old quaters

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Hanoi, i would say, is a fascinating blend of the east and west. less developed than saigon, but still pretty much modernized. the thing about vietnam is that they have such a weird mix. chinese roots, french colonial (alot of them can speak french and you can see french everywhere), vietnamese language and their accent sounds so like cantonese. we stayed at the old quaters (like the real old chinatown, streets are really narrow), near the famous Hoan kiem lake. since we got sick of museums, we only went to the temple of literature as it was recommended. it was the first university in hanoi and is really chinese-like (since kong zi is worshipped there).

the lake looks better at night than in the day time but you can go into the jade temple to have a look at the giant turtle that is one of the holy creatures. Hoan Kiem means "returned sword", and the name comes from a legend in which King Le Loi was given a magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese. Later, while boating on the lake, he encountered the giant turtle, who grabbed the returned sword and carried it down to the depths, returning it to the gods from whom it had come. so it's like their famous legend. hurhur. you can see a version of the legend at the Water Puppet Theater (which is highly recommended).

we spent most of our time eating and walking around, and bascially slacking. the cha ca la vong(which is fish fillet cooked with vege, spices and oil with thick bee hoon) is a must try (family has been running it for 5 generations) but a little too pricey by local standards. the last night we had bbq black pepper beef with onions, tomatos and some amazing chilli sauce along the street. it was the best dinner since the one we had in vientiane. absolutely love it. oh, another thing- always try roadside or market foodstalls, the best food are always there. you can find all kinds of cuisine at hanoi, so eating is never a problem. Shopping was ok, but be sure to bargain, since prices are always marked up a few times. The vietnamese are excellent when it comes to do business. Fake Crumplers found at 2 of the shops, what a surprise! on our last day, we had italian food and drank highland coffee (vietnam's own starbucks) and had japanese food (i was craving for it for a month) at the airport. so it is goodbye indo-china and hello home.

i felt kind of reluctant to go back home because i was so used to "this" kind of lifestyle. waking up in the morning, looking at the map and go "where shall we go next?". we didn't have to worry much about anything and there's so much to see, learn and do, you just wanna travel forever. this trip has definately taught us alot- not only about their culture, their history, their people, but also ourselves: whether it's our own individual lives and goals or our rs with one another. i dare say we have grew alot from this experience and strongly encourage anyone else to do this at least once in their life. mainly because travelling in usual and major citites in japan, europe and bangkok by tour or staying in hotels, you won't get to see as much local stuffs, or mingle much with people (backpackers have far lots more stories to share) or even learn things independently, like picking up a new skill. for this trip, i think we're starting to pick up the skill of an independent traveller. life is short, and you gotta try everything in life. so comm'on ladies, when i say "southeast asia", "india" and "china", don't go "eewww, why the hell you go to such places??". you'll be a frog in the well to say that and a pain in the ass if i hear that.


and i have a new goal in my life - that is to cover (or try to) half the world before 30. how? i don't know either. and i hope my travelbuddy will always be the one i love. because what's the point of seeing so much and not sharing them with anybody? so that's why we came up with this little blog. =)

so till the next trip folks!

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Photos

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