The hidden forest

When the summer holidays start, Hanoi is scorching and stuff from early morning till late at night.

My children feel bored of playing games in air conditioned rooms and I have no time for a vacation. This year, this was really a headache for me until one Saturday my friend called and asked us to cycle with his family to the outskirts of the city.

We all love cycling, so after a quick breakfast, we started riding towards the Hanoi Opera Hanoi House to join the cycling group and head out to the rural area south of Hanoi.

As we left the urban sprawl behind, the traffic was busy, but it was still a pleasure to cycle beside the railway tracks. It took around 40 minutes to reach the Vietnam Forest Museum.

It would be hard to find the museum without a local guide. Located in a dense residential area, the museum is part of the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute and it is almost invisible to both local and foreign tourists.

The museum operates as a store-house to keep the results of studies and therefore it is not always open to the public. However, if you register in advance you will be welcomed warmly and guided enthusiastically. The staff are very friendly and have a deep knowledge of trees, animals, insects and even the soil and rocks of Vietnam. They have many years of experience in researching Vietnamese forests in cooperation with international organizations.

The museum was much more amazing than I expected given its outward appearance. It has both a large exhibition building and a 3-ha botanical garden.

We first visited the main building which houses the biggest collection of forest specimens, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, flora and insects. The collection has been gathered from all over the country and includes various endangered species. All of the specimens are kept on good conditions with careful notes.

Our kids were very excited as soon as they stepped into the lobby where they saw a big white one-horn rhino skeleton and two giant sets of elephant bones.

Passing the lobby, the tour begins in the animal room with its tiger, panther, bear, wild boar and wild cat. Next local hoofed animals such as the Sao La deer, muntjac and spotted deer are found. There are also a lot of monkeys and gibbons.

The second room contains around 60 species of birds. The next is room of reptiles and amphibians, such as a tortoise, a crocodile and some frogs, plus many strange species that I had never heard of before.

Leaving the animal rooms, we moved on to the flora exhibition which showcases more than 20,000 varieties collected since 1960s. The room also houses nearly 200 types of precious wood samples along with herbal and medicinal plants and roots.

The final room contains over 700 species of insect. While beetles drew the attention of the boys, the girls loved the butterflies and a set of folk paintings created from colourful butterfly wings.

After discovering the world of nature, the children enjoyed some water games hosted by the museum staff and some volunteer students. They played and learned about the important role of fresh water in our life and how to preserve our fresh water resources and the environment.

We then explored the 50-year-old garden which is home to more than 4,000 trees, 30 of which are listed in the world and Vietnam Red Books. We saw precious trees from the tropical rainforest of Nam Cat Tien National Park in the south as well as trees from the limestone forest of Phong Nha- Ke Bang National Park. Trees from the lowland forest of Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands and those from mangrove forest of Can Gio Biosphere Reserve were also on display.

Besides all this, the jungle garden also has corners of bamboo and various types of fruit trees for the birds, storks, herons and squirrels that live there. Various kinds of rare and precious herbs can also be found.

Apart from the natural treasures, the museum’s garden also contains evidence of the war against America. There are several shelter-pits shaped rather likes the Cu Chi tunnels, which were built in 1972. There are also bomb-craters that were made during the 12 days and nights the Americans bombed Hanoi. Some of these have been turned into ponds for lotus and fish, making the scene peaceful and romantic.