Off to Hanoi

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As we were still not used to the time zone we were both awake at 0600 again (so much for a holiday).

Breakfast was at the sports bar and by 0730 we were in a taxi on the way to the Jade Emperor Pagoda. Although a messy looking building from the exterior, the interior was sensationally crafted, with timber carvings, statues, ceramics and all sorts of Taoist religious art. An old lady was chanting (what I’m not sure) but combined with the unusual absence of noise from the streets outside, it was rather a magical experience.

Although it was only 0930 the heat was already in the mid 30s and the tempting sight of a sidewalk cafe was too much for me. We were initially served some strong ice tea that almost hit the spot as well as my can of 333 beer.

Our last stop in Ho Chi Minh City, at least for this part of the trip, was the History Museum whose attractions focussed mainly on Asian sculpture from 2000BC – many of which the Vietnamese flogged from Angkor Wat. Can’t say it was really my cup of tea (no culture at all) but the bonus was that admission of D10,000 each included the nearby Temple of King Hung Vuong, another impressive temple and one of many that I’m sure we’ll be seeing in the coming weeks.

A cab took us back to Empress Hotel and we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City airport to catch out 1325 flight to Hanoi.

It’s fair to say that I’m not always a fan of landing at some foreign airports. I’ve never been a fan of touts and the two seem to go hand in hand. I wanted to have a cigarette before getting in a cab but the touts were having none of it.

“Taxi – you wan taxi”

“No – I wan cigarette”

“Yes sir, taxi”

My patience was particularly tested with one bloke who wouldn’t let up.

“Taxi”

“No” I said, pointing at a taxi…

“That taxi – this cigarette”

With no end in site i soon discovered that “Fuck Off” seems to be the Vietnamese word for “Fuck Off”

We settled on a bloke that hadn’t been a pain in the neck and the 60 minute cab ride cost D315,000 (NZ$21).

We checked in to Golden Wings Hotel. Not Golden Wings II hotel across the road – just Golden Wings and took 30 minutes to settle in before hitting the Old Quarter to get a bit of a vibe for the place.

The vibe was just as chaotic as Ho Chi Minh City but Hanoi gave chaos with a certain old town flair. The one lane streets were lined with shops, most of which were shoe shops but included pretty much everything a tourist could want… after all, we were well and truly in a tourist area. The white faces that were missing in Ho Chi Minh City were there in abundance.

My initial thought was that it was just another place that had sold it’s soul to the tourist dollar but the incredible number of locals squeezed in to the maze of streets brought me around a little bit.

The touts persisted – cyclos, motorbike rides, taxis, bananas, coconuts, brooms (yep, brooms), baskets, fruits of both known and unknown origin. You name it – we were offered it.

We got lost in the streets for a few hours and sat down at another sidewalk cafe (although not cafe in the western term). These places pop up when the shops whose sidewalks they use close. They have tiny plastic stools, no more than 20cm high and tables in rows not much higher.

Jo had a tasty chicken and unknown green thing noodle dish and I had equally good spicy eel. Both meals were washed down with Bia Ha Noi – the local lager.

We wussed out from a late night once again and were home at 2030 – just in time to catch Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-3. I couldn’t understand the Vietnamese commentator at all but van Persie said enough for The Arse with a hattrick. Jo woke up twice to my attempted muffled scream of delight.

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