Crepes And Corks: Hanoi

Hanoi is my favorite Asian city so far. The remnants of French colonial rule are still very apparent, especially in the architecture and food. Hanoi is infamous for its crazy streets. There are twenty million mopeds in the city, leading to chaos and very dangerous driving. Crossing the street here is quite a process! Additionally, much of the population just sits on street corners in little "cafes" just relaxing and socializing. Though unemployment is very low here, it doesn't seem like the people here take their work too seriously.

We are staying at the Sofitel Metropole Legend hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Asia. The hotel is so charming and rich with history. The list of people that have stayed here in the past include Jane Fonda, Charlie Chaplin, JFK and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Eighteen months ago they rediscovered bunkers that were used as bomb shelters during the Vietnam War. We went on a tour and got to go in these bunkers (see pictures below).

We also went to the Army Museum and the Hanoi Hilton, where John McCain and many others were held as prisoners during the Vietnam War. According to this exhibit, the POWs had a pretty good life while they were here. I had mixed feelings as our tour guide proudly explained how the Vietnamese both kicked out the French earlier in the century and persevered against the US in the seventies. Ho Chi Minh, their first president who established a free Vietnam as a communist state, is a very revered figure here, as is the general who led the army in both those wars (and is 102 years old and still living in Hanoi today!).