Guttentag from Hanoi
Trip Start
Oct 12, 2005
1
15
48
Trip End
Mar 31, 2006
Hanoi,
Vietnam
Thursday, November 3, 2005
We got our first real taste of the backpacker life when we landed in Hanoi, as we tagged along with a very nice German guy named Stefan who has been travelling for 2 years! The car from the hotel we had reserved was supposed to pick us from the airport but never showed, so we took a taxi with Stefan into Hanoi's Old Quarter. From there we popped from guesthouse to guesthouse, examing the rooms, and testing our bargaining skills. Finally we ended up at a reasonable place, big room with air conditioning, satellite tv, free internet in the lobby, and free breakfast, all for the grand price of $12 a night (negotiated down from $15). Not too shabby! Nevertheless we are moving hotels tomorrow now that we've had a better look at the area. We will be moving to the Camellia Hotel #5 (http://www.camellia-hotels.com). This room is only $10 and offers many of the same ammenities
01 Guesthouse in Hanoi
. (Plus it was highly recommended by our trustworthy travel agent who you will read more about later in this entry).Hanoi is fantastic, you can really feel the French influence in the architecture, coffee, bread, and restaurants. It's got a great street life, with tons of interesting shops lining every street. We prefer it to Bangkok's street life. Everything you've heard about the crazy traffic here is true but we're getting used to it. We're still a little awed that there are only a few traffic lights in the city. Kristy is learning bit by bit how to cross the street without holding Matt's hand tightly. Here's the trick: walk slowly but surely, do not stop or hesitate once you are in the road, and all the motorbikes will zoom around you.
Our first day in Hanoi we walked through the Old Quarter and down to the Hanoi Opera House which is very beautiful (it's actually a copy of the opera house in Paris - one of south east asia's first bootlegs). We dropped by the box office and picked up tickets to the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra performance on November 10th. One of the pieces they will be playing is Dvorak's New World Symphony which as Matt pointed out is always included in movies about Communism. Anyway, attending a performance is the only way you can see the inside of the Opera House which is supposed to be spectacular.
Today, we took another stroll towards the Opera House and around the lake that is in the middle of the city. It's a very pretty stroll especially in the morning. We looped back around the lake and ate lunch at the famous Metropole Hotel. It's a gorgeous old French Colonial hotel (very, very nice and expensive)
02 Hanoi Street
. We splurged on a scrumptious three-course French meal. It was easily the best meal we've had so far , but really in a different world than the asian food. First course was buffet which included pate, cold cuts, sushi, spring rolls, crudites, bread. For the main course we chose the veal on lemongrass skewers, with a pasta gratin, and a mushroom sauce. Then desert was another buffet with lime sherbert, creme brulee, chocolate cake, and a cheese plate. Of course the meal cost more than three nights at our hotel, but we were still in our daily budget for the day! After lunch we went to a travel agency recommended to us by other travelers, called ODC, and booked a couple Vietnam trips that leave from Hanoi. Tomorrow we're getting out of the city for a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. I'm not clear on all the details but I expect to be more informed after the visit. Then on Sunday, November 6th, we head off to Halong Bay -- a UNESCO World Heritage site -- for a three day; two night tour. We spend the first night on a Vietnamese boat called a junk - it's like a very small wooden cruise boat with cabins. The next night, we'll spend in a hotel on an island in the Bay. We're definitely looking forward to a few days out of Asian cities.
Glad that you all liked Matt's hair. The wierd thing is that as soon as he got it cut, people started saying "Guttentag" to him. I guess he looks German now!
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