Day 14 – October 1 –Hanoi, Vietnam

Holy Crap! Crossing the street in Hanoi is like a leap of faith. One has no idea if the sea of scooters, mopeds, cars and vans will part to create a path or if one will be cut down from all sides. Traffic signals are mere suggestions, and relying on the (few) walk signals is madness. What I have learned is that one must push through in a straight line, not deviating nor stopping, and then the vehicles will create a path around you. By stopping, one confuses the driver, eliciting more horn honks. We decided to play a game at lunch, how high could we count between honks? We got to 7.

We had breakfast at the hotel and then asked the receptionist for directions. Robin asked her how to get to the lake, to which she turned to face me and asked, loudly, “WHAT?!” I was confused, was she cross-eyed or something? I said, “I’m with him, I need directions to the lake, also.” The hard faced, not very pleasant girl told us to go left out the door. Thanks. Helpful. We walked to a vegetarian café called Tamarind with an adjoining travel agency called Handspan. Handspan was a fantastic agency. There was no haggling on the prices, but the professional attitude of the staff brought confidence to your weary travelers. Dealing with travel agencies has become the most exhausting process, so these people were like a breath of fresh air. After looking at the local forecasts, we decided to push Halong Bay back one day and do the three day two night trip. The total trip was about $300, not bad for everything included, like transportation from Hanoi to Halong, except drinks. Having that booked, we walked to Cha Ca La Vong, a restaurant on the fish restaurant street, which had only one dish, Mekong riverfish with spices. I would give this place high marks for interesting concept and presentation, average marks for the food. The fish came out on a sizzling platter over an intense flame, spitting highlighter-yellow sauce every which way. Noodles, herbs and chili accompanied the fish. Altogether, it was a lot of fun, but we were not quite sure how the whole thing functioned. Stir the fish? Take it off the flame? Finally, the exasperated hostess did it for us. Turns out one takes the coaster out from beneath the contraption, puts the fish dish on it, and they take away the cooker. Thanks, I was really not going to figure that one out.

After lunch we took a cab to the Temple of Literature. A quick note on taxis in Hanoi, they suck. I was not really happy when the meter kept clicking every 10 seconds. For a five minute ride, our fare was 58,300 VND, or roughly $3.50. This made no sense compared to our earlier fares. Certain taxis can be trusted, others cannot. Consult your hotel’s concierge for the trustworthy cab companies. The Temple of Literature is a Chinese temple built as a center for Confucian teachings in 1070. The Vietnamese call this their first university (just beating out the University of Bologna which is the oldest university in Europe, founded in 1088). The architecture was nice, and I was happy to see something other than Buddhist or Hindu temples for once. The deep reds differed from the white, orange and yellow which predominate Thai and Lao temples.

Since I was still seething from our taxi to the Temple of Literature, we thought it would be fun to take a rickshaw to our next destination, the Hanoi Hilton, or prison for American pilots during the Vietnam War. A small, skinny old man lead us to his rickshaw, barely big enough to hold both Robin and me. He then took us, against traffic, on our way. We were going incredibly slow, but the waves of scooters speeding past us was disconcerting, especially when the rickshaw kept bottoming out on account of our combined weight. I was afraid the poor old man was going to have a coronary pushing us. The whole experience was hilarious. By the end, the old man was huffing and puffing, and I’m sure he was just happy we did not tip the whole rickshaw forward in the middle of the street.

The Hanoi Hilton was interesting, if only for viewing the propaganda. There was a fair share of anti-French postings and photos scattered across the interior. The French built the prison complex to incarcerate revolutionaries, and the execution room, complete with guillotine, was restored to its colonial layout. Other rooms housed exhibits on American bombing raids on Hanoi and Vietnam, as well as accounts on treatment of American POWs. Comments on walls included “American POWs were given better living conditions than the majority of Vietnamese living in Hanoi,” or “American pilots, now not dropping bombs, had to be taught skills that every Vietnamese child knew, like sweeping or sowing.” The photos on the walls were of POWs playing volleyball or celebrating Christmas. Senator McCain featured prominently in the photos and exhibits. This site cannot possibly be aimed at influencing American minds, since it is so heavily biased, but is more likely aimed at Vietnamese youths to instill a sense of moral superiority in the regime. I thought the whole experience was interesting, reinforcing my appreciation for the true freedom of press and thought we have in the Western world, and reinforcing my conviction that the press has a solemn duty to shine the harsh spotlight on government.

Upon returning to the hotel, we stopped by a travel agent nearby to book a day trip for tomorrow, biking and boating in an area called Tam Coc. Sounded like a lot of fun, but we were a bit weirded out by the agent in the shop, particularly when he quoted us $65 for a train ticket to Da Nang (our book says $35). We bought the day trip for tomorrow but held off on the train tickets. We asked a new receptionist (thank God!) for a round estimate on train tickets, to which she actually called the railway, got a price and bought the tickets for us ($29.50). We were ecstatic. Note to self: start with the hotel when booking flights or trains. We also asked her for a restaurant recommendation, since she was being so helpful. She told us about a hotel in the business district and called us a reputable taxi. She was actually awesome. We had dinner, which was fantastic. We ordered family style and ate like kings for $20, including a bottle of local red wine, although I wouldn’t recommend the bottle. Altogether, good saves by the hotel receptionist.

After dinner we walked to a bar called 17 Saloon, which Lonely planet described as a popular Western bar with live music every night. We thought getting a beer to live music would be a great change of pace. When we walked into the gaudy, brightly lit entrance, we were floored. Big long bar with scantily clothed girls walking around everywhere. Everyone wore cowboy hats and vests. When we sat at the bar, the bartender gave us a menu and asked which bottle of Hennessey we would like. Sorry, honey, two beers. We were confused, was this a wannabe Western strip club in the heart of Vietnam’s capital? The band consisted of three dudes playing keyboard, guitar and drums, and two girls singing. Honestly, they were not half bad, maybe just a quarter bad. The other three quarters were just kitsch. My favorite song was “Red Red Wine.” When the band took a break, a couple of bartenders came out and juggled flaming bottles of liquor. Overall, it was a pretty crazy sight. We had three beers each and then walked back to the hotel. I was pleased with our first day in Vietnam.