Hip, Hip, Hue!

Hanoi – We were not looking forward to spending another night/day in Hanoi after the peace and quiet of Halong Bay but unfortunately our sleeper train south did not leave until the following night. We returned to our same hotel in Hanoi and received the same room that we had during our first visit so there was some comfort in that.

We decided to head out to Cha Ca La Vong for dinner. Cha Ca La Vong is a Hanoi institution. It is a restaurant that has been around for 200 years (apparently) and only serves one dish, fried fish! We headed out into the Hanoi night and found the restaurant without too much trouble. The restaurant looked like it probably hadn't changed in 200 years. Up a steep stair case we climbed and into the dining room where we were promptly seated. A few minutes later the waitress brought out a tray of “condiments” that included herbs, bean sprouts, some leafy greens, peanuts and some fish sauce with chiles in it. We were also given bowls of cold rice noodles.

A few minutes later a charcoal brazier was put in the middle of the table and on top of that was a fry pan full of cubes of fish sizzling away in oil. The fish appeared to be seasoned with tumeric mainly. We were a little perplexed as to what we were supposed to do next but the waitress reappeared and started throwing greens, herbs and sprouts into the pot and stir frying it with the fish until the greens were wilted. We waited a few minutes and then scooped the fish mixture onto the noodles, sprinkled some peanuts and chile-fish sauce over the top and went at it. The meal coupled with a couple of large Hanoi beers set us back about 12USD, expensive by Vietnam standards but well worth it!

The next day we hung out at the hotel until our noon check out, doing some Internet stuff and watching TV. The weather was rainy and we had a long train ride ahead of us so had little inclination to get moving. We finally got packed up and checked out and since it was still raining went to the cafe next door and had a coffee and lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the park and buying some provisions for our train trip (baguettes, pain de chocolat, mini-pizzas).

We finally headed to the train station about 5pm, 2hours before our scheduled train. We had decided to book the private tourist train as 1. the regular 1^st class train was full and 2. the private train was only $5 more and looked much nicer.

Needless to say the company brochures and the reality of the train were quite different! We were in a four berth compartment and moments after entering the compartment Betsy spotted a cockroach crawling up the wall of the opposite bunk! I thought she was going to hop on the next flight home at that point but she toughed it out.

We were lucky enough to have the whole compartment to ourselves and spent the next couple of hours playing cards. When we decided to goto sleep Betsy wrapped herself in her sleeping bag liner such that she looked like a mummy with even her face and head covered. She also refused to turn the light off and slept the whole night with the light on. I was on the upper bunk so was not to bothered by her light but I did think it was funny. It was a long night as the Vietnamese trains are not quite as smooth as the Swiss ones we were used to. In fact it was like being on roller coaster for 13 hours and neither of us got much sleep.

Thankfully our hotel in Hue (pronounced HooWay, see the post title) provided us with a great welcome and allowed us to check in soon after we arrived that morning. The train trip was definitely an experience but I think that is one trip where it is worth the extra cost to fly!

Halong Bay Update

Halong Bay – After the crazy intensity and chaos of Hanoi it was with great anticipation that we were looking forward to our 3 day - 2 night Halong Bay Cruise.

The minibus picked us up about 830 and somehow negotiated the narrow streets of Hanoi without hitting anything or anyone. A couple more stops and we were on our way to Halong Bay.

We finally made it to Halong Bay and were shuttled off our bus and asked which boat we were on, our luggage was put into different piles based on our response. There were probably a couple of dozen other tourists in the waiting area by the dock with us and we all looked around speculating who might be our shipmates for the next few days.

Finally everyone from our boat must have arrived because we were shuttled onto the tender and headed out to our home for the next 3 days. It was gray and drizzly as we boarded the Prince II and Betsy had fun climbing up the ladder out of the tender. We shuffled into the dining room and were served a welcome drink of fresh watermelon juice. Our guide Hai introduced himself and proceeded to go around the room asking each of us to make a brief introduction. Our shipmates were Graham & Anna, a couple from Ireland who had moved there from Britain 30+ years ago, David a recent university grad now working in finance in London and his university mate Rohan who had recently moved home to Malaysia. We set about getting to know each other as the crew readied the boat to leave.

We were soon underway and shown our rooms which turned out to be quite grand. They weren't large rooms but were very nice and we had large windows all down the side that allowed us to lie in bed and enjoy the view.

We motored out to our port for the night which turned out to be a floating fishing village set amongst the Halong Bay islands. Some of the members of our party then went for a kayak while Betsy and I sat up on deck and enjoyed the view and chatted with the ship's bartender Viet.

The next couple of days were spent kayaking around the islands, eating, drinking and motoring around Halong Bay. We got to enjoy a nice beach BBQ on one day and had great food every night and day on the boat. The food was mostly seafood oriented and I think Betsy's favorite were the sea snail spring rolls.

We got along great with the rest of our shipmates and we usually outlasted the crew as we drank late into the night. This was definitely reflected in our bar bills at the end of the trip. The last night the crew decided to sing some songs for us and did a few Vietnamese ballads. They also taught us one song that honored Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho as he is known by the locals.

All in all it was a great trip and we would both highly recommend it, and while not cheap by Vietnamese standards it is definitely a beautiful part of the world that should not be missed if you are in the area.

The crew was great on our boat and treated us well and our shipmates were a lot of fun and great to spend a couple of days with. The only downside was the weather was quite cool (temp in the 60's, some drizzle). It would have been great to see the scenery in the sunshine but it wasn't to be on this trip.

Good Morning Vietnam!

Hanoi, Vietnam - We have been in Hanoi for a couple of days now and slowly getting over the culture shock. I thought that Tokyo was a "loud" city but Hanoi is crazy. The constant honking of horns and incessant traffic, this place is crazy!

Crossing the street is a challenge in itself as there are virtually no stoplights and even the ones that are there are mostly ignored.The way to cross the street is to just step out and move at a constant pace and let the motorbikes, scooters and cars avoid you. Believe it or not after a day or so you do get the hang of it but the first couple of times are not for the faint of heart.

I am glad we came to Hanoi but I can't say its a particularly pretty city or has a lot of sights. I think after two weeks of traveling and constant cities (Tokyo, Singapore, Hanoi) we are ready for a more rural or quieter setting. Tomorrow we head to Halong Bay which is about 3 hrs from Hanoi on the coast where we embark on a 3 day cruise around the bay. Halong Bay which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site is famous for its limestone karsts that jut out of the ocean. It should be very peaceful and beautiful for a few days.

One of the other interesting things about Hanoi is every morning between 7:30-8am and in the evening between 4:30-5pm loudspeakers around the city blast out the latest government edicts, news and play the national anthem. It is quite funny though it gets a little annoying.

Just an FYI that we will be posting more pictures soon. We didn't take a lot of pictures in Singapore or Tokyo as there are only so many city pictures you can take but we are taking more in Vietnam and they should be up soon.

Henna painting

SINGAPORE, Little India - While Stacy ducked into an air-conditioned mall, I headed to the Little India Arcade. The salons there are known for their Henna painting they do for the local brides. Typically they cover their hands, arms and feet in these intricate designs that are all done by hand. I didn't take it quite that far....just had a bit done around my wrist. The paste that they use has to sit for at least 30 minutes. Here are photos of the Henna tattoo with the paste still on and after I wiped the paste off.

Pay as you like...

SINGAPORE - The other night we headed to one of the many hawker markets for dinner. While Stacy saved us a table, I stood in line waiting to order a masala filled dosa (crepe-like pancake that can be filled with what you like). When my order was complete I asked how much...the reply was "pay as you like". There were no prices listed so you just handed the guy as much as you felt like or you could afford. I gave him $S4, so he proceeded to add a couple more items to my plate....I think I was giving him too much money.

Eating In Singapore

Fish Head Curry

In Singapore it's all about the food! This is definitely one of the great food cities in the world and we have been doing our best to experience as much of the cuisine as we can.  

We've settled into a bit of a routine now.  We wake up about 8 and meander out of the hotel to get some breakfast around 9. Breakfast consists of a coffee which isn't cheap here and a pastry or pastries.

Once we are done with breakfast we have to start  planning for lunch.  So far we've hit most of the major hawker sites.  A hawker market is a collection of  stalls usually outdoors but covered that serves up any number of dishs.  Each hawker generally specializes in one or two dishes and there are separate stalls for beer, juice, desserts.  Basically it is a really good food court!

Most of our lunches and dinners then have been at hawker markets as they offer the best value, often the best food and are where the locals generally go to eat.

Last night however we decided to hit Little India and try one of Singapore's specialty dishes, Fish Head Curry.  It was very good and there is a surprising amount of meat on a fish head.  We didn't eat the eyeballs or tongue (as many do) but we did pick it surprisingly clean as you can see in the picure.

Largest Fish Market in the World

Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest in the world. It is famous for its tuna auctions however those are at 5am so we weren't going to see those. We did however get an early start and hopped on the metro to the market about 7am. It is without a doubt the largest market either of us have ever seen with all different kinds of fish, crabs, and shrimp.

The highlight of the market is the giant frozen tuna that the workers are carving up. These things are massive, 2 feet in diameter and 4-6 feet in length. Restaurants in Tokyo pay tens of thousands of dollars for the perfect tuna. Workers are running around, tourists are snapping pictures trying not to get in the way and trucks are coming and going continuously.  You definitely have to be paying attention as you wander around the market.

One of the interesting things that Betsy noticed was the little enclosed wooden cashier stands at the back of most of the stalls. Each was occupied by a little old lady who handled all the cash. The men worked in the front of the stall and women were entrusted with the cash. Just like home isn't it?

Impressions of Tokyo

A few words to describe Tokyo are “a cacophony of sounds”. We took a walk through Akihabara which is the “electronics” area of Tokyo. It is a continuous stream of electronics shops each specializing in certain items. Everything from cameras to cable to transistors are sold. All of the stores have garish banners plastered across them and many have young women in the company colors standing out front yelling into a microphone extolling the virtues of their products over those of their competitors.

For lunch we went to a vending machine restaurant. We walked in and there was what looked like a cigarette machine on the wall only instead of cigarettes there was pictures of food and drink items. You punched the items you wanted, inserted your money into the machine and receive a ticket in Japanese.  You wait for a seat at the counter and when you get there you place your ticket on the counter and a few minutes later your meal/drink is in front of you. It is very efficient you don't have to speak Japanese and the servers don't need to know English. Of course the pictures are about 1 inch by 1 inch so there is an element of risk involved as to what exactly you are getting but if we didn't want to take any risks we would have stayed home

We also browsed the world's largest electronics store, Yodobashi.  Picture your average Best Buy with 6 floors instead of 1, and 5x the merchandise packed onto each floor and that is Yodobashi. They have hundreds of laptops, hundreds of cellphones, hundreds of headphones...you get the picture.  Even inside Yodobashi they have girls yelling into microphones trying get you to buy their products.

Hello Tokyo

So Betsy like most young girls went through a phase where she loved horses.  Tonight she renewed her love for horses only this time it was the horse she ate at dinner.  Yes horse (see pic left), and not just any horse but raw horse or as the Japanese call it "basashi". 

We met up with my cousin Kevin who's lived in Japan 10 years and he was kind enough to show us around Tokyo today as well as answer all our questions about the country and its people.

Later we went out for dinner with him to a place that was almost like a tapas bar in that you ordered many small plates to be shared.  We ordered about 10 dishes including tuna sashimi, yakitori (Japanese version of sate, in this case chicken with leeks), cold soba noodles, korean style omelet, gyoza (potstickers) and a sashimi plate that contained many items we had never had raw such as calamari, shrimp, octopus, scallops.

The highlight though was the horse meat.  It was sliced thin and was completely raw, you dipped it in a chive/garlic/ginger soy sauce.  It was very lean with a little chew to it but very nice.  It was  so good it was the only thing we ordered a second helping of.

Of course this was all washed down by copious amounts of beer and sangria.  A great meal and a great night, thanks Kevin!

One week til Tokyo...

I wasn't sure I'd be saying that this time last week.  After finishing up our contracts Betsy and I decided to head to Park City to do some skiing/boarding for a few days before we headed off on our trip.  Apparently that wasn't the wisest idea as last Monday while Betsy was taking a snowboarding lesson she caught an edge and broke her ankle!  

So after being shuttled down the mountain by the ski patrol and taken to the emergency clinic in Park City for x-rays we were relieved to hear that the break was about as minor a break as could be, a barely visible crack in the tibia.  So Betsy is not in a cast but is in a walking boot for the next few weeks.

Being the trooper she is and the fact she is walking without much discomfort all systems are go for takeoff next Wednesday.

Other than that we are just busy running around getting our affairs in order before we leave.