As soon as I got into Hanoi (capital of Vietnam), i instantly understood everything I had been told about Vietnam - the motorbikes, the scamming, the general craziness. Coming from lazy Laos to crazy Vietnam wasn't a total shock on the system, as I had heard lots of stories, but it was definitely shook me a bit. People actually did wear those conical hats and you actually did have to walk slowly and steadily across the road, whilst making eye contact with the 50 motorbikes speeding towards you (i only freaked out and ran back to my starting side a few times, mostly because it's hard to stare down a bus). I was a bit on edge, but clearly not enough since i got cheated many times (but always cheated with a big vietnamese smile, which for some reason makes it better...). ended up traveling with a few north americans for a week - we met on the cab ride to our hotel. 
There don't seem to be any budget hotels in vietnam, but for $8 you get hot water, cable tv, towels, and free toothbrushes...and even a mini fridge. not stuff i really needed, but there really didn't seem to be any other options!!!
That night we decided to hit the town and do some fresh beer drinking - fresh beer is sold on every corner, and is about a dollar for 1 or 2 litres (depending on whether the store decides they should charge the foreigners more or not). Most things aren't in english, so if you don't ask the price beforehand, mostly likely expect to be screwed (more on being scammed later...). anyways, we found a place to drink (sitting on little tiny kindergarten chairs, on the street, as per usual), and many fresh beers later (they are quite low on alcohol content), my bladder was about to explode. Upon asking where the toilet was, the owner laughed at me and pointed at the small tree across the road...in front of many stores. upon vigorous shaking of my head, he pointed me towards the back of the store into the alley. finally i was directed to a little room under the stairs, but upon closing of the doors and inspection of the room, there were dishes all over the floor...they had led me to the cleaning room, and wanted me to go in there. anyways, after lots of asking questions, i determined that yes, this was indeed the place they wanted me to pee...so, do as the vietnamese do, i guess, i did my thing, and then spent the next 10 minutes spraying down the floor, and my feet. Jami, the chick i was with at the time, was wandering around yelling "Kim...where's the toilet?? where are you??", to which i responded, "jami, i'm cleaning my feet...one second". so, that was my gross toilet story. sorry to those of you who didn't want to know :) later we eventually found a trough to go in, which was also a challenge since it was made for guys and was up against the wall...and touching the walls were DEFINITELY out of the question. i had one of the guys posted outside the trough to make sure no one came in, and thankfully they were there to catch me when i nearly fell INTO the trough...good times.
There don't seem to be any budget hotels in vietnam, but for $8 you get hot water, cable tv, towels, and free toothbrushes...and even a mini fridge. not stuff i really needed, but there really didn't seem to be any other options!!!I don't think I'll ever understand the way things work in Vietnam - we were often thwarted in our attempts to walk on some sidewalks (big scary communist guards using vigorous hand gestures to tell us to get off), and walking across the field in front of Ho Chi Min's mausoleum was DEFINITELY a no-no. in fact, there were many guards posted on this field just to make sure that you didn't go near the grass (though walking on the street seemed like somewhat of a death sentence as well). When we went to the mausoleum (to see Ho Chi Minh's dead, preserved body...weird, i know),
my camera escaped x-ray detection somehow and didn't not get taken away from me. however, i should have just given them my camera cause i was twitchy throughout the walk through the mausoleum- especially when i saw that they were making random purse checks. i was picturing them finding my camera and bayonetting me - but, i lived to tell the tale. Walking through the mausoleum was uber-surreal. lots of tourists walking around a heavily guarded glass tomb to look at the guy who is either seen as a hero who helped vietnam gain its independence or the man who caused vietnam to fall into poverty. people were shushed if they whispered, hand gestures were made if anyone was caught with their hands in their pockets, and bodies were gently pushed if anyone decided to pause whilst looking at the body. The visit to the war museum after this experience was very normal, and i was surprised to see how objective the museum seemed (though i hear the one in ho chi minh city down north is not quite the same).
my camera escaped x-ray detection somehow and didn't not get taken away from me. however, i should have just given them my camera cause i was twitchy throughout the walk through the mausoleum- especially when i saw that they were making random purse checks. i was picturing them finding my camera and bayonetting me - but, i lived to tell the tale. Walking through the mausoleum was uber-surreal. lots of tourists walking around a heavily guarded glass tomb to look at the guy who is either seen as a hero who helped vietnam gain its independence or the man who caused vietnam to fall into poverty. people were shushed if they whispered, hand gestures were made if anyone was caught with their hands in their pockets, and bodies were gently pushed if anyone decided to pause whilst looking at the body. The visit to the war museum after this experience was very normal, and i was surprised to see how objective the museum seemed (though i hear the one in ho chi minh city down north is not quite the same).
The city layout was crazy - no streets are parallel or perpendicular to each other, so i was in a state of perpetual lostness. the only way i could figure my way around was because of the peculiar system of shops - all goods seem to be clustered. for example, the hat shops would all be on the same street, and the flower stores would be on the same road. personally, my favourite area was the coat rack lane...i guess people have lots of hats coats that need hanging!
later in the day we were wandering around one of the lakes and happened to notice a slightly burnt american note in the water...turns out, it was a $100, so we all went about looking for a stick to aid us in Operation: Get The $100 note and Live Like Kings for the Next Week. Of course, a few near-falls into the water later, and after a nice crowd had gathered around us, we finally saved the bill and found out it was a fake - which generated a good round of laughter from us and all those around us.
That night we decided to hit the town and do some fresh beer drinking - fresh beer is sold on every corner, and is about a dollar for 1 or 2 litres (depending on whether the store decides they should charge the foreigners more or not). Most things aren't in english, so if you don't ask the price beforehand, mostly likely expect to be screwed (more on being scammed later...). anyways, we found a place to drink (sitting on little tiny kindergarten chairs, on the street, as per usual), and many fresh beers later (they are quite low on alcohol content), my bladder was about to explode. Upon asking where the toilet was, the owner laughed at me and pointed at the small tree across the road...in front of many stores. upon vigorous shaking of my head, he pointed me towards the back of the store into the alley. finally i was directed to a little room under the stairs, but upon closing of the doors and inspection of the room, there were dishes all over the floor...they had led me to the cleaning room, and wanted me to go in there. anyways, after lots of asking questions, i determined that yes, this was indeed the place they wanted me to pee...so, do as the vietnamese do, i guess, i did my thing, and then spent the next 10 minutes spraying down the floor, and my feet. Jami, the chick i was with at the time, was wandering around yelling "Kim...where's the toilet?? where are you??", to which i responded, "jami, i'm cleaning my feet...one second". so, that was my gross toilet story. sorry to those of you who didn't want to know :) later we eventually found a trough to go in, which was also a challenge since it was made for guys and was up against the wall...and touching the walls were DEFINITELY out of the question. i had one of the guys posted outside the trough to make sure no one came in, and thankfully they were there to catch me when i nearly fell INTO the trough...good times.
1 comment:
Did your "washroom" experience in Vietnam remind you of our trip to China when you were only 7?
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