Ha Noi -- Sunday, April 3, 2005
Apr. 4th, 2005 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lsandersonYesterday we walked around the city. Mostly in the old town, but we took two Pedi cabs over to the larger lake, walked around a bit, and had a third breakfast.
There seems to be an attraction to swan boats here in Vietnam. There was a flock floating on the lake. Pollution is bad. Both air and water. There’s trash everywhere in the lakes. The air is filled with fumes from motorbikes and dust. The streets work partially as drains here, and everything gets thrown into the flow. Kids and some adults urinate everywhere.
On the other hand, there’s a great sense of energy from the place. The people have been very nice. Tin is great at chatting them up. Thien is quiet most of the time.
The pho broth is thin here. We had a “free” breakfast at the hotel yesterday, and three of us had pho. It was very weak broth, with bits of beef and rice noodles. Tin had two eggs, which was probably the best of the breakfasts. We ate another bowl of pho outside of the market in the old town, and it was better, but nothing to write home about. Thien had another bowl at a restaurant on the large lake, and said it was better. The broth did not look like tapwater.
We ate lunch, if you can call it that, at the fancy restaurant on the lake by the hotel. It’s mostly populated by forgeiners – mostly is probably the wrong word, totally populated is probably a better word.
We ate at Wild Rice last night. It was recommended in Traveler. No tasting menu, so we winged it. Apparently you have to do your own course management in Vietnam, because the food arrived helter-skelter. The only thing we didn’t like was the spring rolls, which were too bland.
We ordered two salads: Wild Rice Chicken Salad, which despite my expectations, had no wild rice, but did have chicken. It was fried chunks of chicken with onions and other vegetables in a a spicy dressing. It was quite good. I ordered the sea clam salad. It was similar, with lots of onions, and a really nice dressing with ginger and sweetness. We like it the best of the salads.
Somewhere after the salad, the soup I ordered arrived, although Thong’s soup arrived first. And the main courses started to arrive. Tin’s fried rice. Which got eagerly split up amongst the Vietnamese. I got a pot of plain rice, which went after the fried rice vanished. A sweet and sour shrimp was the first of the mian courses to arrive. Then a plate Thien ordered of octopus or squid. It was spicy, and really good.
Thong ordered duck in orange sauce and I ordered duck in pickeled apricot sauce. Thong like’d his, but I liked the apricot. Somewhere in there, I ate a hot peper in the shrimp that was really hot, and I had an episode of coughing, tearing, and sweating.
Thong ordered fried bananas for dessert, and they came with a lemon sauce. All of us except Thien ate all of them.
Afterwards, we took two pedicabs back to the lake. The goal was supposed to be tea, but we never got it. We walked around in a street market where they blocked off the street to traffic, except for the occasional scooter, and then headed back to the hotel. (This was the same day that started off at 4:00 with the long lecture from Thong to Thien on marriage, the farm, the city, and the meaning of life.) We were in bed and asleep by 10:00.
This morning is the tour of Hanoi. I’m not expecting much. It looks as if it’s still cloudy out there. I have to get my butt into the bathroom soon and shower. Thien’s in there right now. And both Thong and Tin are dressed.
The weather in Hanoi is much more temperate than Saigon. Although it’s obviously tropical, it’s been cool every day so far.
Hanoi Day 3 after the Tour
The van showed up around 8:45. We went around to a bunch of other hotels and picked up more people for the tour. When the van was full, we took off for the mausoleum. At the mausoleum, we stood in line and went through a metal detector. I guess they’re afraid somebody’s going to hijack the corpse…
We filed past the body. Probably one of the greatest military minds of the last century, and then went to the pagoda. At the pagoda, we ran around taking pictures for too long and then the tour guide left for the van. We went the wrong way trying to catch up to her. We finally made it to the van before the tour guide. When she got back, she yelled at the Dinhs for quite some time.
Hanoi Day 3 later that same day
On the streets of Ha Noi, crabs are treated royally at night. Kept in shallow containers with air stones beside shrimp, snails, and clams, they’re free to frolic until they catch the fancy of a passing person. Then, they’re weighed, and plunged into a pot of water boiling over a charcoal fire. Sitting on a stool more suitable for a child at a knee high table, they’re served with salt, pepper, Asian basil, and the juice of tiny limes. You have to do all of your own cracking. When the crab comes to the table, it’s too hot to hold. And the one we had stayed that way through most of its consumption. The one we shared was excellent, although the resultant mess of shell, hot liquid from the crab, required a bit more than the small, wrapped towels that are ubiquitous in Viet Nam.
Before, we went for dinner at a rooftop restaurant we first ate at. We were not as happy the second time. The pork ribs, which were really good the first time, were a bit too fat, and not as crunchy. I had cuttlefish, although I could not tell it from squid. They kept trying to get me to eat more food, and ordered me some fried pork, but I was not that hungry.
We walked half-way around the lake, to the coffee stand on the south west corner of the lake. Thien wanted something strong to drink, and, after great consultation, ordered him a scotch. It came with ice on the side. I made him drink it neat. Then we went off for the crab.
The tour was better than I expected, although holding the whole affair up at the mausoleum did put a bit of an edge on it. There was a cute couple from Singapore, an older couple from Australia – he was well tattooed, and had a stud and a large hoop dangling from an ear. They seemed like quite pleasant people, and helped diffuse the tension after the tour guide yelled at us. There were two Germans from Frankfurt, a mother and son I think, and a man, his wife from San Jose with their mother from Ha Noi, and the four of us.
There seems to be an attraction to swan boats here in Vietnam. There was a flock floating on the lake. Pollution is bad. Both air and water. There’s trash everywhere in the lakes. The air is filled with fumes from motorbikes and dust. The streets work partially as drains here, and everything gets thrown into the flow. Kids and some adults urinate everywhere.
On the other hand, there’s a great sense of energy from the place. The people have been very nice. Tin is great at chatting them up. Thien is quiet most of the time.
The pho broth is thin here. We had a “free” breakfast at the hotel yesterday, and three of us had pho. It was very weak broth, with bits of beef and rice noodles. Tin had two eggs, which was probably the best of the breakfasts. We ate another bowl of pho outside of the market in the old town, and it was better, but nothing to write home about. Thien had another bowl at a restaurant on the large lake, and said it was better. The broth did not look like tapwater.
We ate lunch, if you can call it that, at the fancy restaurant on the lake by the hotel. It’s mostly populated by forgeiners – mostly is probably the wrong word, totally populated is probably a better word.
We ate at Wild Rice last night. It was recommended in Traveler. No tasting menu, so we winged it. Apparently you have to do your own course management in Vietnam, because the food arrived helter-skelter. The only thing we didn’t like was the spring rolls, which were too bland.
We ordered two salads: Wild Rice Chicken Salad, which despite my expectations, had no wild rice, but did have chicken. It was fried chunks of chicken with onions and other vegetables in a a spicy dressing. It was quite good. I ordered the sea clam salad. It was similar, with lots of onions, and a really nice dressing with ginger and sweetness. We like it the best of the salads.
Somewhere after the salad, the soup I ordered arrived, although Thong’s soup arrived first. And the main courses started to arrive. Tin’s fried rice. Which got eagerly split up amongst the Vietnamese. I got a pot of plain rice, which went after the fried rice vanished. A sweet and sour shrimp was the first of the mian courses to arrive. Then a plate Thien ordered of octopus or squid. It was spicy, and really good.
Thong ordered duck in orange sauce and I ordered duck in pickeled apricot sauce. Thong like’d his, but I liked the apricot. Somewhere in there, I ate a hot peper in the shrimp that was really hot, and I had an episode of coughing, tearing, and sweating.
Thong ordered fried bananas for dessert, and they came with a lemon sauce. All of us except Thien ate all of them.
Afterwards, we took two pedicabs back to the lake. The goal was supposed to be tea, but we never got it. We walked around in a street market where they blocked off the street to traffic, except for the occasional scooter, and then headed back to the hotel. (This was the same day that started off at 4:00 with the long lecture from Thong to Thien on marriage, the farm, the city, and the meaning of life.) We were in bed and asleep by 10:00.
This morning is the tour of Hanoi. I’m not expecting much. It looks as if it’s still cloudy out there. I have to get my butt into the bathroom soon and shower. Thien’s in there right now. And both Thong and Tin are dressed.
The weather in Hanoi is much more temperate than Saigon. Although it’s obviously tropical, it’s been cool every day so far.
Hanoi Day 3 after the Tour
The van showed up around 8:45. We went around to a bunch of other hotels and picked up more people for the tour. When the van was full, we took off for the mausoleum. At the mausoleum, we stood in line and went through a metal detector. I guess they’re afraid somebody’s going to hijack the corpse…
We filed past the body. Probably one of the greatest military minds of the last century, and then went to the pagoda. At the pagoda, we ran around taking pictures for too long and then the tour guide left for the van. We went the wrong way trying to catch up to her. We finally made it to the van before the tour guide. When she got back, she yelled at the Dinhs for quite some time.
Hanoi Day 3 later that same day
On the streets of Ha Noi, crabs are treated royally at night. Kept in shallow containers with air stones beside shrimp, snails, and clams, they’re free to frolic until they catch the fancy of a passing person. Then, they’re weighed, and plunged into a pot of water boiling over a charcoal fire. Sitting on a stool more suitable for a child at a knee high table, they’re served with salt, pepper, Asian basil, and the juice of tiny limes. You have to do all of your own cracking. When the crab comes to the table, it’s too hot to hold. And the one we had stayed that way through most of its consumption. The one we shared was excellent, although the resultant mess of shell, hot liquid from the crab, required a bit more than the small, wrapped towels that are ubiquitous in Viet Nam.
Before, we went for dinner at a rooftop restaurant we first ate at. We were not as happy the second time. The pork ribs, which were really good the first time, were a bit too fat, and not as crunchy. I had cuttlefish, although I could not tell it from squid. They kept trying to get me to eat more food, and ordered me some fried pork, but I was not that hungry.
We walked half-way around the lake, to the coffee stand on the south west corner of the lake. Thien wanted something strong to drink, and, after great consultation, ordered him a scotch. It came with ice on the side. I made him drink it neat. Then we went off for the crab.
The tour was better than I expected, although holding the whole affair up at the mausoleum did put a bit of an edge on it. There was a cute couple from Singapore, an older couple from Australia – he was well tattooed, and had a stud and a large hoop dangling from an ear. They seemed like quite pleasant people, and helped diffuse the tension after the tour guide yelled at us. There were two Germans from Frankfurt, a mother and son I think, and a man, his wife from San Jose with their mother from Ha Noi, and the four of us.
