Hanoi (13 Oct - 25 Nov 13)

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Ah, Hanoi. Or rather, Ha Noi (with some tone markings), as it would be spelled in Vietnamese. Yes I've been spending the better part of the last six weeks or so here in the northern capital of Vietnam. I'd remembered thinking during my brief stay here last year that this seemed like a place I would like to experience living for a slightly more extended period, so here I was!

And since I was going to be here for a while, I thought I might as well sign up for some Vietnamese language classes. For some reason I had the impression that the Vietnamese language was closely linked to Chinese, so I thought this should be easy. And while it's true that some words are obviously Chinese in origin, many more seem to have nothing to do with Chinese at all! And while they use the same Latin/ Roman script, it was transliterated by a Frenchman who must have been drunk or high when he did it, cos some of the spelling seems pretty unintuitive/ sub-optimal to me. E.g. "gi", "d" and "r" in Vietnamese are all "z" sounds from English (why???), and "tr" sounds like "ch", while "ch" sounds like "tr" (why???). There was a French woman in my class, and I asked her whether the spelling for such sounds made sense in French, and she said, absolutely not!

My understanding is that at some point in time the Vietnamese actually used the Chinese pictorial script. And while the transliteration to the Latin script must have made things much easier for Westerners, I couldn't help but think perhaps it would actually have been easier (and maybe even more logical) if the Chinese script had remained. It certainly would have been easier for Chinese speakers anyway!

I also took the opportunity during my free weekends to check out some of the provincial sights in the vicinity of the capital. As I mentioned last year, Vietnam is very much on many tourists' radar, and I don't think I really ever felt like I ever got off the tourist trail. Perhaps it's no longer possible in this country.

Well anyway, as the year draws to a close, so does my time here in Vietnam. I intend to spend the next few weeks briefly back on the road, resuming my exploration of the neighbouring Chinese provinces, after which I will be heading back to Singapore again to see out the remnants of the year. So stay tuned for the imminent final flurry from the last weeks of this leg of my trip.

Stayed at Simple Hostel and Viet Fun Hotel.

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Photos

Ngo Huyen
Aka Backpacker's Lane. Plonked myself here and in the vicinity for several weeks during my stay here in Hanoi.

Boat Ride to Perfume Pagoda
A several kilometre slow row down a quiet river.

Lao Cai - Hanoi
Sharing the back seat of the bus with some gourds. Lots of gourds. And you shoulda seen the apples that were stuffed in beer can boxes.

Sacred Cave @ Perfume Pagoda
Apparently thousands of devotees swarm this cave during religious festivals, and that it can literally take hours to work you way through it.

Minh's Jazz Club
I finally found it, after several attempts both last year and this. Apparently it moved several times during the past few years.

Ethnology Museum
She likes the water puppets exhibit!

Traditional Ethnic House
It was immense!

Ethnology Museum
Free outdoor water puppet show!

Vietnamese Roast Pork Meal
I distinctly remember taking a picture of a similar meal when I first arrived in Vietnam in Thanh Hoa after crossing the border from Laos. So this kinda brought back some memories for me.

Free Beer with your Deodorant!
Why not?

They call this the Megamall
Not difficult to see why. Apparently the largest underground mall in Southeast Asia.

8pm Canine Rendezvous @ Hoan Kiem
Every night. Whiled away several bored evenings here with some of the regulars.