Beware the pineapple vendors!
So we arrived safely albeit an hour and a half late in Vietnam. We booked two nights at the Sofitel Metropole, which was amazing….I’ve been in pretty fancy hotels before but this was just done in perfect taste. The building was built in 1909 and very much in the French style. Joe and I were basking in the luxurious accomodations, especially since we slummed it in ghetto bungalows at the beach beforehand. Joe even wore the silk robes they provided, much in the Hugh Hefner style.
As expected, the architecture of Vietnam is fantastic. Very Frenchy. Coffee was also great. I’ve been disappointed with the Bahn Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) and pho thus far though. US beef is definitely the best. The noodle soups here only have rib eye (no tripe, tendon, or even brisket. Maybe I have to keep looking?). The beef is very tough. And much to the stereotypical remarks from my mother that I had grown up with, I did find Vietnam extremely sketchy! There is a joke in Southeast Asia:
Q: What’s the difference between Vietnam and a casino?
A: If you go to a casino, there is a chance you’ll leave with some of your money.
Seriously! And the worst are the women that sell the pineapples! (see picture above) What they do is slap the pineapple basket thingies on your shoulders. Then they say take foto! And you’re like uhh ok. And then they make you feel bad so you have to buy pineapple from them. Joe took out his thick wad of money (don’t ask) and the lady just snatched a 100,000 dong note. That’s about $7 US. Really, its worth about $.50. Probbaly $.25 for locals. And before Joe could say anything she put it in her pocket and smiled at him. Shady! Haggling and also trying not to be completely ripped off is extremely tiring.
We just got back from Ha Long Bay. Its absolutely incredible. I haven’t uploaded those pictures yet, but I did upload the first few days of Hanoi to my facebook. Check it out.
We have another 4 days left in Vietnam. I’m already kind of bored. We thought about trying to book a last minute flight to Malaysia since they have a huge Tornado Foosball scene but the pricetag is a bit steep. Maybe we will venture over to Hoi Ahn or Hue.
Today also marked the halfway mark of our trip. I’ve met some wonderful friends abroad and it makes me want to live abroad even more. Everytime I come to this part of the world, its so incredible. Suddenly, I look around and everyone looks like me. Having grown up in a predominately caucasian neighborhood and even now living in NYC, one of the biggest ethnic metropolis(es?) in the world, it surprises me when I realize no matter how much it feels like home, deep inside I know I look different…
I made a new friend from Shanghai who spoke to me in Mandarin. Her Chinese was so beautiful that it inspired me to relearn my native language when I get home. Making friends from across the world is crazy also. The distance makes it seem like such lucky fate that you have even met at all and the fact that you will likely never see them again makes it somewhat romantic and tragic at the same time.
So I guess the theme of this trip is foosball in the respective countries. We found an ex-pat bar called Dragonfly that has an interesting table. Not my favorite to play on but its nice to know that there are people all around the world that share my obsession…
Joe posing in front of the foosball table we found in Hanoi