Nisha and I spent Thursday relaxing and wandering around Hanoi in an endless search for Bun Cha - one of my favourite Vietnamese meals which is difficult to find outside of Northern Vietnam. Turns out it's also difficult to find during Tet, so I only managed to eat it three times in a week. I was quite disappointed.
Friday, Kelly (one of Nisha's friends) and I spent the morning at the Temple of Literature. Normally it is a very peaceful escape within a bustling city but as with most attractions during Tet holiday, the place was manic. However it was lovely, to be outnumbered by Vietnamese people at places normally full of tourists. It was also heartening to see Vietnamese people visit their own tourist attractions during their big holiday. Something that I think most Australians would probably be unlikely to do, myself included.
Friday, Kelly (one of Nisha's friends) and I spent the morning at the Temple of Literature. Normally it is a very peaceful escape within a bustling city but as with most attractions during Tet holiday, the place was manic. However it was lovely, to be outnumbered by Vietnamese people at places normally full of tourists. It was also heartening to see Vietnamese people visit their own tourist attractions during their big holiday. Something that I think most Australians would probably be unlikely to do, myself included.
The temple is actually Vietnam's oldest university where students had to study for 7 years and to graduate had to perform an oral exam in front of the King. Graduates had their names engraved on these giant stone tablets that are carried on the back of stone turtles (turtles are a sign of wisdom in Vietnam). So a lot of people were leaving 500 vietnam dong notes (about 50cents) and patting the turtle's heads and then patting their own heads in the search for wisdom for upcoming school exams. It was very entertaining to watch.
Kelly and I left the Temple of Literature around 11am. With some time to kill before meeting the others for lunch, but not enough time to take on a museum or tourist attraction I decided to introduce Kelly to the 'Bier Hoi' widespread in Hanoi but not very common in Da Nang. Bier Hoi is literally someone's home-brewed beer that is served on the street in glasses to people (usually men) sitting at small plastic tables in tiny plastic chairs. This Bier Hoi also served food which was very good.
There were literally no women drinking at the Bier Hoi we decided to drink at, only 2 female waitresses. The average age of the men drinking would have been around 55. The beer is quite weak in strength and served warm with big chunks of ice, but the upside is it costs around 50 cents a glass.
Kelly and I sat down at a table with about 5 or 6 60 year old men and proceeded to have a very basic chat using my terrible (and limited) Vietnamese and a fair amount of miming. The men shared their snacks with us and then when it came time to pay the men insisted on paying for our drinks. Even though we only had 2 biers each I felt very bad about letting these men pay, but they were adamant that we were not to pay.
After lunch we headed to the Museum of Ethnology. It is about 7 km outside of Hanoi but is well worth the trip. This has to be one of the best museums I have ever been to. Plenty of information and displays on the 50+ ethnic groups in Vietnam and the grounds of the museum itself have lots of interactive displays and activities. There was traditional dancing and games of some of the minority groups, different styles of housing that you could walk through. Swings and tug of war and other games, a water puppets show, drawing, painting and calligraphy. It was excellent and very informative.
After lunch we headed to the Museum of Ethnology. It is about 7 km outside of Hanoi but is well worth the trip. This has to be one of the best museums I have ever been to. Plenty of information and displays on the 50+ ethnic groups in Vietnam and the grounds of the museum itself have lots of interactive displays and activities. There was traditional dancing and games of some of the minority groups, different styles of housing that you could walk through. Swings and tug of war and other games, a water puppets show, drawing, painting and calligraphy. It was excellent and very informative.
I bought a rocking buffalo mask (it is the year of the buffalo this year) but soon realised that it was a difficult thing to pack to take back to Da Nang. So after we finished at the museum I wandered back into town and gave it to some kids near the lake. I moved houses again to stay with Genevieve (also an AYAD based in Hanoi) and Saturday and Sunday were just a festival of eating, clubbing, drinking and shopping. Very relaxing and enjoyable. On Sunday we had Bun Cha (for the third and final time) and then went to an Irish pub to watch Nadal v Federer at the Australian Open on TV. I was the only one in the group going for Nadal but I was vindicated in the end.
After unexpectedly missing my flight I had an extra day in Hanoi on Monday which was spent eating, shopping for DVDs and eating a Chocolate buffet at the Sofitel Metropole, a very swanky hotel in Hanoi, it was lovely. Then on Tuesday it was back on the plane and back to reality at work.
1 comment:
Amy, is that a wooden carving of a penis???
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