Run for your life!: I love Hanoi!

I suffered from diarrhoea yesterday. I think it is due to some preserved fruit which I bought in Dong Xuan market before leaving Hanoi that caused it, because that was the only thing which I ate that was different from others. Nobody else who travelled with me had diarrhoea. It was a good thing that I only had it after the trip otherwise it would have spoilt my entire holiday. One would have thought that dining in mamak shops accustoms our stomachs to unhygienic conditions!

Overall I had a really good time in Hanoi. It’s a really nice place to be. Like Ragu describes it, it’s like KL in the 70’s (though I would have been too young then to know what it was like but I know what he means).

People

Generally people in Hanoi are friendly. Many are not able to converse in English though, but some can speak in Mandarin or French(which doesn’t make any difference to me..). Making a purchase can be pretty difficult when we don’t understand what the other is trying to say. Sign language doesn’t help either as their currency is small and you don’t know exactly the price they are quoting!

Currency

The exchange rate is about 1USD = 15,000 VND (Vietnam Dong)

Boy, I felt like a millionaire, having millions in my pocket! If only I had that kind of money here…. Most places transact in USD but we normally convert it back to VND.

Food

Food in Hanoi is different from the Vietnamese restaurants we have in KL. What we have in KL is more southern and is a little bit spicier than what we had in the north. Also I think it has been fused with Thai cooking as they use more lemongrass in KL, and catered to more Western preferences. Some of the food in Hanoi can be quite unpalatable to foreigners, for example they served us cha ca (grilled fish) with bun (rice vermicelli) with some “cincalok” tasting sauce. But overall I enjoyed the food there and I found it to be tasty.

I avoided eating by road side stalls as it can be very unhygienic. Water is known to be not very clean there either. I’ve also seen some peddlers selling meat and cutting the meat on the pavement! Some peddlers also ride on their bicycle with exposed cut meat in a basket on the back of their bicycles.

Transport

The main mode of transport there is motorcycle. As cars are expensive there, practically everybody owns a motorcycle! Traffic regulations are virtually non existent, as they ride without helmets and hog the roads! You can sometimes even spot 5 people on a bike! Even well dressed gentlemen clad in suits and trilby are seen on bikes! Motorists rideall over the place and it is quite chaotic and lawless on the roads.

Time difference

Hanoi is an hour behind Malaysia. I keep waking up at 5am daily over there as I am accustomed to waking up at 6am in Malaysia!

Tet

Tet is their Lunar New Year or our Chinese New Year here. It is very much similar to Malaysia, where the first few days are quiet and business resumes from 5^th day onwards.

“CHUC MUNG NAM MOI” means “Happy New Year!”

Shopping

Shopping can be cheap or expensive in Vietnam, depending on how much you are willing to pay for quality. The quality of their goods is diverse, it can range from something of low quality to really high quality goods. So one has to be very careful in checking the quality before purchasing, if not it’s easy to get ripped off. Our tour guide, Mr Hiep took us to a handicapped centre where they produce all sorts of goods like clothes, lacquerware, embroidery, carvings and many more.At first I found the goods to be very expensive, but when I got back to the city I then realized why. The goods produced by the handicapped are much more refined and have better workmanship whereas most of what you get in town are cheap replicas.

Therefore, like I mentioned – it depends on what type of quality you’re looking for and how much you’re willing to pay for it.

Religion

Most of them are Buddhists, with 10% being Roman Catholics and 5% Muslims. There is only 1 mosque in the whole of Hanoi.

Toilets

I did not go to many public toilets, but it is pretty much like in China. Where there is a wastepaper basket in the toilet, you’re expected to throw your tissues into the wastepaper basket and not flush it because their sewerage system cannot handle it. It’s a good thing most of the places I went to are pretty civilized!! I saw this at a public toilet in Ho Chi Minh’s place of residence though. Pengsan factor for kwai los.