Wednesday, December 22, 2010

balestier walkies in hanoi




our 5-day trip to hanoi was conceived not long after our first overseas trip to melbourne. it was not possible to have a longer trip because although the former teachers in the group have all retired, the former students are still working. other than the city tour on the second day and the halong bay trip on the third, we were very much on our own. part of the city tour included an hour long segment when we were taken on a very interesting cyclo ride around the old quarters of hanoi. our accommodation was at the fraser suites, one set up by singapore's fraser and neave.




judging from all the happy faces of our tour participants, you can be sure that there will be more follow-up trips. our next trip is either to guangzhou in china or kuching in sarawak. our visit to the temple of literature coincided with a visit by a group of vietnamese male and female undergraduates who were there to pray for success in their university exam. the young girls were very obliging when approached by the men in our group to take pictures with them in their ao dai.

the men were not the only ones happily snapping away; the ladies also wanted to be in the thick of the action. we all took photographs at the various tourist attractions - ho chi minh's mausoleum, ho chi minh's stilt house, one pillar pagoda, tran quoc pagoda, quan thanh taoist temple and even at the water puppet theatre. the unique water puppet performance was quite interesting.


typical of singaporeans, we sought out the best local food. when we arrived on 4 december, our first vietnamese meal was room service style. the general manager of fraser suites arranged for lunch to be served in our duplex. that night we had local cuisine at a high-end restaurant called the ly. the next day, we had a very satisfying lunch at another vietnamese restaurant called wild rice.

on our 'free day' we went to buy dvd and vcd at one of the shops near the hoam kiem lake in the old quarters of hanoi. we also strolled along 'hang gai' (street of silk) where the ladies bought lots of silk clothing and embroidered materials.

in hanoi, vietnam we were literally millionaires (in dong). a japanese meal we had cost us about 3 million dong. the smallest unit in the vietnamese currency is 500 dong. i do not think there is any vietnamese coin. in singapore, the best exchange rate we could get was $1 to 14 800 dong; in hanoi, we managed to get $1 to 16 300 dong.

from friends who have been to vietnam, we heard about dog meat (thit cho) being sold on the streets. however, although we visited two markets and explored the old quarters, we did not come across any stall or shop selling dog meat.

playing chinese chess seems to be a favourite pastime among the man folks of hanoi. one of our group members, a chinese chess aficionado, was so tempted to play a game with the locals by the roadside.

of course, we were on the lookout for snatch thieves and pick pockets after being warned by well-meaning friends who have visited vietnam or who have heard of incidences of such petty thefts. the ladies had to secure their handbags while riding in the cyclos and the men made sure their wallets were inconspicuous at all times.

17 comments:

nah said...

Ya, we had a 'funtastic' time in 'Ah Noi'.
These sweet, young 'Ah Noi'... those at the Temple of Literature, were all so tall and slim, that the men were all enticed to have a shot with them.

yg said...

ya, lor. so 'funtastic' that people started to fantasize.

peter said...

photo 2 - has good looks and chamring too.

yg said...

peter, we saw svelte looking vietnamese women only. we tried very hard to look for well-fed, prosperous looking women but couldn't find any.

peter said...

aiyah, these beauties u see is the outcome of the Vietnam War (a result of being too vegetarian). If u can find me a thick one, I join u next time in Hanoi. Their waist is as small as 22".

yg said...

peter, i thought they could be found at joo chiat?

fr said...

joo chiat one not as good as the one in your photo with the handsome man

peter said...

Joo Chiat? Have u heard you can take a girl out of a bar but you can't take the bar out of her?

Judging by her charm, I bet she's very accomodating and any MIL will be proud to have. Did you find she's a graduate of a university? May graduates double-up as tourist guide/interpretors because of their command of English and French.

yg said...

fr, these university undergraduates are not street-wise and 'corrupted' like those at joo chiat. this girl was not the only pretty one; there were a few others.

yg said...

peter, isn't that what they say of bar girls in the land of smiles (thailand)? i think it is true with bar girls everywhere.

peter said...

Back in the 80s when I did business in Vietnam, I asked my pretty Hanoi guide (somehow Hanoi girls are better looking n have good complexion over the Saigon girls), how come u still study in the university when u are already 24 yrs of age? She told me in Vietnam university study is 6 years for a general degree. So by the time they reach 25 very difficult to find husband bcos i) Viet guys not so eductaed like the Viet girls, and 2) Viet fmailies want young brides not someone cross 25 yrs already.

So I give clue already. If u want to marry Viet bride, dont believe in match-making agents. They off not so educated and <23 yrs of age.

BTW YG your group did not patronise "No Hands Restaurant"?

yg said...

peter, are you getting the 2 places - bangkok and hanoi - mixed up. the famous (or infamous) no hands restaurant is in bangkok, not hanoi. we went to hanoi.

peter said...

that means u miss out something (not infamous btw) being fed by the prettiest with the best vietnamese cuisine....like what the romnas do in ancien times....

yg said...

peter, that means got reason to make another visit to hanoi...to try the best vietnamese cuisine.

the bangkok's 'no hands restaurant' is one where the girl feeds you, undresses you (and herself, of course) and then you end up doing it with her on the dining table.

Anonymous said...

I need to look for Opium in Vietnam when I visit there. Anyone know how to? I am a researcher, I wish to study the Opium and drug culture there. Please don't be mistaken. Anyone can help?

Anonymous said...

YG, would you mind sending me the larger version of the photo with the girl in ao dai? It's very beautiful. And she resembles a lost friend in Vietnam.

Please reply at:
cityhall@mail.org

Thanks.

yg said...

hi anonymous, sorry, i cannot help in this area.