Hanoi

Asia » Vietnam
February 21st 2010

Published: February 28th 2010

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chiuj

Streets in Old Quarters

Where was the orderliness? Where was the friendliness in ppl? Where were the good food?

Orderliness not found. The traffic in the city was choatic. There were bikes, cars, cyclos, pesdestrians trying to manoeuver their way on the road all at the same time. And bikes and cars honked their way ard with no obvious outcome. Pedesterians had to learn to be alert and cross the road slowly and don't fluster. The driver, of one of my cab rides, was a very stubborn and impatient driver who thought he would always get his way (I suppose he really did). He honked the drivers in front of him incessantly from afar and tailgated them extremely closely to get them to give way to him. On my first experience on cyclo, I thought I would be freak-out by the traffic condition. But somehow, I learnt to trust the cyclo-cyclist fully and believed he would ensure my safety on road. Thus, I could enjoy the ride around Old Quarters seeing the lives of locals... eating phos and more phos from roadside stalls, businesses selling toys / incense paper (which Viets burned to ancestors during Tet New Year) etc, chilling by gambling / having

Fancy a cute balloon?

Couldn't miss them coz they were everywhere.

a cuppa on the roadside...

Friendliness not found generally. On streets, no smiles on peoples' faces displaying their joy for the new year. Was life hard? Or people were simply straight-laced and no-nonsense. The notion of life was hard stuck with me coz I was almost pickpocketed. In a communist country, wouldn't crimes be punished severely. Hence, what made of the pickpocketer who striked? Fortunately, I was prepared and nothing was lost. Though there was not so happy experience with the local, I was delighted also to have found friendly tour guides and service crew from french food establishments (in particularly).

Good food found! In my limited time in Hanoi, I was surprise to have found good food. It was the Green Tangerine Restaurant (at Old Quarters) which served French-Viet fusion cuisine. This restaurant was recommended by many guidebooks. It was closed for Tet (New Year) until the last day of our stay. Good thing we arrived early for dinner. 'Else we wouldn't get table. Reservations would be highly recommended (coz there was a pretty long queue outside when we finished). Come during lunch for their great value lunch menu. Anyway, we each had different main courses and