HANOI- Day 2
November 18th
After arriving back into Hanoi from Sapa on the night train some time around 5am, the group took three seperate cabs over to Handspan where we sat and had
breakfast. At roughly $5 it was definitely western prices, as that could almost buy two people dinner.I then went back over to the Win Hotel to meet up with the rep from my Cambodia travel agency, Discover Mekong, and I finally got to unload the several hundred in US dollars I was carrying to pay for my plane tickets for flights within the region and the tours with them.
The awesome hotel guy then gave me a room where I could chill and shower until mine was ready at 10am. After watching Oprah discuss cheating housewives and suburban swingers, I then went for a counter clockwise walk around the lake.
Just outside the hotel, here you see a common method for cooking meat- over a small charcoal contraption in the middle of the street.
Smaller female version of my dog. Note the sweater- was a little chilly out.
A tourist experience in and of itself- I had to cross the street several times on this excursion, something I had previously learned to do when I was in Saigon 6yrs ago. Not as bad as there, but still somewhat nerve racking until you get accustomed to it.
Martyr's Monument
Back in my room, here you see my proud new purchases! For some reason I always enjoy buying new backpacks or luggage, so from left to right: I upgraded my day pack for $8, got a big bag I could put my suits and souveniers in $22, and now have a back up for my main travel pack for $10.
I then went around the corner to eat at Pepperonis, where this sign was posted. I'm proud to say that the waitress handed me the Vietnamese language menu (of course I then had to ask for the English), so my plan to look native was working fairly well.
Actually the night before a woman at a bar and one of our tour assistants, both Vietnamese, would ask if I was Vietnamese as well.
Had a watermelon juice, cream of potato soup, and a small pizza.
Here we see a fellow traveler that was eating and came over to chat. Jonathan was recently out of the Israeli army and was traveling the world, including the States, before heading back home. In the background you see the staff taking a break and eating all together. Funny enough Ross & Stephanie would walk by then come in to eat here as well.
I then started the Old Quarter walking tour in my Lonely Planet guide. Jonathan came along but bailed out after I started to look in shops and take pics.
The Vietnamese Best Buy- DVDs for only $3
Everything could be found in the Old Quarter, from whole blocks dedicated just to shoes or toys, to grave marker shops, candies, etc.
Meaning of the 36 streets
The calm in the storm
Seriously, the biggest shopping hazard was to avoid getting run over, as scooters filled up the side walk forcing you to walk in the street next to the congested traffic.
At about 6:30 met back up with our Sapa group to go have "street beer"- where you sit right next to the street on little plastic furniture and drink or eat.
A beer for each of us worked out to about $1- total.
We then moved over to the Hotel Metropole for a much more expensive drink (and extremely good, free popcorn), before heading to dinner at one of the best restaurants in Hanoi- Restaurant Bobby Chinn.
An Asian fusion place, it looked like a W Hotel lobby you could find in Manhattan. And looking at my credit card statement it was about $30, the most expensive meal of the trip outside of Tokyo. Of course in Switzerland that would get you all of a continental breakfast, so expensive is relative.