A Little Taller
We woke to an amazing view today from the balcony on the 18th floor.
Our plan today was to catch a bus to the centre and follow MapsMe to all of the major attractions. We started off quite well and the number 34 delivered us to the centre for 7000 Dong.
We stopped at a fish restaurant and studied their king crabs and other odd sea creatures. They even sold Napoleon Wrasse by the kilo, which is the most beautiful looking fish and really shouldn't be eaten.
We started walking towards our first point of interest but were distracted by loud shouts and screams. They were coming from inside a Korean Expo trade fair. We went to investigate and were told we could enter for free. There we found hundreds of teenage girls melting in front of their idols! The boy band they were drooling over were the winners of the Korean version of Pop Idol. What we were witnessing was a fan signing event and we have never seen anything like this before. It was really mad!
Next we had chance to explore many different Korean foods and cosmetics. The food was great and we had lots of samples to keep us fed and watered. The cosmetics were not quite as exciting as the food ... although we did get to try 24k gold snail moisturiser!
We continued on to Train Street. This is where a train track passes through houses on either side and tightly packed cafes. There were no trains when we were there so we walked the tracks and searched for a snack. First we tried a deep fried ball with something savoury in the middle which tasted like mushroom and onions and maybe some meat (?) (banh ran man - fried glutinous rice cake).
Very close by we followed a sign for food into a tiny little cafe.
We chose a dessert from the photos on the wall and sat down to eat. We are not sure exactly what we were eating but it was good and it came with a bowl of ice. It contained all sorts of jelly things in different colours and some pieces of coconut too. We mixed in the ice and ate the lot. Then a cup of herbal tea arrived which was unexpected but free. The whole thing was very nice and super cheap.
Next stop was the lake and a huge park. There are a few lakes in the centre of Hanoi and we hoped to explore them all. Today there was a market in the park which we enjoyed before walking around a big lake and watching lots of people doing various forms of excercise. Afterwards we headed back out into traffic chaos. The drivers really are crazy, untrained, dangerous and it is virtually impossible to cross the road. Motorbikes especially drive the wrong way down roads and on the pavement. You have to look in every direction at all times! It is hard work!
Time for another snack. We spotted a small hole in the wall food bar and wanted to try their banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich - derived from the French baguette). On the board we could see what looked like a buy one get one free offer for the day. So we had 2, one chicken and one egg.
They were both really tasty.
Next we visited the Hoa Lo prison museum. There was lots of information about the French revolutionaries during the colonisation of Vietnam and later the Americans in the Vietnam War who were also imprisoned there.
It started to get dark about 5.30 but we just had time to make it to the river to see the 4km long mural. Well we almost made it. A group of young men distracted us as we walked past. We stopped and spoke to them and they invited us to try some of their food and join them for a beer. The food was really nice. One dish was fried frogs and the other was a kind of salty, spicy sausage, each with a different spicy dip. Local Hanoi beer arrived in an instant and we toasted to friendship. More beer arrived and we were joining the party. However, we had to go. First we were on our way to see the murals and second because they were being super generous and wouldn't let us pay for anything. We said thank you for their hospitality and kindness but we had to go.
We headed to the murals but it was now too dark so a diversion was made to the street food area. Tonight there seemed to be an extra part possibly linked to the Korean Expo. We tried more food and drinks before searching the food market for a real meal. Usually we would have found loads of interesting things to try but a lot of the food didn't look overly appealing and it was a little more expensive than we have been used to. We searched for a while but decided not to eat and to catch the bus back home before it was too late. The first bus came but didn't stop. Then we waited... another bus eventually arrive and we had an easy journey back to My Dinh bus depot. Starting to get hungry we searched for food again, eventually settling for fried rice and stir fried beef. Well that is what we think we got. Many of the Vietnamese don't speak English so a couple of young lads helped us to order. It was pretty good!
