Tet (Day 1-2 Hanoi)

We landed in Hanoi yesterday evening. Cap and The Husband are both coughing with running noses. The rest of us can offer cold and flu meds but we can’t say they have colds.  

Chuc mung nam moi means Happy New Year in Vietnamese. This is Tet. It is the celebration of the lunar new year and we are here for it which sounds fabulous until:

This is supposed to be Shoe Street but, Tet

Normally the market is busy but we are in Tet

Usually Tuk Tuk drivers would take you home but they are in Tet holiday [read: So walk your butt back]

Hanoi is known for its polluted air but when you ask anyone from here they are in total denial. “Oh, that? That’s just fog and clouds…because we are in Tet.”

And so it goes. Our new guide, Rosie, said in Vietnamese culture, girls marry and then join their husband’s family and the the husband’s parents live with you. In related news, Rosie is happy to work during Tet. 

We toured a temple today which was madness because all the Buddhists go to temple during Tet. All the families take three days off and cook foods to offer to their dead relatives. 

On the bus tour we learned the gold and yellow buildings are owned by the Communist government. Pretty much half the buildings so if you’re selling Pantone PMS paint colors you’ll crush it here. 

We visited the infamous Hanoi Hilton, it was golden colored, of course. They’ve a different take on the war here.

Getting back on the bus, our trip manager who is from northern Vietnam, said, “Isn’t this a beautiful prison?” I’m in a communist country and I want to get home so I’ll leave it there. 

We toured by bus the French Quarter and the Old Quarter.

We finished our first full day in Hanoi at a puppet theatre which was splendid. 

We leave tomorrow to go to Ha Long Bay. We have to double up on the boat when we get there because…Tet.