Good Morning Vietnam!

 I worked and lived in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 2010 to 2011, after I retired from IBM in the US.  I had high expectations, thinking that I will be able to help the local team.  Unfortunately, things did not work out and I left after 9 months.  I was prepared to stay 2-3 years but management have their own ideas.

Nevertheless, I had a wonderful experience in Vietnam.  I made many friends and got to know the country well.  Most of my friends are much younger, but I kept communications with them.  Some have even visited me in the US.

For some unknown reason I felt that 2025 is the year that I'd like to visit my friends in Hanoi. I flew to Singapore in early April and planned on visiting Hanoi the second weekend of April.  After checking into the Le Jardin Hotel Haute Couture in the late the afternoon I decided to take a walk near where I used to live.  My address was 126 Tran Vu, by Ho (means lake) Truc (pronounced Chuc) Bach.  I wrote a post about Life Around The Lake in 2020.  I want to see how the lake has changed.

A side street by the lake

A new building replaced the old building where I lived

A small beautiful lake

A New Temple

Inside the market next door

My friend Vinh took me around the lake and explained many features to me. He lives by the lake so he knows it well.

Highland Coffee by the lake

One of the many pubs

Vegetable seller

Selling flowers

Pho Cuon, a local specialty

Vinh and I

Truc Bach Lake has a notable reputation among Americans.  It's where the late Senator John McCain was shot down in 1967, during the height of the Vietnam War.  He was sent to the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," a prison where he and other American prisoners were tortured for several years.  The Vietnamese erected a memorial of Senator McCain's fall into the lake.

Remembering Senator John McCain's plane being shot down

The above inscription reads:

On October 26, 1967, the military and people of Hanoi captured U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Commander John Sidney McCain alive at Trúc Bạch Lake after his A-4 aircraft was shot down, with its wreckage landing near the Yên Phụ power plant. This was one of ten U.S. aircraft shot down that day.

My friends Ha, Nhan and Hien took me to a resort about one and a half hours from Hanoi to spend a quiet evening away from Hanoi.  Maida Lodge is located next to a lake that was formed by a dam nearby.  It's the low season so there were not many visitors.  There are many things to do around the resort.  I can imagine this will be a very busy place during the warmer months.

Maida Lodge

View of the lake, with fish traps in the foreground

We had to travel by boat because the road was under construction

Our Dinner

I checked into the five-star Melia Hotel when we returned to Hanoi that afternoon.  They upgraded me to a beautiful corner suite because I booked through American Express.  Later that evening Vinh took me to the Old Quarter (or Old Street, as the locals would call it).  It was Saturday night so there was a night market.  I used to frequent this night market when I lived here.  It is interesting to see what they sell - mostly cheap consumer goods.  It's a popular attraction for tourists to come and shop for cheap stuff and bargain with the sellers.

A popular hangout by Hoan Kiem Lake

Food! Food! Food!

Browsing the stalls

Meat on skewers

This woman sells noodle soup

Socks anyone?

This woman sells dessert

The next morning I went back to the Old Quarter.  On the way I passed Hoàn Kiếm Lake, which means Lake of the Restored Sword.  Turtles are supposed to live in the green waters of the lake but have not been seen for many years.  The lake is the focal point of Hanoi and is adjacent to the Old Quarter.

The Old Quarter of Hanoi is the historical civic urban center of Hanoi.  It contains 36 streets or guilds that used to make up the urban core of the city.  I love walking aimlessly among the streets.  The people, businesses, food, traffic, etc - it's a reflection of daily life in Vietnam.  The streets are narrow so you have to watch out for the traffic.  You can sneak into an alley and behold, you will find a whole row of food vendors.  You never see the same scene twice.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Dancing around the lake

Shops making and selling noodles

Temple

Selling sweet potatoes on a bicycle

Eating noodles on the sidewalk

Selling housewares

Frying shrimp patties

A food alley

Selling mangos and oranges

Baquettes

Candies

Restaurant selling beef steak and roasted pigeons

All types of coffee

A Banh Mi (sandwich) restaurant

I had a farewell dinner with my friends on the eve of my departure.  It was wonderful to see old friends.  They are all doing well with happy families.  It was a wonderful 5 days of visiting friends and reliving memories of Vietnam and Hanoi.

Farewell dinner at Bia Hải Xồm