You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took..."
-Regina Spektor
Landed in Hanoi to a very different Vietnam than I remembered from 2003. Of course last time was Saigon, and they say Hanoi is totally different. It was. Yes, there's the constant noise and activity, French colonial architecture, everything looking just a little bit broken. But the fashion! Even people's moto helmets sport flash plaid designs. And women in current dresses and bright, high-heeled stilletos prowl the streets on scooters, impassive looks plastered on their faces amidst the chaos. The stores are a mix of the utilitarian and the outright haute couture (not that I care, but I ventured into a store selling about 7 items. All Hugo Boss)
My favourite moment in Hanoi comes in the mid-evening, around 10 pm. The noise.... stops. The motos and Mercedes (yes, there are lots), must have vacated the streets as it is virtually impossible for a Vietnamese driver not to honk his/her horn every 15 seconds to alert everybody and nobody to his presence.
Food-wise, I do well. Thanks to Ben I had a phenominal bun cha (noodles, grilled meat, cucumbers in broth, mint in a do-it yourself Hanoi-only lunchtime meal). And thanks to CJ, I ate grilled fish in herbs with a little rice and a lovely local draught beer. Subtle yet resounding flavours.
Then to Sapa via overnight train. Being rocked to sleep, I am reminded how cibvilised train travel is. I wake up to a new place and a misty dawn. While I wait for my minibuis to fill up at the station, a woman came by to sell me a hot coffee. Perfect.
2 comments:
This is much more interesting than your "I need a roommate" post.
Glad you enjoyed the bun cha. Did you stay at the Hanoi Elite?
Ah, I love Hanoi fashion. And Hanoi everything. The city has a strong identity, I felt, adventurous as well as traditional. Did you have noodles and coffee on the pavement with the locals at sunrise/sunset?
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