Hanoi - The pate capital of the world

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Who would have guessed that Jack would find the best terrine pate he’s ever had in Hanoi? It beats the US, it beats Italy, it even beats France. Since I hadn’t been feeling well last night I had an exciting breakfast of tea and toast and we decided to play it safe and opted for lunch in the café of the fanciest hotel in Hanoi, the Metropole. Lunch was wonderful and the neighborhood was almost quiet with the level of scooter horns at a dull roar. Our guide explained to us that it is wedding season and the exterior of the Metropole is a favorite backdrop from brides; which is why we saw more than a dozen couples being photographed. There was not a single bride that could hold a candle to how Jess will look on September 3rd.
The other item of note is that we actually saw some blue sky and sun for the first time since we’ve been here. Day after day of haze has been a photographer’s nightmare. Jack has borne it graciously.
After lunch we saw the Hanoi Water Puppets. The puppeteers stand in waist deep water behind bamboo screens and manipulate the wooden puppets. It was so cute. I think it is very hard to control the puppets and requires a lot of practice. When the show was over, we went back to pack for our trip to Sapa and decided to follow the advice of the NYTimes travel reporter and go to the bar at the Westlake Intercontinental and for an early dinner at a fish restaurant. By the time we got to the bar, it was getting dark and the haze had returned so there wasn’t much to see. But the bar was very cool although the restaurant was even cooler. In the restaurant the tables were arranged around two 50 by 8 foot granite pools the tops were just above my head when seated. Two or three small bubblers agitated the water sufficiently for small amount to trickle of the edge. Very post modern and very unlike what you’d expect for Uncle Ho.
We are now on the train leaving the station. This train reminds us of the overnight train we took in China. It does have better mattresses but we don’t have any little red silk roses in a vase on our table. We wouldn’t be surprised if Peter Lorry came walking through the door. We have first class sleeper tickets which are the best available seats. At one point we were asked to show our tickets which our guide has. When I tried to explain I would have to find out guide, the ticket taker was baffled. We got as far as a car full of Chinese tourists smoking their heads off when she made a judgment call that it was unlikely we had snuck on the train without tickets and let us off the hook. Our guide was very specific – do not leave our bags unattended and LOCK the door when we go to sleep. At some point, I’ll probably need to use the bathroom, who knows what that will be like. It’s 8:45 and the train arrives at 5 AM so we’ll be trying to go to sleep early. Currently, it sound like someone is dropping big rocks or bowling balls on the top of the train.

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