The train arrived a little early and I was sound asleep on the top bunk as e pulled into the Hanoi train station. I had to quickly get myself and my things together (and ended up leaving my sweatshirt there). Once out of the station, I found a moto to take me back to the hotel. When I arrived I found the doors locked (5:30 A.M.) so I decided to resort to Plan B. However, I really needed to use the restroom. I had slept so well on the train that the need didn't arise, but had it I would have been reluctant to climb down from the top (over the man who drank the horse's penis alcohol) and go to the unsavory restrooms. I saw a hotel a few doors up the street was open so I went in there. That hotel did not, it seemed, cater to English speaking people, so I had to go through some dramatic charades to let the desk clerk know what I wanted. Once he figured it out, he was most accomodating.

Once I felt better, Plan B was to go to Hoan Kiem Lake early in the morning to see the people exercising so I walked the 10-15 minute walk. There were far fewer people out than I had expected. Women in groups were doing the exercises and other people were walking at a fast clip on the sidewalk around the lake. The early morning activity I had experienced in China was much more energizing and entertaining. Then back to hotel as Hanoi was really coming to life.

Since I hadn't slept at the hotel I really wasn't entitled to breakfast, but I guess I was so sweet that they agreed that I could eat there which I did. I found my luggage up a few flights of stairs and took out some different clothes and changed in the restroom at the hotel (small and stuffy) so I could be ready for my 8:30 departure with Urban Adventures to the Hanoi handicraft villages.

I had signed up to join a group, but I was the only one. We headed out of Hanoi, sort of against the rush hour traffic into the city. It was quite amazing seeing the huge pile up of motorbikes on the Chuong Dong Bridge trying to get into the city. From there we drove along Ta Hong dike road next to the Red River (not red at all) 10-15 km; the entire trip took almost an hour. We arrived at Bat Trang pottery village, the most famous pottery village in vietnam and which makes most of the pottery there. It is estimated that this village has been around for about 700-1000 years making pottery.

We walked through the village. Although I went into only a few, there were many store selling all sorts of potter from little figurines to very large vases. What was more interesting seeing the manufacturing of the pottery. There are pottery wheels, molds, people hand painting glazes, packing pottery for shipping - all aspects of the busines.. In the past most of the kilns were coal-fired and some still are, but most have converted to gas. The pottery workers have had many health problems due, in part, to the coal dust, and also just the dust and particles in the air from working with the clay.

I spent a few minutes walking through the village market which was open and along a street or two, not terribly large. On seller had about twelve different kinds of eggs for sale.

The next stop was Do Temple, dedicated to 8 kings of the Ly dynasty who led Vietnam, formerly Dai Viet, fought against the Tong invaders of China and caused them to flee away. Unfortunately, the original was completely destroyed by French colonialist in 1952. In order to meet the wish of local people and in honor of the Ly kings, the current temple was rebuilt in 1989.

We then walked through Dinh Bang village which was sort of interesting just to see a small Vietnmase city, but I would have rather visited another handicraft village for the time it took. At the far end of the village is the Dinh Bang community house, the only remaining community house in Vietnam and the largest and one of the most famous. Built in 1736, it is constructed from ironwood, a very hard wood.

Each carving at Dinh Bang Communal House is like a masterpiece and is reputed for its uniqueness, which impresses any visitor. The carving is eight horses happily playing on a meadow; awaiting lion couple, each in its own posture: dragons in festivals; five dragons fighting for a gem; etc. The topic for these carving comes from traditional legends, and the images are of the four sacred animals (dragon, lion, tortoise and phoenix), or four valuable plants (pine, apricot, chrysanthemum, and little bamboo).

"Three genies are worshipped at Dinh Bang Communal House, including Earth, Water and Cultivation. Memorial statues of six family patron saints, who made great contributions to re-building it after a big fire took place in the 15th century, include the Nguyen, Tran, Le, Ngo, Do and Dang erected at the back of the palace. "

From there we wnet to Dong Ky Village, the woodcarving village. It was formerly known as the firecracker village, but firecrackers are no longer made there since they have been outlawed in the entire country. Carved hardwood furniture is made in both private and state run workshops. Hardwood used for large pieces is ebony, ironwood, lat wood. Canary wook (Vang Tam wood) is used for smaller pieces. We walked up and down a busy street that had one store after another displaying furniture. In some people were actively involved in what seemed to be the final touches of the carving or final sanding. The furniture was quite beautiful and there were some amazing pieces with inlays of what I believe is mother of pearl.

This tour was supposed to be a full day tour, but after visiting all of the above it just the end of the morning. The promised drive through the countryside and the lunch in a small country village didn't happen. We returned to Hanoi and I was dropped of for lunch at Cha Ca Thang Long, not too far from my hotel. There are two Cha Ca restaurants in Hanoi, this was the second one, but either had been on my list of places to eat, so all was not lost. The restaurant only serves one dish, small cubes of fish in hot pot, that you hadd vegetable to and cook at your table. This restuarant was filled with locals, not tourists. The food was good and after eating their by myself I was taken back to the hotel around 2:30.

With the rest of the afternoon free, I decided to walk out of the old quarter to see the newer area of Hanoi, a big bustling city around and on the other side of the lake. I just walked around, happened to pass Fanny's Ice Cream that I had read about. This seemed to be a very western style upscale and expensive ice cream parlour, but seemed like a good place to stop on a hot day. It was filled with tourists except at the far side there was a birthday party for what seemed to be a three year old with a very noisy group. I had a very decadent and refreshing ice cream sundae and continued on my way. I found some of the other sites such as St. Joseph's cathedral and the opera house and then started to head back. I found a place to eat dinner on the way near Hoan Kiem lake that was rated well, Quan Bia Minh (Minh's). The restaurant was upstairs so sitting on the balcony provided a good view of the street activity below. I wasn't too hungry so just had some soup and left. There were some Australian women at the next table who seemed to really be enjoying their beer. I walked back to the hotel and ended the day.