The visit from my friend Andy has been everything I hoped it would be. We did some small-scale traveling, going to Ho Chi Minh City for a couple of days and to Hanoi for three days.We packed a lot of life into our Hanoi visit. We ate superb street food -- deep fried pork spring rolls; I enjoyed rabbit stew at the Green Tangerine, a wonderful service-oriented French-Vietnamese restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter; I had a unique and satisfying "avocado and bacon" salad at New Day; we drank egg coffee at Cafe Giang, one of the many Hanoi hipster/tourist coffee shops; we took a bus tour of the city, hitting all of the hot spots, including the Hanoi Hilton; we shopped everywhere we went and I was able to buy a new travel bag for cheap after the one I brought ripped; and we walked -- and walked and walked and walked. Getting lost enhanced our pedestrian adventures, and Andy was a real trooper, stomping around with an artificial hip that was put in two months ago. The White Monkey has few skills, but I can walk indefinitely, probably because of my Glen Helen hiking experience in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The eeriest site I saw was the body of Ho Chi Minh lying in state at the mausoleum in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh's body is well-preserved, and our quick walk-by was fascinating. Four young soldiers stood at attention around the body and, of course, cameras are not permitted. We didn't see any tears or real emotion of any kind; people stoically walked quickly past the glass case with the body, and then took their selfies and photos outside the mausoleum near the exit.
We stayed at the Hanoi Focus Hotel, which was reasonably priced -- about $80 USD a night. There was a balcony to see some of the sights of the city, which in this case was noisy building construction. Our air conditioner unit rattled annoyingly outside my bedroom, but I brilliantly bent the metal cover and propped a chair against the unit to halt the noise and sleep like a baby on night two.
I was impressed with Hanoi more than I thought I would be, considering all the warnings I've heard about the "sour" people there. The warnings came from some folk in Bien Hoa, where I've met more than my share of sour folks. Anyway, the Hanoi Focus Hotel is in the Old Quarter, and people in that part of town are friendly and know how to handle the constant flow of tourists. The locals understood my limited Vietnamese, and even complimented my rudimentary conversational skills. Not once did anyone shake a hand in my face to say "no" or "not available". But again, the area is used to seeing foreigners, and the locals understand that common courtesy can increase business.
The weather is wonderful in Hanoi, or at least it was wonderful while we were there. It was partly cloudy with temperatures ranging from 48 degrees to 66 degrees (Fahrenheit). Lovely.
Hanoi has more cars than Ho Chi Minh, and motorcycles have their own lanes on many roads and highways. The motorcyclists in Hanoi weren't particularly aggressive; they're more aggressive and stupid in Ho Chi Minh and sometimes they're aggressive, stupid and hostile in Bien Hoa -- yesterday, a bouncer at one of the karaoke establishments on Vo Thi Sau rode his motorbike behind me and Andy as we walked on the sidewalk and laid on his horn until we moved, riding way too close to us as he went by with a young boy on the bike. The guy looked ready to fight, setting a wonderful behavioral example for the boy.
Andy watched Phuong whip me twice in tennis, and was impressed with my wife's grittiness and determination to win. At night we drank some of the quality beers we bought in Ho Chi Minh -- a flavorful Dutch imperial stout called Bloedbroeder; a beer made in Vietnam called Ranger that's made under the auspices of a Belgian brewer; and old standby La Trappe Quadrupel. Andy loved Phuong's and her mom's cooking: Hu Tieu; Bun Bo Hue; Pho; pig tongue; pig heart (my favorite); and homemade kim chi with grilled pork (by Phuong). Andy is on his way back to the U.S, and it's tough to see him go. We'll reconnect when I visit the U.S., or hopefully move there with my wife and daughter Joanna.
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