For this posting I am sitting on a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, which sits in the middle of Hanoi city, Vietnam. It is a peaceful haven surrounded by a loud and vibrant city. My kind of place.
Vietnam has been so different from Laos so far, but a lot of fun just the same. To be fair, I am comparing Hanoi, a capital city with 5M people to sleepy towns and tiny cities of Laos.
Upon arriving in Hanoi, we were given some important tips to keep in mind.
1. When crossing the road, don't wait for a break in the traffic, there will never be one. Walk with determination at a steady pace and whatever you do, don't turn back. There are over 3M motorcycles in Hanoi, and you'd swear there are all baring down on you when you are seemingly trapped halfway across the road, but they all know how to zig and zag to avoid you, the other bikes, the cars, buses, and rickshaws (known as Cyclos). It is like a chaotic ballet. I was actually quite enjoying my strolls across the roads by the end of the day.
2. Don't eat the street food. Only those people very local eat anything out of a basket or from a street vendor. Even those people from other parts of Vietnam don't have the constitution to manage things from unfamiliar parts. This idea was not a hard one for me to manage. I like local cuisine, but I am too fearful of getting really sick to risk too much. But in case I needed some extra encouragement, one of the first vendors I saw had pop and beer cans stuffed with whole young chickens. Only the bums and feet stuck out the top. I guess that is their version of Beer Can Chicken!
3. "Cum on" means "Thank you". And the locals giggle when you say it. I checked my pronunciation with our guide and he said it was fine. He said the locals realize what it means in English, so they think its funny when foreigners say it. The Vietnamese language has a lot of intonation elements so the same words can mean "hello" or "may I have a bowl of noodle soup".
We are heading to the World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay this afternoon. I am really looking forward to the cruise we have plan there. I am a sucker for anything to do with boats and the water.
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1 comment:
2. Don't eat the street food.
I would strongly disagree with this one. Street food is one of the best parts of Vietnam. In six years in Vietnam I only got sick two or three times, and it wasn't from street food. (Once I'm pretty sure it was from the french fries at an upscale cafe.)
There's a great alley with chicken wings just off Nguyen Thai Hoc street. (Every place on the alley sells chicken wings — the last one is the best.) It's a fantastic meal and a very "native" experience.
Make sure you drink some "bia hoi" too!
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