Hanoisy
I am playing a little catch-up here. It’s been a little busy and Internet access has been spotty. We decided to stay in Hanoi another four days instead of going back to Bangkok. This involved changing Megan’s flight to go directly to Kuala Lumpur, and changing just the date of mine. It looks like I will spend “one night in Bangkok” before a 10am flight to Hong Kong – I am going to try and get a room at the airport hotel.
We spent a day shopping (which, to me, means mainly looking) around Hanoi’s old town. Megan bought an Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) and had it made to suit – it took two fittings to get it just right. I took a leather jacket I needed relined to a tailor and he’s working on it. I had a peek yesterday and it looked simply awful! I hope it’s one of those things like making laws or sausages and that when it’s done it will be OK. I also stopped by a “Vintage Souvenir” shop. Of course, it was jammed with fakes, and stories of 200 year old teapots and great-grandfather ownership abounded. Still, I liked some of the stuff the guy had (and couldn’t get out a real antique ANYway) so it was bargaining time. I’ve always done this by myself and never realized the power of a woman’s “Come on, Let’s go” in terms of getting a shopkeeper to frantically slash his price. I ended up with three little teapots that will make a nice display set. Today (Tuesday – I am backtracking!) I am going to look into having some thing shipped home from here instead of paying the Air Asia overweight penalty.
We never went back to “Nutz” and eventually decided to leave the comfortable bosom of the Sheraton for some much funkier accommodations in the Old Town section of Hanoi. Although I was not in a rush to leave, I somehow still managed to leave my portfolio, cell phone, and a couple of shirts at the Sheraton. We took a cab round-trip to fetch them after a bit of panicking and a phone call. They had everything neatly tagged, bagged, and ready to go for me. Hotels in the Old Town are definitely old school – no elevators, tiny bathrooms, clean but run-down. The upside is that when you step out of the door you are right in the middle of crazy and picturesque district north of the lake. Tiny streets each have a certain kind of vendor (much like the Medinas of Morocco). Tired from all the walking, we rousted a lunching pedicab driver and had him take us to the dressmaking shop. I figure if they are going to bug us, we are going to bug them. The ride was interesting for sure, and comfortable. Sitting open-air and sucking up all the scooter smog, though, was too much. I don’t know how those folks do it every day. Today is going to be a day of more shopping and hopefully a trip to the Temple of Literature. We may take it easy, though, as Megan seems to be getting sick.
On the food front I’ve made a few observations. Fine dining in Hanoi has a long way to go. That’s OK by me, but it’s good to have your expectations properly set. After Le Tonkin, we headed out to Emperor, followed by I-Box. All three of these places enjoy glowing reviews and all three would have a hard time staying solvent in any other city. On the other hand, some of the smaller spots have yielded great fare. We stopped at a Pho place (not even a top rated one) and had a fabulous bowl! It seems like the Pho here is not as heavily spiced as it is in the US. The broth is clearer and much simpler. It is…delicious! The meet has plenty of flavor itself and the noodles were perfect. We also have the obligatory “Saigon Rolls” and they did not disappoint. The French bread rolls used to make the Vietnamese sandwiches were crispy outside and fluffy inside. We had one stuffed with Pate and pork loin and it was superb. We’re going to try and locate another sandwich place today and get one with some other filling. Last night’s disappointing Australian Ribeye steak left me wondering if I should stick to street food. The only fine dining place we have not yet tried is the Hotel Metropole. I would like to have dinner there tonight. We’ll see how Megan feels about it.
The Hoan Kiem lake in central Ha Noi is a place where people sit and talk, exercise, and simply stroll. After dinner last night we took a walk around the lake and ended up getting a foot massage at a Spa. Megan loves foot massages and they are starting to grow on me. The going rate here is $6 or $9 (60 or 90 minutes) and the quality is good, though not up to Bangkok standards where they really knead your feet. I had a foot “massage” once in Hong Kong with Jeremy and it felt like a scene from “Misery”…”So can you feel your bones cracking and resetting yet MISTER MAN!” Ouch. Anyway, after the massage we stopped in at a café and had some ice cream, tea, and wine. They offer good free WiFi so we made our calls, checked mail, etc. It’s a lovely café on the main drag, new and clean, and all was well until a fat rat scampered up a set up cables and into a negligently unsealed wall opening. Yes, dear friends, have no illusions…this is developing Asia…not the place for the easily freaked-out.
We spent a day shopping (which, to me, means mainly looking) around Hanoi’s old town. Megan bought an Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) and had it made to suit – it took two fittings to get it just right. I took a leather jacket I needed relined to a tailor and he’s working on it. I had a peek yesterday and it looked simply awful! I hope it’s one of those things like making laws or sausages and that when it’s done it will be OK. I also stopped by a “Vintage Souvenir” shop. Of course, it was jammed with fakes, and stories of 200 year old teapots and great-grandfather ownership abounded. Still, I liked some of the stuff the guy had (and couldn’t get out a real antique ANYway) so it was bargaining time. I’ve always done this by myself and never realized the power of a woman’s “Come on, Let’s go” in terms of getting a shopkeeper to frantically slash his price. I ended up with three little teapots that will make a nice display set. Today (Tuesday – I am backtracking!) I am going to look into having some thing shipped home from here instead of paying the Air Asia overweight penalty.
We never went back to “Nutz” and eventually decided to leave the comfortable bosom of the Sheraton for some much funkier accommodations in the Old Town section of Hanoi. Although I was not in a rush to leave, I somehow still managed to leave my portfolio, cell phone, and a couple of shirts at the Sheraton. We took a cab round-trip to fetch them after a bit of panicking and a phone call. They had everything neatly tagged, bagged, and ready to go for me. Hotels in the Old Town are definitely old school – no elevators, tiny bathrooms, clean but run-down. The upside is that when you step out of the door you are right in the middle of crazy and picturesque district north of the lake. Tiny streets each have a certain kind of vendor (much like the Medinas of Morocco). Tired from all the walking, we rousted a lunching pedicab driver and had him take us to the dressmaking shop. I figure if they are going to bug us, we are going to bug them. The ride was interesting for sure, and comfortable. Sitting open-air and sucking up all the scooter smog, though, was too much. I don’t know how those folks do it every day. Today is going to be a day of more shopping and hopefully a trip to the Temple of Literature. We may take it easy, though, as Megan seems to be getting sick.
On the food front I’ve made a few observations. Fine dining in Hanoi has a long way to go. That’s OK by me, but it’s good to have your expectations properly set. After Le Tonkin, we headed out to Emperor, followed by I-Box. All three of these places enjoy glowing reviews and all three would have a hard time staying solvent in any other city. On the other hand, some of the smaller spots have yielded great fare. We stopped at a Pho place (not even a top rated one) and had a fabulous bowl! It seems like the Pho here is not as heavily spiced as it is in the US. The broth is clearer and much simpler. It is…delicious! The meet has plenty of flavor itself and the noodles were perfect. We also have the obligatory “Saigon Rolls” and they did not disappoint. The French bread rolls used to make the Vietnamese sandwiches were crispy outside and fluffy inside. We had one stuffed with Pate and pork loin and it was superb. We’re going to try and locate another sandwich place today and get one with some other filling. Last night’s disappointing Australian Ribeye steak left me wondering if I should stick to street food. The only fine dining place we have not yet tried is the Hotel Metropole. I would like to have dinner there tonight. We’ll see how Megan feels about it.
The Hoan Kiem lake in central Ha Noi is a place where people sit and talk, exercise, and simply stroll. After dinner last night we took a walk around the lake and ended up getting a foot massage at a Spa. Megan loves foot massages and they are starting to grow on me. The going rate here is $6 or $9 (60 or 90 minutes) and the quality is good, though not up to Bangkok standards where they really knead your feet. I had a foot “massage” once in Hong Kong with Jeremy and it felt like a scene from “Misery”…”So can you feel your bones cracking and resetting yet MISTER MAN!” Ouch. Anyway, after the massage we stopped in at a café and had some ice cream, tea, and wine. They offer good free WiFi so we made our calls, checked mail, etc. It’s a lovely café on the main drag, new and clean, and all was well until a fat rat scampered up a set up cables and into a negligently unsealed wall opening. Yes, dear friends, have no illusions…this is developing Asia…not the place for the easily freaked-out.
posted by Free Buffet at 3:37 AM
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