West Lake & its environs

I am in a 'retro' mood and plan to post a few from my previous trips. In a way, I'll also be closing my series on Vietnam and my North East India travels. Here, I'm continuing with my travel through Hanoi. 

Hồ Tây as the West Lake is known in Vietnamese is semi-circular and has a long, long... shoreline (Wikipedia reports it as 17 Km). It's the largest among the many lakes that dot the city. It has neat promenades and recreational centres along its banks, making it a popular place for the residents to unwind and relax. 

The West Lake's boundaries
(credit: Google Maps)

Further shores of the lake

People relaxing along the promenade

'Swans' resting at the recreational centre

The West Lake's banks are also home to two very significant places of worship. 

The Quán Thánh temple is one of the four sacred temples built at the four corners of the old city to protect it from malevolent spirits. Quán Thánh protects the northern borders. Today, Hanoi has outgrown those borders and the temples have been absorbed by this ever expanding city. 

The picturesque entrance to the temple

Beautiful idols of holy animal symbols

Incense offerings to the deity

Antique wall murals on the sides of the main building

The main deity (top) & other altars within

Quán Thánh was built in the 11th century and is dedicated to the Taoist deity of the North. 

Artefacts & ancient bonsai

A smaller shrine within the premises

The entrance from the inside

Trấn Quốc Pagoda is dedicated to Buddhism and is said to have been built in the 6th century. It was originally built on the banks of the Red river but when the river changed course and threatened to flood it, the pagoda was shifted to the banks of the lake. It lies on off a small strip of land that separates the larger lake body from the smaller one. 

The pagoda as seen from the causeway

The Trấn Quốc Pagoda is defined by the tall red tower which is built in tiers. Each tier has tiny alcoves with white statues of the Buddha in them. All around it are smaller shrines. This is a living pagoda where monks continue to reside and pray. 

The beautiful gateway to the pagoda complex

The red tower seen amongst the
smaller shrines

Courtyard in front of the main building

One of the shrines inside

Other ornate altars inside the main building

One of the altars had lots of photos pasted on a wooden board with offerings placed in front. I am not entirely sure, but it seemed to be an altar for ancestor worship which the Vietnamese believe in. Earlier, tablets represented each ancestor but now it seems technology has replaced them with photographs. 

Altar for ancestor worship (I think)

Interestingly, there are two familiar sights from back home in this complex - magnificient peepal trees! One inside and one just in front of the entrance. The one inside has grown from a branch taken from the original Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, Bihar. It was gifted in 1959 by the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The one outside the entrance is an offshoot of the gift. A gift that keeps on growing. ;) Pun intended. 

The Bodhi (peepal) tree in the courtyard

Interesting features in the pagoda

The West Lake too has many small parks in its vicinity. I've mentioned two notable ones here, in my opinion, mainly because of the imagery they contained. One park is the memorial to soldiers of the Vietnamese army that fought in the 1940's. The other is a memorial to the anti-French revolutionary, Lý Tự Trọng, executed when he was 17 years old for assaulting French officials. The images are larger than life and strangely awe-inspiring in their proportions. 

Maybe, that was the intent of the creators. 

Memorial to Vietnamese revolutionaries

Memorial to the teenage martyr

Hồ Tây, one of the pleasanter areas of the bustling capital city and where I enjoyed spending some quiet moments. 

Ho Chi Minh Complex: Where hero worship and art meet

The Ho Chi Minh (HCM) Complex lies alongside Ba Dinh Square. In 1945, President Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence here at this humongous square. It is flanked by the Assembly Hall on one side and the HCM Mausoleum on the other.

The new Assembly Hall

Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum

The HCM Complex consists of the Presidential Palace, HCM's House on Stilts, the HCM Mausoleum and the HCM Museum. There's also a pagoda - One Pillar Pagoda - within the complex. 

The HCM Mausoleum overlooks Ba Dinh Square and houses the embalmed body of HCM. It is an impressive collonaded monument in grey marble and granite designed to reflect the stature of the renowned statesman resting here. At the time I visited the complex, the mausoleum was closed for maintenance so I missed seeing it from the inside. 

The Presidential Palace was built by the French in the early 1900s for the the Governor of Indochina. As a symbolic gesture, HCM refused to live in the palace when he became president of independent Vietnam. The palace itself is out of bounds for visitors though one can tour the grounds which are lush green, calm and peaceful. 

A view of the Presidential Palace from the outside

A smaller, more traditional wooden home was built for him on the grounds of the Presidential Palace - today known as HCM's House on Stilts. The house is surrounded by fruit trees, bamboo, carp ponds and smaller buildings which were used as his residence, offices, meeting rooms and garages.

Ho Chi Minh's house on stilts with the bedroom on the first floor
and a meeting space on the ground floor

The large carp pond within the premises

Roots of the cypress tree grow out of the water creating
interesting patterns

Other buildings housing HCM's residential and official areas

HCM's garage with his cars. Mainly of Soviet make.

The One Pillar Pagoda was first built in 1049 AD in the middle of a lotus pond based on a dream the then king had. He dreamt that a celestial being handed him a son while seated on a lotus flower. The king did have a son later and he built the pagoda in gratitude. It was built on top of a single pillar signifying the lotus stem and the pagoda itself as the flower. The original pagoda was destroyed by the French during the Indochina War. It was rebuilt later in its current form. In summer the pond is supposed to be covered with lotus blossoms. The pagoda is very popular and has tourists and pilgrims visiting it all year around. Due to the excessive crowds the day I visited, I didn't climb up to see the main shrine.

The area had some construction going on and at one end in a makeshift (tin sheets as walls and roof) set-up there was an elaborate shrine. No information indicated why this shrine was placed here.

The HCM Museum is  dedicated to the Vietnamese people's struggles, the revolution and to HCM's ideology. The exhibits are objects and photographs from real life as well as artistic renditions of the revolution and socialist ideology. The museum was conceptualised in the 1970s with the support of the erstwhile Soviet Union which gives you an idea why the exhibits are the way they are. It's unique, surreal and something else, altogether. Even if you don't normally like museums, you will enjoy this one. :)

Lotus iconography at the entrance

The impressive lobby on the upper floor

The larger than life sculpture of HCM

Metallic sculpture of a lotus pond signifies the flower's
importance in Vietnam

Another view of the lobby. In the foreground in white 
is an art installation.

Note: The lotus is Vietnam's national flower. It is considered auspicious and symbolises purity. The Vietnamese have special regard for it as it grows in the mud but is untainted by the dirt. The flower can be seen in iconography everywhere, as you must have realised from the photographs above. You can also see it sold at florists and outside places of worship. In summer, the ponds and lakes across Vietnam are supposed to be in full bloom and an attraction in themselves.