In Hanoi, symbols of communism are everywhere: the hammer and sickle silhouettes hanging above the street, the armed guards and even the red and yellow flag of Vietnam. I was afraid to post anything about the country while we were there, not because I'm criticising the governance but simply because I am discussing it publicly.
Perhaps due to communism, or equally possibly due to the worst bureaucracy I've seen, we experienced what we now call the "Ho Chi Minh debacle". On the map, it appears as though the complex which contains the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh (as well as other wonders such as the one pillar pagoda) is a large open area, and as such we believed we could enter from several points. This was false. We approached from the top and literally had to walk all the way around to the very bottom of the complex. Whenever we approached an entrance, a guard would shake his head and point further along, even when we tried to walk through a park that we could see other tourists in. It was at this stage that I actually just thought they were messing with us, but it turns out there is one entrance only to the large complex, so although we left our hotel with ample time, we arrived just after it closed for the day. It didn't help that there are very specific opening hours - last entry is at 10:15am.
This photo was taken through the fence and I have no idea what it is, though it's not the mausoleum. Just some other awesome construction we couldn't see. By time we found the proper entrance and were turned away, we were dripping with sweat, tired and a bit fed up so we went to an air conditioned cafe to cool down. We thought we might try again on another morning, but that didn't eventuate. I did some research and found that the majority of visitors are in fact Vietnamese people wanting to pay their respects to the revolutionary leader, which means that lines are very long (and you're waiting under the blazing sun), especially on weekends. Due to the huge number of visitors every day, you only get to see his body for a short time and are kept constantly moving by guards. Honestly I was put off and lost interest in seeing the dead dude.
At Cong Caphe (translates to Commie Coffee), we ordered a much needed Vietnamese coffee, as well as bread and a croissant with condensed milk for dipping. It was a novel dip to use, and though I couldn't have it often, it was rather nice. We greatly enjoyed our ice cold drinks and views of the street as we utilised the free wifi.
Cooler and refreshed with iced coffee, we went to see a much nicer attraction where they actually wanted to let you in - the Temple of Literature! Built in 1070, this temple to Confucious became the site of the first national university - the Imperial Academy. Thought it's been restored several times, the traditional architecture has been preserved, and the gardens are well maintained. 
Some of the hedges had been sculpted to resemble animals including pigs, donkeys, snakes and cheerful dogs. I thought that the gardeners were showing off a bit, and they had every right to as each hedge was masterfully crafted. The animals seem to have personalities of their own.
Past the Stelae of Doctors (stone slabs erected to celebrate wisdom and encourage study) lay the temple itself. Painted deep red with orange lettering, the temple felt like a place of deep contemplation as statues of Confucious and his disciples stare down benevolently. Before them were stacked pyramids of weird wafer packets and other food offerings, and incense curled in the heavy air as worshippers prayed.
I have to admit I was pretty surprised to stumble across this statue of Lenin. I suppose that many Communist revolutionaries are looked up to here, and apparently Ho Chi Minh was inspired by him. You just never know what Hanoi will throw at you.
Also in the neighbourhood was the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, which was the residence of the royal family since being built in the Lý Dynasty through to the Nguyễn Dynasty - the last empire before the Democratic Republic of Vietnam assumed control in 1945. Nguyen is a very common surname. I myself have met several Nguyens. A tour guide of ours (we hate going on guided tours but more info on that in my next post) was named Nguyen Cong. First names come after the surname in Vietnamese, so according to Cong Caphe his name is Commie Nguyen!
The citadel is now known as the Hanoi Citadel (Hanoi was named Thang Long when it was constructed), and archaeologists are in the process of excavating large sections of the site since it has fallen into disrepair.
The hedges here were not in the shape of animals, but of Vietnam itself! We're impressed, gardeners. You don't have to work quite so hard on that field of potted bonsai trees.
We found a durian tree on the premises! Bleh.
Before leaving Hanoi, we had to check out the city's oldest pagoda. Located on an island in the West Lake, Trấn Quốc Pagoda towers above the shore. The lake reeks of rubbish and sewerage, but that doesn't stop people from hiring swan shaped paddle boats, or even fishing from the edge. One man was so pleased with the minuscule fish he had caught that he was brandishing it at passersby, who were decidedly unimpressed.
On our last morning in Hanoi we breakfasted on cake, coffee and juice at The Note Coffee. A narrow but three-storied cafe near the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the walls are covered in little bright notes from members of staff and patrons. Some are love notes, others are memorable quotes or doodles. We definitely enjoyed getting up to date with the caphe scene in this city.
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