Hanoi: Miscellaneous Photos

A statue of Lenin, across from the Military Museum and the Citadel. We passed it several times, but I saw exactly noone other than myself on the bleak concrete area around the statue.

We were told that there are now only three Lenin statues in the world, and this is one of them. Where are the other two?


The Hanoi Citadel.

Next to the Citadel is the Military Museum. It had a very detailed, dramatic mockup of the Dien Bien Phu, which did not translate into photgraphs. Much of the other stuff was shrill triumphalist propaganda against the Americans. There was enough of that stuff in the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, so I will not bother to post any of those photos here.


Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university. It was established by the Chinese in the 11th Century.


Temple of Literature


The Chinese characters on the stone tablets list all the graduates of the university. Note that they stand atop stone turtles. The turtle is an important animal in Vietnamese legend and is a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism.


Our " peace bus " outside the Temple of Literature


St Joseph's Cathedral


The group peruses menus at Cafe Moca Had a lamb curry dish here that was good...along with draft red and pilsener beers that were fresh and wonderful. By far the best beer I had in Vietnam. I came back to this restaurant on my last ( solo ) day in the country.