We visited Vietnam for a month in 2008. I especially loved Hanoi, despite the frenetic traffic (or perhaps because of it). Motorcycles and scooters were everywhere, likes swarms of bees. Parking was at a premium, usually on sidwalks originally meant for pedestrians and street sellers. Here is a young man on his scooter. Waiting for a friend? or perhaps waiting for a tourist who will pay him to take them to another part of town (not me, I was scared enough walking through the traffic, much less being part of the traffic swarms.
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Harvest Time - Rice Fields - northern Vietnam
On our way from Hanoi to Halong Bay in October of 2008 we passed ripening rice fields ready for harvest. Here you can see the marriage of both traditional and modern equipment used for harvesting. Anything to get the crop in on time and in good shape.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Where are the birds? and other ruminations on Vietnam
So where were the birds? Virtually no pigeons...who doesn't have pigeons? Few sparrows. Few egrets, herons (with all those rice fields?). Only an occasional gull or two. We saw a few hawks in Halong Bay but virtually no place else. Very few places had morning chirps outside the window. I was happy that I wasn't lugging around a bird book through Vietnam. So here is my theory. In hard times people eat everything and anything and Vietnam has had a lot of hard time. So they eat pigeons and other feral birds, they eat rodents and small critters. So any kind of bird dependent on small critters for food either starve or move to better territory. Other birds dependent on the picking and leavings of people...are fair game and in close proximity. And then you add the ecological devastation of decades of war and defoliation practices...its a wonder there are any birds whatsoever!
Honda: definition: any motorcycle or scooter. Honda has become the "kleenex" or "xerox" of Vietnam. Any msall motorcyle or scooter can be referred to generically as a Honda whether it is one or not (Honda's by the way are about 3 or 4 times as expensive as Chinese made cycles)
The $68,000 Camrys: Cars are very expensive in Vietnam. Partly due to economics and partly due to political design. It is correctly perceived that the road and circulation system is not ready for an onslaught of automobiles...it's barely surviving the millions of motorbikes/scooters that have popped up like bunnies with the increased prosperity of the last decade. So import duties are very high...up to 250%. So a Toyota Camry shipped from the US costs $68.000. I'm still trying to calculate what the Porshce Cayenne I saw in Saigon would cost...I calcuate about $240,000.
Water Buffaloes don't eat rice, cattle do. One of the reasons you see so many more water buffalo's pulling equipment in the field. When they are on break they don't eat the product!
Motorbike Washing Parties. When someone is finally able to save up enough money to buy a motorbike, they will have a party where they invite friends for the "first wash". Who is bringing the Bia (Bia is the Vietnamese word for Beer....Bia Hoi...is locally produced beer...consistently good and cheap).
Honda: definition: any motorcycle or scooter. Honda has become the "kleenex" or "xerox" of Vietnam. Any msall motorcyle or scooter can be referred to generically as a Honda whether it is one or not (Honda's by the way are about 3 or 4 times as expensive as Chinese made cycles)
The $68,000 Camrys: Cars are very expensive in Vietnam. Partly due to economics and partly due to political design. It is correctly perceived that the road and circulation system is not ready for an onslaught of automobiles...it's barely surviving the millions of motorbikes/scooters that have popped up like bunnies with the increased prosperity of the last decade. So import duties are very high...up to 250%. So a Toyota Camry shipped from the US costs $68.000. I'm still trying to calculate what the Porshce Cayenne I saw in Saigon would cost...I calcuate about $240,000.
Water Buffaloes don't eat rice, cattle do. One of the reasons you see so many more water buffalo's pulling equipment in the field. When they are on break they don't eat the product!
Motorbike Washing Parties. When someone is finally able to save up enough money to buy a motorbike, they will have a party where they invite friends for the "first wash". Who is bringing the Bia (Bia is the Vietnamese word for Beer....Bia Hoi...is locally produced beer...consistently good and cheap).
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Hoi An
Just a quick note from Hoi An. Hoi An is a magical town on the central coast of vietnam (about an hour south of Da Nang.) Founded as a shipping port over 400 - 500 years ago by the Portuguese it became an important port with districts populated by the Portugues, chinese, japanese and other major exporters/importers. The river eventually silted up to the point that big ships couldn't come up the river and the port slowly faded into obscurity. Miraculously it was one of the few (if perhaps only) town in the region unscarred (physically) by the wars in Vietnam. It is now becoming a well visited city and spouts art galleries, great restaurants, small hotels, and silk shop after silk shop. There is still a small fishing fleet that operates out of Hoi An too. Early market is quite entertaining. Got great pictures and will provide more blog detail once I'm home. We're packed up for tomorrows flight to Hanoi and then Tuesday we leave for home...arriving JFK on Wednesday late morning.
We stayed at the Hoi An Hotel...a great find. Reasonably priced at right in Old Hoi An. Convenient walking distance to waterfront, museums, and restaurants. You can take a cyclo or taxi to the beach if you want to go (we didn't). Favorite things we did: We slowed down and spent time drinking coffee or beer watching people. We took two cyclo rides...both in late afternoon...one through the main downtown and one (the most delightful) out into the residential areas where the fisherman lives, the farmers tend their fields, the 20 something go to karaoke bars and get their hair cut, etc. It was lovely. We got clothes made (skirts, blouses, and long shorts). skirts and tops came from a place called Elegant on Tran Phu We ate well...
Ate at the Cargo Club for lunch and pastries several times, at the Tam Tam club for steak and fries, and back to Morning Glory for those wonderful crispy pancakes, spring rolls, and fried eggplant. And also riverfront dining at Brother Cafe...delicious with a view of dusk over the river.
We stayed at the Hoi An Hotel...a great find. Reasonably priced at right in Old Hoi An. Convenient walking distance to waterfront, museums, and restaurants. You can take a cyclo or taxi to the beach if you want to go (we didn't). Favorite things we did: We slowed down and spent time drinking coffee or beer watching people. We took two cyclo rides...both in late afternoon...one through the main downtown and one (the most delightful) out into the residential areas where the fisherman lives, the farmers tend their fields, the 20 something go to karaoke bars and get their hair cut, etc. It was lovely. We got clothes made (skirts, blouses, and long shorts). skirts and tops came from a place called Elegant on Tran Phu We ate well...
Ate at the Cargo Club for lunch and pastries several times, at the Tam Tam club for steak and fries, and back to Morning Glory for those wonderful crispy pancakes, spring rolls, and fried eggplant. And also riverfront dining at Brother Cafe...delicious with a view of dusk over the river.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Hue
Flew south to Danang from Hanoi (about a 90 min flight)and then traveled by motorcoach north to Hue. It was warm and cloudy with rain at times, very tropical feeling. We drove along the shore much of the time looking out to the vietnam sea (south china sea) to the east and to green mountains in the west (beyond which lies Laos only about 30 miles distant). We passed flooded rice fields (its apparently been raining a lot) and men fishing in the rain. Small towns and many rivers. Staying in Hue at the Morin, a gracefully restored hotel built around 1900. The hotel sits on the shore of the Perfume River in Hue. It is really lovely, just wish the A/C worked a little better. But it is worth it for the sense of history and grace (and the fabulous buffet...Hue is famous for its fried rice pancakes stuffed with pork and shrimp...they look just like tacos...only better!).
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday Evening in Ha Noi
revised December 3rd)
Tomorrow we join the Smithsonian for the next phase of our adventure. Tonight we rest after much walking, considerable afternoon humidity, and lots of good food. Highlights of the past couple of days...with more details to follow later.
Hidden Hanoi. A great "culture company" for lack of better words. They provide walking tours, cooking classes (hands on), and language lessons. We availed ourselves of the first two services: a tour of a large market in the Hai Ba Trung district and a delightful 3 hour cooking class (and introduction to the "philosophy" of Vietnamese food). The market tour was just the two of us and a guide (for a very reasonable $30 US) for about 1 1/2. She met us at the hotel and we took a short taxi ride (cabs are metered, no bargaining necessary) to the market area.
First, there are hundreds of fresh markets all throughout Ha Noi...small and big, legal and "illegal" (people from the country that sell there products on the sidewalks and in the streets). The reason for so many markets is that Vietnamese insist on VERY fresh ingredients (and can tell the difference)...so much so that they will go shopping for produce and meats/fish/poultry several times a DAY...so the market can't be very far from their where they live and cook.
There are dry and wet markets...the wet markets is where they sell fish, poultry and meats and is referred to as "wet" because they often wash down the floors and the tables to keep things clean. Dry markets are well they sell produce, fresh rice noodles, herbs, etc. Some produce was familiar some completely foreign and others a variation of what we are used to (pineapples for instance are smaller and have more "cavities" inside...quite pretty when cut up). Some are familiar only if you shop at asian markets or have asian friends (such as leechi nuts in their bizarre prickly casings). We finally ate durian (that tropical fruit that smells so bad when cut open and supposedly tastes so fine...we think you have to have been raised on it to find it "so fine"...however, the smell also wasn't so bad either.
All parts of animals are sold including the "innards", feet, etc. (okay didn't see any pigs teeth being sold...so many not ALL parts). Snakehead fish are very popular (and don't look like snakes). We saw live frogs and live green turtles for sale (farm raised both). Freshly killed chickens with heads and feet attached. One definitely knows where all their food come from here!
There are also many restaurants in Ha Noi as well. Fancier air conditioned (or fan-conditioned) restaurants serving fine food of all types. Also, smaller "plastic stool" sidewalk cafes...where fresh pho noodle soups are made and served to locals who seat on small plastic stools over plastic tables....spilling onto the sidewalks.
In fact sidewalks for the most part aren't used for walking in many areas of Ha Noi...if people aren't using them for market or for eating, they use them to park the thousands and thousands of motorbikes that buzz around Ha Noi. Apparently, the Chinese started making really inexpensive motorbikes of good quality and exporting them to VietNam about 8 years ago...its never been the same since. They instituted a helmet law not too long ago and about 95% of the people wear helmets...and like most people...don't like to. So now you are seeing decorated helmets and helmet covers that make the helmets look like stylish hats!
Back to Hidden Hanoi (http://www.hiddenhanoi.com.vn/) . Yesterday we took two cyclos (bicycle powered rickshaws...and we needed two because they are built to house two skinny vietnamese not two robust americans) out to the West Lake District of Ha Noi for a cooking class where we were joined by 3 lively folk from the UK...workmates from London. They were a real hoot and we had a great, great time. i highly recommend this group....Hidden Hanoi. We had a lovely teacher who gave us an introduction to the yin and yang of Vietnamese cooking. And then it was to the kitchen...a big open space with a large area in a square with woks and work surfaces...very clean and very well prepared. We cut, we scraped, we chopped and we put together a delightful lunch...fish soup, green papaya salad, sweet and sour stir fried prawns, and fresh spring rolls in rice noodles (not fried). yummmmmeeee! Then it was back by cyclo to our hotel via a short tour of the Old Quarter (which we have also walked...more about Old Quarter in another post).
Let me tell you...a cyclo ride is really something. Can't wait to post the pictures I took....although only a video would really tell the story. There were a few times when I just closed my eyes...but other times when it was so nice to be able to stare up at the old and new buildings without having to worry about stepping into a pot hole (you know me!).
so for future posts...watch for our tales from the Old Quarter, our lunch at Au Lac, the Press club, and just how lost one can get (twice) without a detailed map to guide you!!!
By the way...we find the Vietnamese to be extremely patient and polite people. Friendly in a quiet way. Quite beautiful. And they have the ability to sit and enjoy life, to find a quiet spot within themselves in the midst of hustle and bustle. Quite admirable.
added on December 3rd
Au Lac was one of our favorite restaurants in Vietnam. We are their twice for lunch. We came across it quite by accident and had to return by necessity. Here's the story. Jerry and I had walked quite a bit in the late morning hours (when it was hot and humid) we were starting to get hungry so we decided to walk to an area south of our Hotel where there is a cooking/restuarant school for locals. They are supposed to have a good meal at a reasonable price. I say supposed to because we never found it. Even with a map (and I'm good with maps). But maps in Hanoi just don't seem to have all the streets on them (I understand no alleys...but named streets???). We asked some women who worked in a pharmacy but they appeared to not understand the concept of the map....so we wearily starting walking back towards the hotel (Jerry on very low blood sugars). I saw a pretty colonial building and remarked on its beauty...Jerry in single track fashion said "Is it a restaurant?"...and it was! So Au Lac became a wonderful oasis of good food and cool shade for two very weary travelers. (here is a URL to a good review of the restaurant that also contains the address and phone number: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/07/au_lac_house.html . We ended up back at Au Lac the next day when we realized that Jerry had left his camera there. We had the hotel call and yes...the camera was there for us to pick up. The least we could do to say "thank you" was to eat there again...don't you think???
We also ate lunch at the Press Club (right near the Metropole Hotel) as well as dinner. The lunch is a buffet and a very good value for price and quality. The dinner was very good. Continental with a few nice twists. More expensive than lunch time. Comfortable wood paneling and wood floors...rooms within rooms...quiet without being dead quite. Reservations are a good idea...but we didn't have any and they found a table for us anyway.
Bike Helmet Covers. Bike Helmets for motorcycle/scooter riders became required by law last December (but not for bicyclists). Being either very law abiding or heavily fined (or both) we'd estimate that 99% of cyclists where the helmets. These arent' the huge heavy duty helmets we see in the US...but something of a cross between a US mototcyle helmet and a snowboard helmet. And what is becoming fashionalbe in the cities is to where helmet covers (with or without brims) in all types of fabrics and designs. Nothing like seeing a young Vietnamese woman in a skirt, stilletos and a burberry helmet cover to make you wonder just country are we in anyway?
Hilton Hanoi Opera not the Hanoi Hilton. The Hanoi Hilton of POW fame during the war is no longer a hotel. In fact only a small portion of that building (in the form of museum) still stands. We stand at the Hilton next door to the Hanoi Opera house (hence its name). New, modern, well located, and very, very nice. Good food, good service.
Tomorrow we join the Smithsonian for the next phase of our adventure. Tonight we rest after much walking, considerable afternoon humidity, and lots of good food. Highlights of the past couple of days...with more details to follow later.
Hidden Hanoi. A great "culture company" for lack of better words. They provide walking tours, cooking classes (hands on), and language lessons. We availed ourselves of the first two services: a tour of a large market in the Hai Ba Trung district and a delightful 3 hour cooking class (and introduction to the "philosophy" of Vietnamese food). The market tour was just the two of us and a guide (for a very reasonable $30 US) for about 1 1/2. She met us at the hotel and we took a short taxi ride (cabs are metered, no bargaining necessary) to the market area.
First, there are hundreds of fresh markets all throughout Ha Noi...small and big, legal and "illegal" (people from the country that sell there products on the sidewalks and in the streets). The reason for so many markets is that Vietnamese insist on VERY fresh ingredients (and can tell the difference)...so much so that they will go shopping for produce and meats/fish/poultry several times a DAY...so the market can't be very far from their where they live and cook.
There are dry and wet markets...the wet markets is where they sell fish, poultry and meats and is referred to as "wet" because they often wash down the floors and the tables to keep things clean. Dry markets are well they sell produce, fresh rice noodles, herbs, etc. Some produce was familiar some completely foreign and others a variation of what we are used to (pineapples for instance are smaller and have more "cavities" inside...quite pretty when cut up). Some are familiar only if you shop at asian markets or have asian friends (such as leechi nuts in their bizarre prickly casings). We finally ate durian (that tropical fruit that smells so bad when cut open and supposedly tastes so fine...we think you have to have been raised on it to find it "so fine"...however, the smell also wasn't so bad either.
All parts of animals are sold including the "innards", feet, etc. (okay didn't see any pigs teeth being sold...so many not ALL parts). Snakehead fish are very popular (and don't look like snakes). We saw live frogs and live green turtles for sale (farm raised both). Freshly killed chickens with heads and feet attached. One definitely knows where all their food come from here!
There are also many restaurants in Ha Noi as well. Fancier air conditioned (or fan-conditioned) restaurants serving fine food of all types. Also, smaller "plastic stool" sidewalk cafes...where fresh pho noodle soups are made and served to locals who seat on small plastic stools over plastic tables....spilling onto the sidewalks.
In fact sidewalks for the most part aren't used for walking in many areas of Ha Noi...if people aren't using them for market or for eating, they use them to park the thousands and thousands of motorbikes that buzz around Ha Noi. Apparently, the Chinese started making really inexpensive motorbikes of good quality and exporting them to VietNam about 8 years ago...its never been the same since. They instituted a helmet law not too long ago and about 95% of the people wear helmets...and like most people...don't like to. So now you are seeing decorated helmets and helmet covers that make the helmets look like stylish hats!
Back to Hidden Hanoi (http://www.hiddenhanoi.com.vn/) . Yesterday we took two cyclos (bicycle powered rickshaws...and we needed two because they are built to house two skinny vietnamese not two robust americans) out to the West Lake District of Ha Noi for a cooking class where we were joined by 3 lively folk from the UK...workmates from London. They were a real hoot and we had a great, great time. i highly recommend this group....Hidden Hanoi. We had a lovely teacher who gave us an introduction to the yin and yang of Vietnamese cooking. And then it was to the kitchen...a big open space with a large area in a square with woks and work surfaces...very clean and very well prepared. We cut, we scraped, we chopped and we put together a delightful lunch...fish soup, green papaya salad, sweet and sour stir fried prawns, and fresh spring rolls in rice noodles (not fried). yummmmmeeee! Then it was back by cyclo to our hotel via a short tour of the Old Quarter (which we have also walked...more about Old Quarter in another post).
Let me tell you...a cyclo ride is really something. Can't wait to post the pictures I took....although only a video would really tell the story. There were a few times when I just closed my eyes...but other times when it was so nice to be able to stare up at the old and new buildings without having to worry about stepping into a pot hole (you know me!).
so for future posts...watch for our tales from the Old Quarter, our lunch at Au Lac, the Press club, and just how lost one can get (twice) without a detailed map to guide you!!!
By the way...we find the Vietnamese to be extremely patient and polite people. Friendly in a quiet way. Quite beautiful. And they have the ability to sit and enjoy life, to find a quiet spot within themselves in the midst of hustle and bustle. Quite admirable.
added on December 3rd
Au Lac was one of our favorite restaurants in Vietnam. We are their twice for lunch. We came across it quite by accident and had to return by necessity. Here's the story. Jerry and I had walked quite a bit in the late morning hours (when it was hot and humid) we were starting to get hungry so we decided to walk to an area south of our Hotel where there is a cooking/restuarant school for locals. They are supposed to have a good meal at a reasonable price. I say supposed to because we never found it. Even with a map (and I'm good with maps). But maps in Hanoi just don't seem to have all the streets on them (I understand no alleys...but named streets???). We asked some women who worked in a pharmacy but they appeared to not understand the concept of the map....so we wearily starting walking back towards the hotel (Jerry on very low blood sugars). I saw a pretty colonial building and remarked on its beauty...Jerry in single track fashion said "Is it a restaurant?"...and it was! So Au Lac became a wonderful oasis of good food and cool shade for two very weary travelers. (here is a URL to a good review of the restaurant that also contains the address and phone number: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/07/au_lac_house.html . We ended up back at Au Lac the next day when we realized that Jerry had left his camera there. We had the hotel call and yes...the camera was there for us to pick up. The least we could do to say "thank you" was to eat there again...don't you think???
We also ate lunch at the Press Club (right near the Metropole Hotel) as well as dinner. The lunch is a buffet and a very good value for price and quality. The dinner was very good. Continental with a few nice twists. More expensive than lunch time. Comfortable wood paneling and wood floors...rooms within rooms...quiet without being dead quite. Reservations are a good idea...but we didn't have any and they found a table for us anyway.
Bike Helmet Covers. Bike Helmets for motorcycle/scooter riders became required by law last December (but not for bicyclists). Being either very law abiding or heavily fined (or both) we'd estimate that 99% of cyclists where the helmets. These arent' the huge heavy duty helmets we see in the US...but something of a cross between a US mototcyle helmet and a snowboard helmet. And what is becoming fashionalbe in the cities is to where helmet covers (with or without brims) in all types of fabrics and designs. Nothing like seeing a young Vietnamese woman in a skirt, stilletos and a burberry helmet cover to make you wonder just country are we in anyway?
Hilton Hanoi Opera not the Hanoi Hilton. The Hanoi Hilton of POW fame during the war is no longer a hotel. In fact only a small portion of that building (in the form of museum) still stands. We stand at the Hilton next door to the Hanoi Opera house (hence its name). New, modern, well located, and very, very nice. Good food, good service.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
varooomhonkbeepvaroom
(revised December 3rd)
The sounds of Ha Noi...the varoom of the motorbikes, the honk of the taxis, the beepwhirr of the cyclos and more varrooms of the motorbikes. Amazing there are so few "splats" of pedestrians crossing the street (there IS a system...walk confidantly, moderate pace (to give them a chance to zigzap around you...stare them in the eye, and don't flinch...no kidding).
Arrived yesterday morning to a hazy sky. Crossed the meadering Red River (aptly named for its red color courtesy of upstream soils) into Ha Noi. People are friendly. Tourists are few (I'm not sure I have ever felt so conspicuous). Motorbikes are everywhere. Few dogs (no jokes please).
This morning we rose early (clearly in some other time zone than here). Decided to go to Hoan Kiem Lake for a walk at 6am. why? because EVERYONE is there...it was delightful. All of Ha Noi doing tai chi, graceful calisthentics, group fan dances (no not burlesque dances...graceful exercise with bright red hand held fans), something using a paddle and a ball moving to Que Sera, Sera. Many individuals stretching on benches and the lakeshore. Even a group back massage line that look like a conga line (maybe 40 women in a line)...And let's not forget the street where they were playing badminton (with and without nets) along the sidewalks and in plazas...maybe 30 games or more? Badminton? 6AM? on the sidewalks? Great!
We crossed over the red picturesque Bridge of the Rising Sun (or "where the rays of the morning sun touch" or "Flood of Morning Sunlights"...you get the idea. ) to explore the tiny island where the Ngoc Son pagoda resides. The temple supposedly dates back to the fourteenth century, although the current buildings were probably built in the eighteenth century. The temple is dedicated to the hero Tran Hung Dao, who defeated a force of 300,000 sent to invade Vietnam by the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. There are also altars dedicated to the scholars Van Xuong and La To, the patron saint of physicians!
We took a short break at the north end of the lake and had a vietnamese coffee at the Thuyta Cafe (locate at No 1 Lo Thai To). It had a lovely view across the lake and we sat outside in the early morning haze watching a birds on the lake.
As we continued our early morning walk around the Old Quarter we saw everyone eating their breakfast pho (a noodle soup) on the small squatty chair and stools made out of either red or blue plastic (occassionally green) right on the sidewalks. One bowl and then its time to go...to work...to school. The vienamese are very communal people, they exercise together, eat together, talk and chat together. I know its partly because their is so little space per person...but none the less they seem to happily social, like its out of choice not circumstance or geography.
More tomorrow about our walking tour of the market, the Hilton, squeezing into a two person cyclo, the 1000year anniversary of Ha Noi, and roaming the streets. But for now...jet lag is setting in...time for bed.
Oh...and here is your vietanmese lesson for the day: Dang Nhop "sign in"...had to figure that out to get into blogspot!
The sounds of Ha Noi...the varoom of the motorbikes, the honk of the taxis, the beepwhirr of the cyclos and more varrooms of the motorbikes. Amazing there are so few "splats" of pedestrians crossing the street (there IS a system...walk confidantly, moderate pace (to give them a chance to zigzap around you...stare them in the eye, and don't flinch...no kidding).
Arrived yesterday morning to a hazy sky. Crossed the meadering Red River (aptly named for its red color courtesy of upstream soils) into Ha Noi. People are friendly. Tourists are few (I'm not sure I have ever felt so conspicuous). Motorbikes are everywhere. Few dogs (no jokes please).
This morning we rose early (clearly in some other time zone than here). Decided to go to Hoan Kiem Lake for a walk at 6am. why? because EVERYONE is there...it was delightful. All of Ha Noi doing tai chi, graceful calisthentics, group fan dances (no not burlesque dances...graceful exercise with bright red hand held fans), something using a paddle and a ball moving to Que Sera, Sera. Many individuals stretching on benches and the lakeshore. Even a group back massage line that look like a conga line (maybe 40 women in a line)...And let's not forget the street where they were playing badminton (with and without nets) along the sidewalks and in plazas...maybe 30 games or more? Badminton? 6AM? on the sidewalks? Great!
We crossed over the red picturesque Bridge of the Rising Sun (or "where the rays of the morning sun touch" or "Flood of Morning Sunlights"...you get the idea. ) to explore the tiny island where the Ngoc Son pagoda resides. The temple supposedly dates back to the fourteenth century, although the current buildings were probably built in the eighteenth century. The temple is dedicated to the hero Tran Hung Dao, who defeated a force of 300,000 sent to invade Vietnam by the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. There are also altars dedicated to the scholars Van Xuong and La To, the patron saint of physicians!
We took a short break at the north end of the lake and had a vietnamese coffee at the Thuyta Cafe (locate at No 1 Lo Thai To). It had a lovely view across the lake and we sat outside in the early morning haze watching a birds on the lake.
As we continued our early morning walk around the Old Quarter we saw everyone eating their breakfast pho (a noodle soup) on the small squatty chair and stools made out of either red or blue plastic (occassionally green) right on the sidewalks. One bowl and then its time to go...to work...to school. The vienamese are very communal people, they exercise together, eat together, talk and chat together. I know its partly because their is so little space per person...but none the less they seem to happily social, like its out of choice not circumstance or geography.
More tomorrow about our walking tour of the market, the Hilton, squeezing into a two person cyclo, the 1000year anniversary of Ha Noi, and roaming the streets. But for now...jet lag is setting in...time for bed.
Oh...and here is your vietanmese lesson for the day: Dang Nhop "sign in"...had to figure that out to get into blogspot!
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