Hanoi, Hanoi, you crazy son of a gun!
I’m glad we had Bangkok as a warm-up as it slightly prepared me for this supposed city, Hanoi. I’m still thinking it might just be a barely-controlled chaos made entirely of motorcycles and conical hats that communicate with each other through honking. Great goodness, all the honking! We noticed that our taxi driver seemed to be very honk happy on the way from the airport. First thing I heard this morning was honking, and it never stops! I think it’s their greeting, salutation, thank you, how’s your aunt doing?, and GET OUT OF MY WAY!! When you cross any road even ones with lights, you are literally playing Frogger and dodging around scooters. They will adjust around you too, but don’t expect that bus to move or slow down as Kavita found out. Not 10 feet from our hotel a lady with a conical hat and 2 baskets on a long stick with pineapples came up and put the hat and baskets on me. (She knows a photo op sucker when she sees one.) Thinking I could just buy some cheap pineapple and take the picture, I was shocked when she told me it would cost me 50,000VD for the pic + fruit. (Ok, that’s really just over $3, but still!) I argued with her, and she started yelling at me, “Money for picture! Money for picture!” Trying to keep cool, I tried to haggle with her, but her friend (also another pineapple aggressor) came in as reinforcement and started yelling at me also. I just wanted the whole thing over with, so I finally just accepted her last offer and moved on. Good morning to you too, Vietnam.
We went for a walk in the Old Quarter which proved to be exhausting enough (between the humidity, honking, crowded streets & sidewalks, being ‘pineappled’, vehicle dodging, and just general sensory overload) by 11:30 AM to warrant beers. Being that beers were all of $0.16 each, they weren’t the tastiest, but they gave us enough will to go back out there and show Vietnam what we’re made of! We got this, Hanoi!
Boston didn’t feel well, so he went back to the hotel to sleep. K & I decide to check out the prison where John McCain was held, Hanoi Hilton. The taxi ride was an adventure as we have been told and read that almost all are scams (either they drive you all around to run up the meter or charge 10x as much) – only get these certain companies, and it should only cost this much. Well, we got the right company, but I wasn’t paying attention to where he was driving. After a while I looked up the street where we were on my map and realized it was the complete wrong direction. I started accusing him of taking us all around the wrong way, but he didn’t really respond. After a couple more minutes I noticed we were getting closer, but then he had to get out and ask directions. “Um, didn’t I show you on the map when we got in the cab? And I could tell you where it is! Take a right!” It’s a major landmark, and he’s driving the Hanoi Tourist Taxi. I’m pretty sure he knows. I started to get out once, but he suddenly knew where it was. Ridiculous! Boston says I shouldn’t have paid more than what I was told by my hotel. But since I’m not sure what the consequences are of shorting a taxi driver in Vietnam, I’ll just pay the extra $1.
The museum had an interesting spin on how the prisoners were treated. Apparently they played chess or basketball most days. It’s a little different take than McCain’s book. Afterwards, we decided to take a long walk (no taxi, thanks!) to find what was supposedly the best pho in town. We found a great spot, and the pho was really good. It wasn’t where we were trying for, but who cares? It’s authentic enough for me! Later we tried to find a massage place to get a good foot rub in, but there is a severe lack of parlors here! Apparently Vietnam knows what goes down at some of these places (Thailand, I’m looking in your direction) and puts strict rules on who can actually do massage. We found a place, but it was busy. We came back later, but they were closed so sadly – no daily massage report today either.
Boston was feeling better, so later we headed out for dinner. It was good, but it’s no Thai food. (I miss you already!) Just in case you were wondering: No, we didn't eat dog. Yes, I know where to find it. Afterwards we went to this street corner where people gather on plastic chairs or teeny stools and drink the really cheap beer. It’s great people watching as the intersection is still crazy with all the motos, taxis, and even a Hummer.
Click here for more Hanoi pics
I blogged twice today, so be sure you saw the one just before this. I'm all caught up!
We are off to Halong Bay for a couple days to hang out on a boat, so no blog updates until I get back. Try not to cry!
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