To many, Vietnam is a war and not a country.
Derek and I spent at least one long evening discussing this sentence, trying to establish just where the invisible “line” might be between people who see it as a war, and those who see it as a country. We never really landed on an answer, but it was fun nonetheless.
War or country, of all of South East Asia, I was most excited about Vietnam.
If you ask me why, I’d probably say the food, as Vietnamese has always been my favourite cuisine. Also, when I think about Vietnam, I dream up visions of lush, green rice fields, friendly people with quirky hats fishing from boats on the Mekong Delta, roads buzzing with scooters carrying everything imaginable. All of this beauty, against the backdrop of the scars of war that have most certainly changed the country in more ways than one.
We woke up to a rainy Hanoi on our first morning. After travelling for almost three months, this is the first time that it was actually raining consistently, as opposed to a quick thunder shower. And after the heat of pretty much every country we have been to, we both enjoyed the soft rain and cooler weather.
Hanoi was CRAZY! There were scooters everywhere and the pavements were so full of people, tables, chairs, shops, bikes, animals, etc. you couldn’t even take shelter there. Crossing the road was daunting as there would never, ever be a second where there wasn’t traffic. Even when the light turns red, the scooters, bikes and cars just keep going as if nothing happened. You simply had to make your way through it. As the locals advise; make eye contact with the driver to agree you’re going to cross, walk without hesitation and NEVER turn back.
Oh yeah I’ll just squeeze my bike through this tiny restaurant…
Armed with a ‘to-eat’ list, it was quite ironic then that, while I was gearing up for my own little food festival, Derek could not hold anything in… he had Cambodia belly… or beef belly… or whatever belly you want to call it but it wasn’t a happy belly!
We tried to venture out and tick at least a few of Hanoi’s sites off our list. Hoan Kiem Lake was pretty easy to deal with, we thought, as it was only about half a kilometre away and apparently quite pretty. However, it ended up being almost half a kilometre too far (and not that pretty). We barely got there when Derek had to turn back to the hotel.
Known as the Lake of the Restored Sword, legend claims in the mid-15th century Heaven sent Emperor Ly Thai To a magical sword to drive the Chinese from Vietnam. After the war a giant golden turtle grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of this lake to restore the sword to its divine owners.
The Huc Bridge, or ‘Morning Sunlight Bridge’
Knowing he was probably not on his death bed and could find his own way, I bid him a safe journey as I had other plans – finding egg coffee!!
Egg coffee is a Vietnamese speciality. They whisk the egg yolk for at least five minutes before adding it to the warm coffee with a healthy portion of condensed milk. It is strong, sweet and thick. I struggled for about 20 minutes to find the one coffee shop that everyone raved about and refused to let my lack of direction beat me. Finally I spotted the sign right above a very dodgy looking alley. In I went in search of this delicacy. A family affair, mum was working the till while her two sons carried tray after tray of egg coffees upstairs to waiting guests.
The (dodgy-looking) alleyway leading to heaven
The verdict? It was delicious!! Definitely thick; definitely a hint of egg, and most certainly a lovely strong and sweet coffee. It kind of tasted like liquid tiramisu.
The next thing on my list was the train. Twice a day, a train speeds through a residential area and all the residents need to make sure their belongings are stored away or tied up as otherwise the train will quite happily run over it. The train is scheduled to pass through at 3.30pm, but we were advised to arrive at 3pm in case it’s early – and to find a safe spot! I was meeting Derek at the hotel on my way but unfortunately he needed to stay close to the bathroom so I left him behind (again).
I arrived just after 3pm with a few other tourists also standing ready with cameras.
The locals chilling on the tracks
At about 3.24pm we heard a loud horn and all the locals got up from the tracks, gathered their things and went indoors. I thought I had a great spot next to the wall when one local man waved vigorously at me to cross to the other side – apparently the train was too wide and would squash me. Thank heavens for that! It was so exhilarating to watch and, while such a simple thing, it still caused so much excitement for all the tourists.
Sadly, Derek’s tummy bug kept him inside the hotel for most of our stay in Hanoi. It also meant he didn’t eat for about four days, until our last evening in Hanoi when we had a pretty decent pizza. We always knew that one of us would probably get ill during our travels, but it’s never fun when the person misses out on the adventures and it’s certainly not fun for the person doing it on their own. We’re keeping fingers crossed the rest of the trip would be a healthy one.
Some pictures from the streets of Hanoi…
