Goodbye Vietnam, it’s been Amazing

*Note, this was written about 5 days ago.  Internet is fixed*

Sitting aboard my flight to Singapore, having just left Hanoi, I find myself thinking back over my entire two week experience in Vietnam.  This country is amazing…it is a dichotomous combination of a thriving, eclectic and fascinating society with a somewhat oppressive and corrupt government that denies its citizen elections or any true say in the destiny of their own country.  But none of these negative aspects affected my stay in Vietnam, as I successfully avoided any interaction with corrupt law enforcement or power hungry politicians, and managed to instead be touched by the genuine happiness and generosity of the Vietnamese people.  And I can also happily say that I managed to feel like I experienced Vietnam from more than a purely tourist’s perspective.

When I last blogged I had just gotten back from the beautiful Halong Bay, a few hours from the capital city of Hanoi.  Since then I spent nearly five full days in Hanoi, a city that I would say still typifies what older Vietnamese society feels like before western influence came in.  For example, walking through Hanoi’s streets it is strikingly obvious the dearth of western store fronts…in fact there are only a handful that I saw in the entire city.  They include:  Western Union (thank goodness for that, as it’s my primary source of money until the end of my trip!), KFC and Gloria Jean’s Coffee (which I actually think is Singaporian).  That’s it.  There are no McDonald’s, no Starbuck’s, no 7-11’s, no other fast food chains or anything.  It’s striking to see essentially zero western presence, but refreshing at the same time.  There are not many places left on this planet like this.

There were a number of highlights during my time in Hanoi.  One was my half day cooking class at an upscale restaurant.  This class was educational, delicious and hilarious.  To start we took a little field trip to the local produce, meat and spice market.  Our teacher, Zuim (who goes by “Tim”…don’t really know why), explained to us all the different types of fruit, and since he’s a regular at the market we were able to try a number of different things.  One new fruit that I tried is called a “Custard Apple”…which on the outside looks like a brain and on the inside…well, it kinda looks like a brain as well…but it tastes like an apple!  It was really delicious (There’s a picture of it below…hopefully my description will allow you to identify it).  I was also told that I was a very attractive 42 year old by one of the meat selling women…I still can’t decide if that’s a compliment or not.

One small thing I forgot to mention was that it started drizzling when we were at the market, which caused us to move the cooking class inside.  This wouldn’t have been a big deal except that instead of cooking on a granite table we cooked on a table with a tablecloth…so when Zuim was cooking up some delicious fried shrimp the tablecloth caught on fire.  But not to worry, he said, he signaled he could out the small (but growing!) fire…what tool was he using?  A PAIR OF CHOPSTICKS!  I’m not kidding…and I have video proof.  Zuim was trying to put out a table fire with a pair of chopsticks…it took some good ole western cajoling to convince him to dump water on it (which was probably not a good idea either because it subsequently caused the fire to spread some more)…and then finally we extinguished it by just balling up the entire tablecloth!  It was quite the hilarious experience that could have ended in utter disaster, but it was certainly memorable!

So the cooking class was great, and it was even better because it led to the following evening’s activity.  I offered to come help out at the restaurant the following night, since they were understaffed and under trained.  In exchange I got a free delicious dinner!  However when I showed up I was told that both reservations for the evening, reservations of 17 and 6, had cancelled.  Since the restaurant just opened and there wasn’t much foot traffic, they weren’t expecting any guests really.  So instead of helping to serve, I helped them train their new and eager staff!  I acted like I was a customer and had them practice their English and serving skills…an experience that made me realize how much I take for granted when it comes to western hospitality skills…these guys were completely clueless, but it was great to help them learn.  After helping them at the restaurant for a few hours, and eating a delicious meal, the 2 managers, the marketing director (with whom I had my cooking class the previous day) and a newly promoted waiter all went out for beers at a local street-bar.  Beers were 4,000 Dong each…that’s $.20 each.  Hands down the cheapest beers I’ve ever had in my life…and they weren’t bad either!
My time in Hanoi and Vietnam overall has been unbelievable.  I would recommend the country to anyone with a desire for adventure, and I would encourage people to head them before more westernizing changes take place.  Vietnam, along with Thailand, have proven to be my favorite countries of my trip so far, and I hope you all get a chance some day to experience it!

more photos and video to come shortly

More to come on Singapore a bit later!

Cheers,
Paul