND (9.7e) Unfortunately, I didn't check that it was due to 5 am in Hanoi. Luckily, it wasn't so cold there. 

Thien Mu Pagoda

Thien Mu Pagoda

On the way from Thien Mu Pagoda