Thinking back

In the preceding posts and pictures I tried to capture the feeling of Hanoi from our perspective. The overall effect is somewhat incomplete without the smells and and the feeling of the air, though. One of the things we noticed immediately, coming back to Asia, both in Hong Kong and Hanoi was the smell of coal in the air. It is the smell I associate with China, when I lived in Harbin and Beijing 12 years ago. Smells like winter.



I mentioned earlier (I think) the difference in personal space one notices as a westerner in Asia. It's funny, in the Hanoi guide it said not to be surprised if the Vietnamese were to ask personal questions or make remarks that would be considered rude in US culture. Examples they gave were something like, "You're really very fat," and "Isn't your husband ugly?" Fortunately I didn't experience the latter, but I did see a real-life example of the former. A European backpacker was stopped by an older Vietnamese man at Hoan Kiem. I couldn't hear the conversation, but it ended with the older man poking at the westerner's stomach and laughing.

A couple more amusing experiences come to mind. At Gammebeer, as we were in conversation, Lissa got a funny expression on her face and her father began laughing. I looked up and saw that the waitress had noticed Lissa's colored hair braids, and like a cat, was playing with them contentedly.

Previously, at the Temple of Literature, I had been pre-occupied taking photos, and hadn't noticed a young Vietnamese woman (I think a student) approach me. When I stopped taking pictures, she looked me in the eye and said clearly, "You can kiss me." I politely declined.
(I am fairly certain that she was actually trying to convey another meaning, but this makes a better story.)

Oranges everywhere -- must be Tet!





One last image, back in Hong Kong on the way home, I was pleased to see the iconic Star Ferry still shuttling passengers back and forth to Kowloon. I think it closed for a time, but if so, someone bought it and kept the same ships and low fare service (HK$2.2). No trip to Hong
Kong is complete without a trip on that ferry.

Pub Crawl, last night in Hanoi

After bun cha (rice noodles, barbecue pork, greens) with my father-in-law's family, he, my wife and I headed out for the pubs. Our original plan was to drive to Red Beer microbrewery first, but a night market got in our way, so instead we hit Finegan's at 16a Duong Thanh for draft Halida. Nice spot in the old quarter, pool tables in back. Apparently the women are the pool sharks in Vietnam. Some will bet their clothing against your money. They generally keep their clothing. We didn't test the theory....

On to Gambrinus (now Gammebeer) at 198 Tran Quang Khai, for microbrew golden ales and stouts. Not bad, but a bit sweet. The beer hall is enormous by Hanoi standards. Easily seats 200-250 people or so.

Last was Bobby Chinn's on the west side of Hoan Kiem lake. We met Bobby. He is half-Chinese, half-Egyptian, so no surprise he has become a restauranteur in Hanoi. Good guy, nice place. This spot has become THE expats bar over the past several years, and I can see why. It could be in NYC or L.A. if you changed the window scenery. Prices are western. Wish we had had appetite to try the food, but there is always next time.

This was a great trip. Off to the airport!

Four Temples and Two Dresses

Today was a day of pagoda visits and one Ao Dai errand.

First was the Ambassadors' Pagoda. This is actually a real, operating Buddhist Temple and a home for the Buddhism Research Institute. The name comes from its original purpose, which was to house ambassadors from other Buddhist countries. It was refreshing to see a working temple, with offices and meeting rooms ringing the courtyard, with the shrine in the middle.



Then on we went to the Tran Quoc Pagoda ("National Defense"), said to be the oldest pagoda in Vietnam, built in the 6th century. It has a very pleasant view of the Ho Tay (West) Lake. The front portion of the site has many new structures (among them a large stone memorial and a traditional tall pagoda), and in the back, the old pagoda itself is actually only one story tall and is very understated. A group of visitors donned white headbands and placed rugs on the stone floor to hold a funeral, so we did not stay long.



Quan Thanh Temple was not on the list, but we happened to be passing so we stopped in. Just south of the Truc Bach (White Silk) Lake, this temple dates back to the 11th century. The grounds are very relaxing and are lined with flame trees. A group of art students sat painting the landscape. The lake has an interesting history as well. Its name come from the palace built on the site which later became a "reformatory for deviant royal concubines," whose punishment was to weave a very fine white silk.





Next on the list was the One-Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot), which we missed last time we walked past Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. The story goes that Emperor Ly Thai Tong (reigned 1028 to 1054 AD) had a dream that he met the goddess of Mercy, Quan The Am Bo Tat, who handed him a male child. Ly Thai Tong then married a peasant girl who bore him a son (and heir to the throne). He built the pagoda to thank the goddess. The French destroyed the original in 1954, and the government promptly rebuilt it.



After lunch at Paris Deli (tasty coffee and pastries), we picked up my wife's bridemaid's dress and Ao Dai (amazingly completed in two days!! The shop is To Thanh Nga, at 54 Hang Gai, and I highly recommend them!

Coffee beans, Flower markets, and Indian food

The day began with clouds and drizzle, but that's not too surprising since we haven't seen the sun once in our time here. I'm told that the best time to visit is October/November, so we'll aim for that next time. We had two goals for the day: to purchase coffee beans, and to eat good Indian food.

Coffee, we figured we would buy from the market across the street, but Mr. T (very helpful member of house staff -- not the actor from "The A Team") soon set us on a better path. He made a phone call or two, and located for us a tiny specialty coffee roaster in the old quarter whose coffee he said would be superior. He even went so far as to negotiate the price of the coffee (bargaining down 25%) and to give the owners my description so that they would recognize us when we arrived. More Mr. T intelligence: as the Tet holiday is coming up, there was to be a flower market right in that area at the intersection of Hang Ma and Hang Be. This sounded much more interesting than the FiviMart across the street, so off we went.

Hang Giay Street is small enough that it is often left off tourist maps, but with Mr T's directions we found it easily. Hue Cafe (Motto: "Good Strong Coffee") is a hole in the wall, located at 26 Hang Giay Street, a small street between Luong Ngoc Quyen and Hang Buom, a five minute walk north of Hoan Kiem Lake. The proprietors recognized me immediately (1.85m tall white guy in black leather jacket and chinos), and invited us to sit down and try the coffee. So we folded up our enormous legs and sat down on plastic stools about 20cm off the ground. They brought us espresso-sized porcelain cups of extremely strong coffee and a can of condensed milk. The "Special Highland" variety was as tasty as its reputation, and I may need another suitcase to transport our purchases.



Around the corner we visited the flower market. What I didn't expect was that the market was not just for live flowers, but silk ones as well. Mixed in with the tangerine trees (very popular at Tet), and budding rose bushes were a silk lilies, marigolds, roses, carnations, and many other colorful representations of real flowers and others were the artist clearly felt he could improve a bit upon nature. Vendors around the flower market sold paper cuttings in red and gold, good luck colors traditional for special events all over Asia.

Food moments this day: bun cha and beer at Le Pub, Mango yoghurt smoothy (the menu's spelling) at La Place looking out over the St. Joseph Cathedral plaza, pate banh mi from a street vendor, and finally a lovely Indian dinner at Khazaana, at 1C Tong Dan, not far at all from where we are staying. I recommend the last particularly highly. We try to have South Asian food in our travels wherever it has good reputation. Indian food in the US and UK, for example, are very different, whether it is the Indian population and cuisine represented or the local interpretation of dishes, there is always something new to experience. At Khazaana we had spicy mutton with mushrooms, a spinach and peas dish flavored with fenugreek, and a black lentil curry. For dessert: almond caramel ice cream (imagine halvah as an ice cream), and gulab jamun, a golfball-sized pastry that tasted cornbread with butter in honey. Yum!

Art Galleries and Dictionaries

While my wife is teaching a dance workshop, I took a walk around the Opera House neighborhood. Trang Tien Street is filled with bookstores (with some foreign language titles) and art galleries. I particularly enjoyed Green Palm at 15 Trang Tien, and Thanh Binh (Thanh Binh also has its own website) at No. 25-27 on the same street.

The art varies widely in terms of subject matter, artistic talent, and choice of medium. I saw oils on canvas, laquer on wood, some watercolors, and some pottery as well. Styles ranged all over from impressionism to realism to surrealism. A few artists clearly were inspired by Klimpt, some by Picasso, others by Monet. Many subjects were repeated across the ten galleries I visited: Buddhist monks (up to five abreast) walking away from the viewer into nothingness on a background of yellow; a pensive young woman alone in traditional dress; and the back streets of Hanoi in the afternoon light. The gallery managers all spoke good English and were very solicitous. I may have to visit the fine arts museum.

As I mentioned, on the same street were a number of bookstores. We are unable to visit a foreign country without purchasing a few language texts and translators dictionaries, and Vietnam is no exception!

Food Recommendations (untried as yet)

In no particular order:

From New York Times Articles

• Paris Deli, 6 Phan Chu Trinh Street, (84-4) 9345269, and 13 Nha Tho Street, (84-4) 9286697. With two locations, these casual French bistros serve good French food, including baguette sandwiches and pastries at affordable prices. Lunch for two, plus wine, $35
• Club Opera, 59 Ly Thai To Street, (84-4) 8246950. In a villa across the street from the Metropole, this elegant restaurant serves superbly prepared Thai and Vietnamese food, like shrimp in coconut sauce and fried fillet of sea bass with mango. Dinner for two, with wine, $70.
• Wild Rice (a k a. La Lua): 6 Ngo Thi Nham Street; (84-4) 943-8896; wildrice@fpt.vn.
• Wild Lotus: 55A Nguyen Du Street; (84-4) 943-9342; wildlotus@fpt.vn.
• Spices Garden: Metropole Hotel, 15 Ngo Quyen Street; (84-4) 826-6919.
• Green Tangerine: 48 Hang Be Street; (84-4) 825-1286.
• Moon River: Bac Cau, Ngoc Thuy Village, Gia Lam District, Hanoi; (84-4) 871-1658

From the Vietnam Economic Times "The Guide" award-winners:

• Cyc lo Bar (French) - 38 Duong Thanh, tel: 828-6844
• Khazaana (Indian) - 1C Tong Dan, tel: 934-5657
• Quan An Ngon (Vietnamese), 18 Phan Boi Chau, Tel: 942-8162

From various foodie websites (may be low on atmosphere, because backpacking authors don't usually care):

• "Bun Cha" on Hang Manh Street
• Cha Ca La Vong at 14 Pho Cha Ca, Hoan Kiem District for fish
• 17 ly quoc su street for chao vit (duck)

Bellydance in Vietnam

Not what expect in Vietnam, and yet, my wife found it. In fact, she found the only troupe, Bastet Douat (Worshippers of Bastet), begun by Ara Huang, a Korean-born dancer, who single-handedly brought the art-form to Vietnam. Ara is very enthusiastic, and excited to learn new material, as are her students. Twelve showed up for my wife's impromptu workshop in the afternoon.

In fact, Bastet Douat (and my wife) performed that evening at 1001 Nights at 28 Dao Duy Tu. The restaurant looks like a small coffee shop, but has a surprise second floor performance venue decorated in the Casbah style, with thick rugs, cushions, low tables, fabric draped from the ceiling, and large water pipes (hooka, shisha) to complete the picture. I'll post photos on our return (missing the necessary cord), but the dancers were quite good, dancing choreographies in the Egyptian style, and everyone had a great time.

There is a curfew for businesses of midnight, and this was my first time out past midnight in Hanoi. So it is appropriate that it was also our first time trying street food. Wonton soup, no ill effects. The funny thing is that the business did in fact stay open past 12 a.m. However, they closed up the front to be less apparent to patrols. Out of sight, out of mind. As long as businesses "respect" the curfews, i.e. do not openly flout the rules, they can stay open as late as they want. This has led to a tradition of lock-ins at popular bars. The proprietor closes doors at midnight, but the party goes on.

One of the fun parts of the evening was spending time in the company of so many polyglots. I speak Chinese passably and my French is rusty but serviceable (though my German while never good, has shriveled up and died), but many folks at the table spoke at least two languages with conversational fluency or better. One spoke four tongues with ease (English, Greek, French, and Vietnamese). Amazing ability, due of a combination of circumstances of birth, necessity in life and work, and a desire to communicate at at high level. I think this last is what makes the difference as an adult (children pick up languages without thinking). Many people spend years working in foreign lands without ever learning how to speak to people who live there.

Continuing my tradition of misreading maps ("Surely we're going south. I'm certain of it."), we got as far north as Dong Xuan market before finding our bearings, and turned around. It is amazing how fast you can cover distance without people in the way. Saturday night in Hanoi doesn't spill out into the streets late (unlike New York). Just a few families and friends sharing a drink or a cigarette on the stoop, garbage collectors, and folks going home. Made it back in record time.