Tay Ho, the Citadel, and a Wafer-Thin Sparrow

After intentionally visiting B-52 Lake and unintentionally visiting the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, Dominik and I finally made our way on foot to Tay Ho, or West Lake.

West Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Hanoi and a major landmark in the city. The neighborhoods near the lake are known for their upscale cafes, leafy streets, international residents, and a more relaxed, cosmopolitan atmosphere than the Old Quarter. It's also where I spent my first international business trip.

On the morning of October 26, 1967, US Navy pilot, future senator, and future presidential candidate John McCain's A-4 Skyhawk was struck by a surface-to-air missile over West Lake. He was subsequently captured and transported to Hỏa Lò Prison, the notorious complex the Americans nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton". McCain would spend more than five years as a prisoner of war before finally being released in 1973.

Today, a monument on a bridge near the far eastern shore of the lake marks the spot where McCain was shot down and captured. Originally erected by the Vietnamese to commemorate the downing and capture of an American pilot, it has since become a symbol of the two countries' shared history and surprisingly strong reconciliation. In fact, Senator McCain, on his historic visit to Vietnam in April 2000, toured the old prison and visited the monument at the site of his crash stating that he bore "no grudge, no anger, no rancor" towards the Vietnamese people.

By now the sun was high in the sky and the weather was getting hot. Dominik and I stopped in for a cold iced tea at a local cafe before making our way onwards towards the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.

The most interesting part of the thousand-year-old Citadel compound, to me at least, is the Cold War-era bunker built by North Vietnam in the 1960s which is found buried beneath one of the Citadel's great walls.

After the Nguyễn dynasty moved the imperial capital to Hue in 1802, the old citadel in Hanoi was converted into a military installation under French colonial rule.

In 1967, as American bombing of Hanoi intensified, the North Vietnamese Ministry of Defense constructed Building D67 and its heavily fortified underground bunker within the citadel. D67 became one of the most important command centers of the North Vietnamese war effort.

Lunch was something of an adventure.

In the Top Gear Vietnam Special, one of the most memorable meals (save for the snake feast that even Dominik and I couldn't bring ourselves to try) was when Jeremy Clarkson tried to force his co-hosts to join him in eating a platter of "wafer-thin sparrows." Dominik was dead set on trying sparrow, and I was able to find a restaurant serving this Hanoi specialty.

In late afternoon, our taxi pulled up in front of Chim Quay Van Quan, a very small local shophouse restaurant that didn't even have an English menu. Nevertheless, we were able to order 10 small sparrows, 4 large sparrows, and a plate of buns on the side.

Sparrow was, as you can imagine, extremely lean, with hardly any meat on the bone, though what little there was was surprisingly tasty. The bird was deliciously marinaded and barbecued to a crisp and served with pickled plums and a spicy and sour dipping sauce.

I was really hesitant, but I even surprise myself to admit how much I liked it.