Hanging out in Hanoi

Sunday, May 20th  

Helen and I hung out in Hanoi on our first full day here in the Old Quarter, where we are staying. As mentioned before, we are but a few steps away from the heart of the action. The centre of the Old Quarter is Hoan Kiem Lake, an idyllic water setting in the midst of a quickly developing urban environment. See how happy and peaceful Helen looks?

What pictures cannot convey is the constant noise of traffic and honking in the background. Still, it takes more than background noise to drown out the charm of Hanoi. This is Hanoi Cathedral built in the early 1900s. Just an example of some of the very interesting sites we came across along our walk:

Recommended by out hotel staff, we head off for Pho 10, a local soup noodle shop just a couple of streets away from where we were staying:

Upon entering this utilitarian eatery, it is clear we are amongst locals. We normally just order by number at any pho joint, but finger pointing on the menu was necessary here as I don't think any of the servers were comfortable with english. We both ordered Pho Bo (beef noodle soup), with well done beef... no need to risk our livers so early on our trip with raw beef.

The pho bo was as good as it smelled. Watching it being assmbled from our table was an added bonus. After two days of soup noodles, in Hanoi, we notice a sharp note of ginger in the broth here that we have not noticed at pho joints at home. In any case, we like it a lot. Again, heavy on cilantro, white onions and green onions, the broth is clear, seemingly simple and tastes pure. Also of note here in Hanoi is a large selection of condiments available at the table. Along with lime, there are two types of chili sauce, pickled chilies, and fresh jalapeno slices. Satisfied with my first half of pure unadulterated noodle soup, I go with in the chilies:

Whoa Nelly! These things pack a whollop! Notice the seeds still intact in the slices? Well, these things opened up my taste buds like a hungry fat kid on a box of Twinkies. With my tongue aflame, my next few bites of hot soup seared through me, augmenting the sweat that has already developed as a result of the serious humidity and 30+ temperature outside. Still, as I solderied on, the pain brought on an ironic pleasure that comes with good food, and the sense of accomplishment that I didn't tap out in the face of adversity. Our satisfaction was furthered with the bill that came to just over $5 for our two bowls and an old school bottle of Sprite. All very satisfying.

Afterwards, we walked randomly through the street shops and markets that are pretty much around every corner, on any given street. I hate to use an old and glib addage but, "Once you've seen one street market, you've seen them all," seems to appropriately applies here. Oh look! A stall for underwear, flip flops, knapsacks, toys, socks, scarves, more knapsacks, more flip flops, and many many more stalls of underwear! Interspersed between hard good shops are restaurants and makeshift eateries that line the streets just beyond the scooters lined up along the sidewalks. After a little while, I feel a bit overwhelmed with the repetative goods. As well, the vendors are starting get more and more aggressive as the afternoon wore on. They were now pulling on our shoulders and arms to buy. We decided to get out of the heat from the weather and the street vendors and grab a cold drink (another beer at $1!).

We had tickets for the Water Puppet show a couple of hours away. After a few drinks at different cafes, we head over to the theatre. The show is an homage to the relationship of the farmer and their natural enviroment, including a brief history and celebration of how Hanoi became the capital of Vietman. It was difficult to follow as it was all in Vietnamese, but there were scenes of carp, water buffalo, farmers, and a glowing dragon. Exciting right? It actually was! There were live vocals that accompanied the marrionette show. The power and intricate control exhibited while singing traditional folk songs was worth the $5 admission alone. Sorry, the photos are a blur. It was dark in there and the iPhone isn't great in these conditions:

After the show, we continue to explore the streets leading back to our hotel. Helen is definitely feeling the heat at this point, visibily and audibly exhausted from the oppressing humidity. Along one street, a sign catches Helen's eyes. There's a KikiMart here, right down to a logo featuring Homer Simpson... well... a bootleg version of him anyway. So, Helen steps a few feet away to get a better angle. As she does so, a street vending lady full-on with the pointed hat and a bamboo shoulder rod with a basket on each end approaches me, trying to sell me pinapples. I respectfully decline. She then smiles at me and puts her shoulder carrying rod and baskets on my shoulder... then her hat. Now I look like a street vendor. I'm thinking... cool! Photo op!! So, with an air of Chirstmans in my excitement, I yell out to Helen, "Hun! Get a photo of this!" As Helen turns her head, she immediately scowls and gives me the what-a-moron-dagger-eyes, and with a large sigh she says, "You know you're going to have to pay for that!" Upon registering Helen's clear disapporaval, I simultaneously realize what has happened. Behind the good natured front of being friendly, this lady had duped me. I was ready to have Helen take 4 or 5 pics at $1 a pop! I mean, I normally think I'm a pretty savvy and safe traveller... I wear a money belt, constantly look over my shoulders, kept a kung-fu grip on my bag, etc. But this lady cearly saw me a mile away with my new Nikes, shades, and backpack, and thought, "Gotcha, you country bumpkin!" She trained her sniper sights on me, made a B-Line for me across the street and pulled the trigger. She would have had me for the kill too it wasn't for the kevlar vest I had on that is my wife! Better luck next time lady!

Lessons learned: be more vigilant while travelling through Asia; ...and listen to my wife.