Hanoi, Vietnam

There’s something quite liberating about drawing three million out of the bank, shame its only dong. The currency here can be hard to get your head around, but the street sellers make sure you spend it.

It’s been an interesting few days. I got picked up from the airport and saw a cow walking across a fast dual carriageway. I hate to think what happened after we drove by. The suburbs seemed vast and I hoped the driver would take me somewhere nice. Eventually we drew to a halt and he said, you have to walk up there, pointing to a narrow street with great mounds of soil piled up. Apprehensively, I balanced my pack and crossed a wooden plank over a ditch to the hostel entrance and was greated by lots of smiles and relaxed people.

After putting my things in the dorm I realised I was hungry, when another girl arrived, along with Janette, an Australian lady with the most amazing sense of humour asking if I wanted to head out for some food. Before long she was leading us down the busy streets of Hanoi, telling us many useful tips that she had picked up over the last two months.

On my first night in Vietnam I ate seafood at a street stall, along with the other two and many locals. We sat on red plastic stools and ordered freshly prepared crab, prawns and various shell fish. It was priced by weight and came with various tools to eat with. I have never seen prawns as big before, or tasted such a sweet flavour. It was a delicious meal despite the surrounding, where discarded shells and unwanted fish debris was discarded on the pavement around us. Everything was dirty but the food was good.

Despite eating three large prawns I still felt hungry so we stopped off at another stall where I had a bowl of chicken and noodle soup with some green veg floating on the top. Next to us was a lady with baskets of fruit laid out around her, and she split open a clementine for us to try. It was wonderfully sweet. Janette bought some mangos and a dragon fruit, which I’d only ever seen sold in waitrose for at least 5 pounds each and had never tried one. The lady asked if we wanted her to cut it for us, so she did. Promptly she pulled out more plastic stools and we laughed and joked with her, as she showed us how to peel the pink rubbery skin, to reveal a soft white flesh. The taste is somewhere between a watermelon and a strawberry, sweet and subtle. I enjoyed is so much that I bought one (for about 40p) and shared it at the hostel this afternoon.

Today has been full of all sorts, waking up to the noise of workmen digging in the road below. I was thankful for my ear plugs. Later I headed out to the ‘Russian shop’ which was located in the Hanoi Towers. Luckily the shops are located on the ground floor. After sampling the street stalls, going into a proper shop felt quite odd. The owners of the hostel sent me there to buy a cheap windproof coat as I became quite worried when other travellers said they weren’t going to Sapa because it was too cold, and coming from Bangkok, Hanoi felt cold. I shall be taking an overnight train there tomorrow night and doing a two day tour. It’s really close to the boarder of China and has dramatic mountain scenery.

After returning with my new clothes I felt really hungry and decided it was time to find food. In the light of day the streets were chaotic, the sound of beeping horns constant and the dust was everywhere. I found a street kitchen with rice and various meats and veg, so I joined the locals who were all very friendly. They put me at ease and offered me the right soup spoon and implements for the meal for the meal, and asked me where I was from and a few other standard questions that followed but it was nice.

I walked down some more roads and it wasn’t long before the chaos of the city made me question why I had come to this over whelming place, at which point I just happened to be passing a cafe with a menu of cake while having this thought so I wandered in. After a creme caramel everything felt much better and I followed the road around to the main lake, which the guestbook described as the soul of Hanoi. Compared to the other streets it certainly felt really mellow. I visited a temple in the middle of a lake and spent some time sitting in the sun and enjoying the warmth.

Later I returned to the cafe for a plate of indulgent chocolate cake. I wasn’t sure what to expect as many non-European countries fail miserably when trying to imitate Western style desserts, but the cake was no dissapointment. It must be the Frech influence. After a trip to the Bank I came back to the cafe for a plate of spring rolls, my first Vietnamese spring rolls. I had expected something a bit like the ones you find in Chinese restaurants, with the flaky pastery but these were clear and full of beautifully fresh shredded veg and cellophane noodles accompanied by a sweet spicy sauce.

I made me way back to the hostel that happens to be celebrating it’s second birthday so there’s been a bit of a party with lots of free food and drink, and a geography related quiz. It was all quite fun, except I’m still feeling hungry and shall probably head out soon for some more food. I’m looking forward to spending most of tomorrow exploring Hanoi some more.