Our journey to and arrival in Hanoi has been a mixed experience, but I feel that Hanoi could be a turning point in our Vietnamese experience. Although we were promised a sleeper bus and boarded a sleeper bus in Hue, the bus ticket guy told us our tickets weren’t good for that bus and we had to switch to a sitting bus. At that point, I knew it was a scam but arguing would do no good. Post-payment service is non-existent in Vietnam and arguing doesn’t really work; the only other place like that has been Nepal. Funny, I thought the people there were really shady too. Anyways, there was nothing we could really do, so we boarded the sitting bus that they took us too- scammed. On the bright side, the bus was full of locals, which was what I’ve kinda been craving (see my last post). Although there were many downsides, at least we got a glimpse of local life. Like in the other mainland SEA nations, many people threw up during the bus ride. I’m not sure if people in Lao, Cambodia, and Vietnam just aren’t used to riding buses or what, but little plastic bags are always available and people are always throwing up in them or on the ground at food/toilet stops. The food stop was pretty nasty, but at least it was just one and it was quick, unlike the multiple 50-minute stops the touristy bus takes at overpriced tourist-traps. Unfortunately, unlike the touristy buses which deposit you right in the center of town, our bus stopped well outside of the city. So we groggily got off the bus and hired a couple of motorbikes to take us into town. Joylani mentioned that at least we got to see more of the city in the 10 minutes it took to speed through the masses of motorbikes that clogged the maze that is Hanoi.

We spent the morning gathering information from travel agencies and the Chinese embassy regarding visas. It turns out its pretty expensive to go through a travel agency, so we’ll get all our paperwork together and try to apply by ourselves tomorrow. Actually, I went the embassy after the travel agents, while Joylani went back to the hotel. I was a bit surprised to find her not there by the time I got back to the hotel though. She arrived about 30 minutes after me, looking quite disheveled, and told me my directions back to the hotel were junk. I showed her the map I gave directions from and after examining it, she said, “That map’s not right. That’s not how the streets go.” I was skeptical, but didn’t raise the issue. Later, I went out by myself to do some visa stuff. On the way back, I ran into a T-intersection where the street should have continued straight- the exact place she had gotten lost too. Although somewhat close to the hotel, I walked around for an hour looking for it. As I wandered around though, I did notice why Hanoi is always described in such endearing terms. I’d been running around all morning, but I actually noticed Hanoi when I got lost. Little conical hatted women jostled up and down the streets carrying food and goods in bamboo baskets. The Old Quarter, where I was walking, was old. The shopkeepers were old and wrinkly. The old colonial architecture and antiquated shop and storefronts contrasted with the tons of motorbikes honking and grazing by me every second. Little boutique shops were mixed in with small street kitchens and random stores selling all sorts of junk. Several times, I walked down a street where nearly every shop was selling metalwork. I also found myself on furniture street a couple times. Finally, I did find the hotel. Just as Joylani did, I grabbed out guidebook and turned to the map. It was wrong. Moreover, we realized getting lost was easier as many of the street names only refer to a block or two. So a single street could have 3, 4, 5, or more names as you walk down it. That’s why we could never find our street. It turns out that the streets are named after the goods that used to be sold on them in the old days. The metal block, the furniture block, the bamboo block, and so on. Interesting and at least a reason for the stupidity of every block of some streets being named differently, but we were both in pretty bad moods after getting lost. But we ate well.

Throughout the day, we found really good food- pho, che, bun bo, and even kebaps to mention a few. After two weeks of eating mediocre food, its seems we’ve arrived foodwise. Hanoi seems to have a plethora of excellent food, which is great since that was the main thing we were looking forward to in Vietnam. Plus it’s interesting to see all the craziness that unfolds in the small streets and lanes of the Old Quarter. Today was pretty frustrating between our bus situation last night, the visa hassle, and getting needlessly last in the midday heat for an hour, but I’m feeling okay tonight. So far, Hanoi seems like a really cool place. I really hope that it is and that today will be an inflection point in our Vietnam visit.