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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“The streets are named after the item that is predominantly sold on that street i.e. silk, bamboo, fake Lacoste shirt, ... ” |
Before we get to Hanoi, a quick story from Saigon. After our last posting we had a few hours to kill before catching our plane to Hanoi. We decided to check out a place we had passed earlier advertising Octoberfest. Lion Beer. It looked pretty nice, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, it was a beerhall/brewery/ technoclub that was in the middle of Octoberfest. You know, traditional Vietnamese culture. Ok, maybe not. We think that the restaurants in this area cater to the tourists. Actually, they pretty much have to. But they can make a good beer, so I have no complaints.
The flight to to Hanoi was fine, but there are some differences when you are flying with the Vietnamese. First, you get on the plane like driving a motorbike (without the honking). Every person for themself. If you are waiting for them to call rows 20 and above, you are going to wait awhile. Also, feel free to take off your shoes and kick back. I say this not to criticize, because I really didn't notice the odor of feet on the plane. But it is a little different. Anyway, we got in fine, met our taxi, and he got us to the hotel without killing any of the many drivers of cargo motorbikes along the way.
Since we got in late they rented our room but gave us their master bedroom...which was very, very nice but still a little strange. No worries, though, as they had a room for us when we woke up. We are staying at the City Gate Hotel, and I cannot say enough about how nice these people are. You get a fried egg with bread and fruit at breakfast that is solid. They are very helpful with directions and got us booked on the Halong Bay trip. The travelers at the hotel have had good things to say about the tours, so we are optimistic.
Hanoi itself is really great. There is alot more to see here, such as lakes and pagodas and museums. Also, they have shops with everything and generally higher quality stuff than Hanoi. We are staying in the Old Quarter which is full of little shops, restaurants, and hotels. The streets are named after the item that is predominantly sold on that street i.e. silk, bamboo, fake Lacoste shirt, fake Prada, and washer and dryer (I actually didn't make that last one up). I don't read Vietnamese, but I'm pretty sure we're on Fish Street. Not that it smells...it doesn't. But they are selling live fish (really big and really small), prawns, eels, crabs, and, I think, crill. So if you're a whale, this is really the place to be. We also saw one lady with a basket of live frog chopping their heads off one by one. Mmmmm...newly killed frogs.
We have yet to see the sun without the filter of an overcast sky since we've been in Vietnam. As we arrived in Hanoi we were lucky enough to get rain from a typhoon. That's a first for me. But we made a go of it anyway and yesterday checked out the main lake in the center of the city and the opera house. Today we went to the Temple of Literature, which was sweet. It was the original university for this country. Lots of pagodas, temples, ponds, dragons, and other stuff. Confuscius is big there. I did not, however, see their sports complex. They must not have a very good team.
As expected, the food has been at worst good and normally great. The fresh spring rolls are very tasty. Today I had grilled prawns with salt and chilly (their spelling, not mine). The came out whole...head and all. You just eat the whole thing, which I gladly did. Casey had some squid, which was also very good. But it was not nearly as funky.
As I said earlier, we head to Halong Bay tomorrow for three days. We are both looking forward to it. Hanoi is great, but after a week of cramped streets, more cramped sidewalks, and the constant honking of motorbikes, it will be nice to be on a boat, in the water, relaxing a bit. Unless, of course, the boats have horns. Maybe we will finally see the sun, too.
previous travel blog entry
Route66roadtrip says:
So - how was Fake Lacoste Street? You guys are cracking me up! I'm so glad you're having a good time! Be careful, have a great time, and make great memories. Miss you!