The Imperial Citadel 

Kerry and I navigated through the smog and traffic, making our way to the Imperial Citadel in Hanoi. This ancient walled palace area served as the residence and workplace of Vietnam’s rulers. 

It’s more than 1,000 years old and used to be where the rulers of Vietnam lived and worked. We walked through large gates and wide open spaces, following stone paths past old ruins with a few renovated areas. When we were there, they were getting ready for Tết, so people were planting lots of flowers and setting up a folk fair. There were booths from all over Vietnam selling local food and products from their home regions.

It’s much quieter than the busy streets outside(more on that later), so it feels like a break from the chaos. A lot of it was under construction for Tết, and just under construction in general. Some areas were blocked off because they’re still doing archaeological digging and working on the site.

There were exhibitions that showed the different dynasties, which were done really well, and then the surprise Vietnam secret bunker where they planned to defeat the Americans. This was a super interesting exhibit which was taken from a different perspective than we know it. It was pretty weird walking through the bunkers that were used during the Vietnam War. 

Back to the Turtles!!

And Back to the Traffic!!

While fun, the traffic poses a constant feeling that you are going to be hit or otherwise injured. This makes walking here very stressful and tiring, once we arrive to the location we are looking for, we are fine. It just makes us very tired by the end of the day, as does the smog. Clouds = Smog