We are going to miss you. In four short weeks, you began to feel like home.
Archive for November, 2012
We’re safely back “home” in Phuket after a magical 5 days in Vietnam. It was our first time flying on Qatar Airlines and we were very impressed. They offered a tasty meal on a 1.5 hour flight, USB ports on each seat and a SpongeBob gift pack for Z–only alcohol was conspicuously absent (although I think it was available, just not freely offered). Warning though to be prepared about queuing protocol (or lack thereof) when flying to Vietnam–we almost got trampled by the mad rush of Vietnamese when they opened the gate, as men and women shoved us out of the way down the gate ramp and the plane aisle. Once safely seated, I couldn’t stop laughing watching the flight attendants trying to corral the most intransigent of the bunch into their seats (typically, the senior citizens).
Highlights of Hanoi
The trip got off to an inauspicious start when we arrived at Hanoi Moment Hotel in the Old Quarter at 11pm only to have the smiling lobby clerk take our passports, offer us fresh mango juice and then inform us that there had been a double-booking of the family suite. We thought he was joking, especially since Z had already passed out on the lobby sofa from exhaustion. Fortunately, they had a sister hotel a few short blocks away that had an available family suite and he escorted us there personally via cab. Within 10 minutes, we were checked into a tidy room (complete with rose petals sprinkled on the bed comforters) at the Hanoi Moment II (quite creative with the names, huh?).
Lobby lounge at check-in after late flight
Old Quarter
Our hotel was conveniently located in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, which dates back to the 11th Century, when it was originally comprised of 36 streets that housed the various guilds. Even today, the narrow, winding streets are identified by the wares they peddle (e.g., silk road, household goods road, Christmas decorations–Z’s favorite). Hoan Kiem Lake lies adjacent to the Old Quarter and after arming ourselves with local SIMs, we headed over to Heritage House Cafe overlooking the lake to enjoy some top-notch Vietnamese coffee. Getting there was a thrill in itself. We quickly realized that waiting for a break in the constant crush of mopeds, bikes and cars would get us nowhere. The roads converge at odd angles without stop signs or lights to govern traffic and with no apparent rules governing right of way. Thus, the best strategy was to step into the road and walk purposefully across as traffic weaved and dodged around us and the continual cacophony of horns almost began to resemble an excited conversation. Everywhere people are seated street side on preschool-sized plastic blue and red chairs or stools devouring bowls of pho, grilled fish, veggies, grilled meats… Women with conical woven bamboo hats walk up and down streets carrying veggies and fruits balanced like a weighing scale. We all immediately fall in love with the energy of this city with its skinny French colonial buildings colorfully painted like SF’s Victorians, the vibrant street life centered around food, the constant bustle and the regular smiles and waves offered to Z from the people we walk by.
Streets of Old Quarter
Streets of Old Quarter
Heritage House drinks
Cyclo Ride – A must through the Old Quarter and Z’s highlight of the day. After checking various websites for tips on what was a reasonable rate (they start aggressively high), we negotiated with two drivers for a one hour cyclo ride around the lake, past the opera house and through the Old Quarter. Zara excitedly oohed and ahhed the entire ride, while I tried not to focus on the lack of barrier and/or seat belt between us and the various vehicles in every shape and size barreling towards us.
Bamboo hat!
Cyclo ride
Water Puppet Show – After a light snack and refreshing drinks at a lakeside restaurant, we headed to the water puppet show at the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre near the lake (but not before again fortifying ourselves with more of the excellent Vietnamese coffee). The water puppet tradition originated in N. Vietnam in the 11th century and the puppets are operated in waist-deep water by hidden puppeteers. The show was comprised of interesting vignettes from Vietnamese folklore set against a backdrop of live music on original Vietnamese instruments. The show was short enough to hold Zara’s attention and also interesting for the grown-ups!
Water Puppet Show
Thanksgiving Dinner – After the show we strolled up lake and headed to pre-Thanksgiving cocktails at the Bamboo Bar in the Metropole Hotel, which offered a welcome break from the heat and noise outside. Although all of us were fading from the heat and sightseeing, we couldn’t skip a Thanksgiving meal so we headed to the highly recommended Indian restaurant, Namaste, for the least traditional Thanskgiving meal of my life, but one especially imbued with the spirit of thanks for the wonderful experiences we are blessed with this year.
Temple of Literature – Day 2 took us to the Temple of Literature- one of world’s oldest universities founded circa AD 1000. The grounds are beautiful and filled with groups of young men and women celebrating their own graduations.
Temple of Literature
Shopping/Dinner – We later head back to the Old Quarter for a tasty lunch at 69 Restaurant on Ma May Street. Z and I heed the siren call of Silk Road after lunch, while Jonathan begs off shopping for his cheaper vice of coffee. Afterwards, Z successfully lobbies for another cyclo ride back to the hotel and I’m amused by how our driver is the fastest cyclo on the road since this ride is paid by distance rather than time. Late afternoon Jonathan convinces us to hire a taxi for a drive around 18km long West lake so that we can get a better sense of some other Hanoi neighborhoods–was a lovely tour but one during which our daughter found herself incapable of being quiet for even 30 seconds. Dinner that evening found us back in the heart of the Old Quarter where we splurge on a delicious French-influenced meal at Green Tangerine, housed on a colonial home. Z had the pleasure of writing a little essay during dinner about how it is never appropriate to spit out food in a restaurant, while I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of glasses of some much-missed Syrah.
Silk Dress
Hoan Kiem Lake
Example of French colonial architecture
Bamboo hat!
Halong Bay — Amazing experience! Blog post coming soon!
“If you dream a wish it will come true, but you have to invent a pair of magic boots and believe in yourself.”
Zara’s journal entry this afternoon (with a few parental spelling edits). The magic boots is a reference to Z’s project with her daddy that was borne our of her fervent wish to fly, but I think the metaphor holds true for anybody dreaming of breaking out of the mold. Be creative, be industrious, but most importantly, believe in your possibilities. And whatever your initial dreams are and wherever the road ultimately ends, the journey will surprise you.
Almost two months into our year-long travels, what I am most grateful for is the opportunity to witness the daily magic of a girl on the cusp of 6-years old in a way that wasn’t always possible with our busy lives at home. That is what I’m trying to imprint on my brain and why I know that ultimately the places we visit are a second order magnitude in this journey.
Sojourneyers - One family's adventure 