Hanoi, Vietnam: Art, Shopping, Hotel, Food, and Water Puppets

Hanoi is well known for artwork.  We've seen beautiful artwork in friends' homes here and it is most often Vietnamese. We spent much of the first day touring the galleries and fell in love.  Browsing the galleries was extremely enjoyable.  Here is a photo (with awful lighting) of the set we bought for $100, including frames.  It was a compromise, since the piece I really wanted was $10K.  We'd really love to go back to get a bigger, more original piece before we go home.   

The shopping was really fun.  Most of the places we've visited in SE Asia all have similar 'shopping', which isn't made by locals, but all made in China.  The stuff in Vietnam was actually made there and is very neat and inexpensive.  Everywhere takes USD or Dong, but some prefer USD and the more expensive things will always be quoted in USD because it's approximately 1 USD to 19,000 Dong.

We stayed at Hanoi Elegance 3 hotel.  We were EXTREMELY impressed.  They have 5 different small boutique hotels throughout Hanoi.  The service couldn't have been better and the price, at $60/night, was unbeatable.  They arranged our visas (cheaper and with less work on our part than any other method), our tour, and our transportation to/from the airport.  We worked with Mr Binh, who was efficient, timely, and easy to communicate with.  Finally, the breakfast was great--eat some banana pancakes for us if you stay there!

Our hotel gave us a list of Taxi companies to use, so definitely ask about that wherever you stay.  We got in one that wasn't on our list and they literally charges us 10 times what the ride was supposed to cost.

Pho is a delicious noodle soup and is to Vietnam what Borscht is to Russia.  If you try any local cuisine, go for the Pho (pronounced Fe).  We ate at Pho 24 and there are several of them through the old quarter.  You can get it almost anywhere though. 

After our healthy and light pho, we headed to the chocolate buffet at the Sofitel hotel.  The made-straight-from-belgian-chocolate hot cacao changed my life.  I still think about it on these cool Singapore evenings.

Round One.  I may or may not have gestational diabetes now....we'll see at my appointment this week.

Ben would say it wasn't worth the price tag, but the rest of us thought it was.  He was under the impression you flip the bird with your pinkie in Vietnam.  So, this is him telling the waitress who took our photo what he thought of the all-you-can eat chocolate heaven.

Night two we ate at Cafe 51.  It was delicious, especially the spring rolls.  The tables were really cool.  They were on the floor but there was a hole under it so your feet could hang freely.

Our last meal was at KOTO, which is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program for disadvantaged youth.  We were very impressed with the concept and all the kids that have been helped to have a brighter future because of the training they've received.  KOTO was delicious.  We absolutely loved all the food in Hanoi and the great prices made it even better.

Water puppets originated in the Red River Delta in the 11th century.  They are made out of wood and then lacquered.  In ancient Vietnam, they believe that spirits controlled all aspects of life.  They devised water puppetry as a way to satisfy these spirits and as a form of entertainment.  In ancient times, flooded rice paddies and ponds were the stage for the shows.

We attended a performance complete with a live band for around $5 a ticket. 

It was really very entertaining and we were glad we went.  The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool.  A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers who are hidden behind the screen.  The show was fun and impressive.

Thank you Debbie, Kristen, and Sarah for all the great recommendations!!