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  Hanoi, Vietnam
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Another new currency, another new language, another set of gastronomical mysteries to discern. I arrived in Hanoi on Sunday on a flight from Vientiane, Laos. Arranging the flight was quite an interesting process, and by interesting I mean the most stressful experience of my trip thus far. Due to a ripple effect from the Bangkok unpleasantness it was nearly impossible to book a last minute flight to anywhere within SE Asia. I was lucky to find a Lao Airlines flight to Hanoi within 2 days of my visit to a Vientiane travel agent. Tourists are required to obtain a visa prior to entering Vietnam and so I left my passport with the travel agent who told me to return the next day at 4 pm to pick up my visa and passport and purchase my plane ticket.

The next day (Saturday) I returned to the office at 3 pm and found that it was CLOSED until Monday. This meant that I would both miss my flight and be passport-less for at least 2 days. I totally lost it...I yelled something, started pacing, banged on the door of the office, the whole bit. Just as I was about to kickoff the Great Passport Riot of 2008, the travel agent pulled up to the office on a motorbike. I credit the timing of her arrival to divine intervention - I guess all my temple visits are finally paying off. She handed me my passport with visa and told me that if I still wanted the plane ticket I would need to pay her in cash. I asked her how she planned to print my ticket without a computer, to which she replied, "I write ticket with hand, not a problem." In my humble opinion, a cash transaction from the seat of a motorbike resulting in a handwritten plane ticket equals a BIG PROBLEM, but I really didn't have much of choice. Well I guess the fact that I am writing this from Hanoi robs my story of any suspense. The travel agent was right, not a problem.

In a previous entry I shared my impression of Bangkok as wild and gritty, but Hanoi is wilder and grittier, overwhelming and invigorating...the perfect antidote to 3 weeks in laid back Laos. It is impossible to walk the streets of the Old Quarter without getting lost. The traffic defies all laws of nature and the fact that I am still alive is evidence of my newly discovered Matrix-esque superpowers. Yesterday I had lunch with a man from India and even he expressed awe over the lawlessness of Hanoi's streets.

Today I escaped the frenzy of Hanoi and traveled two hours southwest to the Perfume Pagoda, a Buddhist shrine housed in a cave that is carved into a mountain; the holiest site in Vietnam according to our tour guide. To reach the Pagoda visitors must first take a 1 hour scenic boat ride down a river and then climb the mountain. I have a confession to make: I've reached the inevitable saturation point at which I am no longer impressed by temples, caves, scenic boat rides, or any combination of the three. What really impresses me about Vietnam is the ice cream. I was told ahead of time that Vietnam is a food-lover's mecca, but nobody told me about the ice cream. My favorite Hanoi ice cream parlor is Fanny's, where sticky rice ice cream + green tea ice cream + whipped cream = dinner. Bam!

Tomorrow I leave for a three day tour of Halong Bay.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Fanny's	Dinner	Hanoi	Hanoi
Hanoi	Hanoi traffic	Hanoi traffic	Water Puppet Performance
Boat to Perfume Pagoda	Boat to Perfume Pagoda	Perfume Pagoda	Perfume Pagoda
Perfume Pagoda	Boat from Perfume Pagoda

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