Hanoi, Vietnam

My first impression of Hanoi was that is was Shanghai 1987. The buildings in the French Quarter was so closely built together, with lanes zig-zagging across it, with more smaller lanes creating an infinity of maze within it. My second impression of the place was that the road is a war zone. Apparently motorcycles outnumbered the number of rats in the city, and there is nothing a motorcycle couldn’t carry – we saw one carrying four full grown adults, one with six sacks of potatoes, and even one with a large tree, although don’t ask me how the hauled that one up there.

The French Quarter resembled a French-influenced city with authentic Vietnamese culture, where vendors boiled animal intestines by the roadside, a full pig was being roasted by the shop that sold dresses, and a sidewalk doubles up as both an aisle and an eating joint – stools and small tables are placed right by the road where motorcycles passed by the inch of your nose.

We walked for the most part of the city, except for the trip to the West Lake, which is a large lake located in the outskirts of the city. We had some iced coffee at a café that overlooked the whole of the lake at sunset, and afterwards walked around and joined a group of ladies doing aerobics by the lake. By the time I got back I was positive that I had sweated off the whole of my French fries and hamburger I had the night before.

That night we decided to catch a Water Puppet Show. I was watching Samantha Brown in the Travelling Channel the other day and she said it was a marvelous experience, so we wanted to go for it. On our way to the show hall we stopped by a souvenir shop by the Turtle Lake to get ourselves some t-shirts. Note to self and others: when travelling to a foreign country and you’re not familiar with the currency, always bring a calculator around. My friend Amar and I ended up arguing over the currency exchange while trying to buy a pair of shirts, and by the end of it the shop owner looked at us like we were a bunch of idiots.

The Water Puppet Show was definitely interesting. It was a mixtures of songs, dance and story-telling on the myths and legends surrounding Hanoi. I couldn’t understand a word of the performance, but the English-translated pamphlets and the colorful puppets swimming around in the water definitely helped.  Well, in my case in did. In my friend Mariah’s case, it sent her dozing off the minute the drumroll started.

We wrapped up the night by going for a night cap at a rooftop café between the West Lake and the French Quarter, called the City View café. Mariah’s Vietnamese friend, Vu, joined (and bought us!) in for some drinks and the café’s view was pretty amazing. As we walked back to our hotel (Mai Hotel, located right in the heart of the French Quarter, beautiful small place with amazing customer service) we saw that there were rows and rows of stalls selling late night snacks with people relaxing on the stools while listening to some teenagers belting out their vocals to a karaoke machines which was strangely located in the middle of the street. My friends and I thought, hey, what the hell, and decided to join this crowd before going back home. We shared a plate of dried squid which was grilled on a charcoal and served with a bowl of red, flaming chili sauce. Needless to say, I didn’t require any digestive assistance that night.

Places to eat: Plenty of places to eat if you’re up for it, but if you’re a Muslim, there are two restaurants worth checking out.  Nisaa Restaurant, which is an Indonesian/Vietnamese place (try the iced coffee and the beef pho, a type of Vietnamese dish.) and also Namaste Restaurant, which has the best butter chicken I’ve tasted so far! All of the cafes serve really good coffee, especially the ones along West Lake. And if you’re adventurous enough, give the dried squid snacks by the roadside a go. They look weird, but they really do burn your tastebuds!
Places to eat: Plenty of places to eat if you’re up for it, but if you’re a Muslim, there are two restaurants worth checking out.  Nisaa Restaurant, which is an Indonesian/Vietnamese place (try the iced coffee and the beef pho, a type of Vietnamese dish.) and also Namaste Restaurant, which has the best butter chicken I’ve tasted so far! All of the cafes serve really good coffee, especially the ones along West Lake. And if you’re adventurous enough, give the dried squid snacks by the roadside a go. They look weird, but they really do burn your tastebuds!

One of my friends trying out the selling baskets. Afterwards the girl who lent it to him charged him 5 bucks.

---

The West Lake. A bit off from the city center, but with many interesting cafes overlooking the lake.

---

The Turtle Lake, another one of the many lakes in the city.

---

Watching the water puppet show. Thank God for the English translated pamphlets.

---