Hanoi, Vietnam

I always wanted to visit Vietnam.  I managed to find time to go to Hanoi for a vacation this year.  Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city, is a fascinating blend of East and West.  While there are significant Chinese influences, many of the buildings have French design from its colonial past.

It was right before Tet, the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year.  Vietnamese people were busy preparing for the most important festival of the year…buying new clothes and shoes, making special cuisines for the holiday, cleaning the house, planting special plants.  It was great to feel the tradition and culture of the city.

I visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, it reminded me of the Ma Zedong Mausoleum in Beijing…no talking, must walk within the lines, no shorts, no photos inside, and etc.  The Temple of Literature is a very nice temple to visit. It was founded in 1070 and established as the country's first university six years later. The courtyard features numerous stone tablets, each mounted on the back of a tortoise, with the names of graduates. All the characters in the temple are in Chinese!

What I like the most is the local food. My college friend, who is Vietnamese and works at the Bank of Vietnam, showed us some really nice local cooking.  Vietnamese cuisine uses a diverse range of herbs like lemongrass, mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves.  As distinct as Vietnamese cuisine is, it has been influenced by several sources, like Chinese, French, India, and Thailand, to name a few.  I greatly enjoyed the freshness of the ingredients as well as the healthy eating style.