Choose Your Own Adventure: Hanoi

Last night I went with Becca and Mike to Bia Hoi before walking over to this other bar called Amazon. I found DiDi and the rest of our group already hanging out there and ordered my usual Coke. After about half an hour, DiDi and I took a xe-om to Lighthouse, where it was intensely packed with drunk people. That was annoying because the men are very forward and seriously obnoxious when they are foreign and drunk. After a couple hours of talking and some dancing, the music went off at about 12:00 am. I knew that meant that the Hanoi police were coming around and shutting down bars that were open illegally past the curfew, so DiDi and I then caught a xe-om back to the dorm. This was a good decision, as the police here in Hanoi are very scary. They drive up in a huge truck and they all jump out and bust into the bar when it's open later than midnight. They showed up just as we were leaving. Then DiDi and I cuddled and talked in her room from about 1:30-3:30 am.

I then got extremely tired and went up to my room and crashed until 11:00 this morning. I threw on clothes and walked over to the internet cafe, where I predictably found Jill and DiDi. I ordered lunch there and got my usual my xao bo, which is the crinkly noodles, vegetables, and beef. Then DiDi and I left to go back to the dorm. I met Cathy on the way back which was good because we were supposed to meet at noon anyways. We got our stuff together (aka maps, water, etc.) and walked for about half an hour before finding a bus stop with the bus we needed. We rode the 32 bus for about 20 minutes and got off on the West side of Hanoi. We took a bunch of pictures, figured out where we were on the map, and stopped at a nice coffee place for the usual iced coffee. We then continued walking for about half an hour which was good for taking more social and urban landscape pictures. Cathy and I finally reached the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Resource Center, where our previous guest lecturer, Lady Borton, works. We walked around the beautiful gardens for a bit and then sat in the shade in front of her office from about 1:45-2:45. It was really frustrating because she didn't show up and she was supposed to bring Cathy some reading materials for her research on aquaculture and talk to me about her Cao Dai friend. Cathy and I walked back down the street and found a small coffee shop. We ordered more iced coffee and eggs and bread and had a really great conversation. It's always nice to go on adventures with people who are laid back like I am. You eat when you want and find your way around without any pressing agenda.

I then looked across the street and saw some middle school-aged boys playing soccer. They only had one goalie, so I jumped in as the second one. I saved one and then missed the next one before Cathy and I decided to move on. We then walked for another 20 minutes and found the 9 bus that would take us to the Old Quarter. We waited for a while in the blinding sun because people use the back of the bus stops as bathrooms. On the 9 bus, we talked to a couple nice Vietnamese kids who were a little younger than us. They practiced their English, and we practiced our Vietnamese. After a bumpy 15 minute bus ride, Cathy and I got off at Hoan Kiem Lake and walked a block over to the food market. As we entered under the dirty tarps and avoided the sick-looking chickens, I spotted a guy our age kicking a large fish to the curb of the street. He was also holding a large black baton, so I assumed that Cathy knew what was about to happen. I was wrong, and she was a bit surprised when he began hammering the large fish's head with the baton in order to prepare it for someone's dinner. The Vietnamese lady across from us took the time out of selling her raw meat and laughed at us running from the killing of the animal. We took a bunch more pictures before stopping to buy apples and then these really neat handmade and colorful stuffed animals. I got a dragon and named him Horton, but I think my beaver Gorge is pretty scared of him already. :)

We saw a few people from our group when we walked by the lake and then Cathy and I caught a xe-om back to the dorm. We got back at about 5:00 pm and I was exhausted and extremely dirty and sweaty. I packed my backpack with the necessary gear for the internet cafe and headed down to the second floor to rally some friends for dinner. Mike, Leah, Jackie, and I headed down the street to our usual rice, egg, and meat place for dinner. I left a bit early to run to the internet cafe and write this blog entry because I have to go back and shower in order to go out with them tonight to Bia Hoi and then this Irish pub.

I miss you all! Keep the comments and emails coming! *And to answer your question, Kristen, chicken fingers are still better than most Vietnamese food. :)