arnie's jaunts: Good morning Vietnam

Honk, Honk, Honk, Honk. Darryl is driving, and I’m hanging on to back of his motorbike. I met Darryl while rock climbing in Rai Lay a few weeks ago. He lives in Hanoi at the Australian embassy, and kindly invited me for beer and pizza at his place tonight. When we arrive, we are greeted by his wife, mother-in-law, and one and half year old daughter, Sophie. His house is a large four level French colonial style house with vaulted ceilings, a large granite staircase, terra cotta tiled floors, nice groomed courtyard, and solid wooden trim and doors. Darryl has lived in Hanoi for over 6 years. Prior to Vietnam, he lived in China and is fluent in Vietnamese and Mandarin. While looking after little Sophie, we spend the balance of the night gabbing over sightseeing in Vietnam, ex-pats in Vietnam, the tech boom of 2000, crime in Hanoi, diving, Vancouver, and rock climbing in Laos.

I arrived in Hanoi on a hungry stomach on Tuesday. I was grumpy and had to eat. I dropped off my backpack at the guesthouse, grabbed my Let’s Go guidebook and proceeded to find a restaurant recommended in the book. I had no local currency, and suddenly my bank card wasn’t working.

I walked thru Old Quarter, the oldest part of the Hanoi city, for a couple of minutes before realizing I was lost. The streets in the Old Quarter are not well organized due to a lack of early city planning. Many of the streets change names suddenly, and very few of them run parallel to each other. Unlike Thailand, the signs in Vietnam do not have any English on them. My patience was running on empty. I was hungry and couldn’t read any signs. I also started realized I had to still cross the street.

Hanoi’s street traffic is best described as a constant onslaught of honking cars, and motorbikes. There are no crosswalks, and you must walk into oncoming traffic to cross the street. It’s a scary proposition, but I was willing to try considering how hungry I was. As I walked through, I bit my lip trying not to focus on the motor bikes that were headed straight for me. Before I knew it I was across, and found the restaurant I was looking for. In Vietnam, US dollars are accepted at most stores and restaurants. I had an emergency stash of US dollars on me, and used them to pay for lunch.

With lunch of the way, I started to explore the city, and country I just arrived in. The city of Hanoi is lined with French colonial architecture from years of French rule. There are 4 million people in Hanoi, and twice as many motorbikes on the road. The motorbikes outnumber the cars ten to one. The pungent smell of exhaust consumes the air. The Vietnamese yellow star on red flag, and images of a sickle and hammer (circa USSR) everywhere are constant reminder that I am not in Canada anymore. I spent the rest of the day strolling around Hanoi, and eventually meet another Canadian, Yanick, lives in Hanoi as an English teacher. We head to a nightclub at night. For the rest of the evening, I drink Tiger beer while watching locals dance to ear-blaring dance music.

Wednesday was a quiet day in comparsion to Tuesday. I spent Tuesday afternoon at the national army museum. I gazed in amazement over wreckages of American and French planes, and tanks. I also saw the tank that ran over the gates of the Presidential palace in Saigon - signaling the end of the Second Indochina or American war.

Earlier tdday, I continued to my tour Hanoi. A couple of the guests at the guesthouse, Christina and Maria from Sweden, and I visited the late President Ho Chi Minh’s body at his mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh perceived as a genius, and national hero. He helped lead Vietnam to its independence from the French in the 40’s and 50’s, and provided the ideology that has shaped Vietnam into the country it is today. In his honor, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in the 70s. His body has been preserved since his death over 30 years ago and is open for viewing five days a week.

On Friday, I'm off to Halong Bay for the next 3 days. Halong Bay is about three hours outside of Hanoi. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning its been revered for its natural beauty. While in Halong Bay, I plan to sleep on a Junk style boat, as well as stay on Cat ba Island. I will be back in Hanoi on Sunday night.