So another escapade draws to a close. This was quite the 5 weeks. The top 10 about Vietnam (this time that is):
10- Flying from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang then Hanoi (5 days later) for $78
9- Getting to know Hanoi (sort of)
8- The weather
7- The Old Quarter
6- Riding motorbikes ... Junie, Trung, sorem (taxi scooters)
5- Mr. Tuan Anh and Ms. Trang at work
4- The Silver Hotel
3- Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi Ann and ALL the people
2- Junie Vu, Nguyen Duc Trung, Nguyen Bien
1- Sharing the first 2 weeks+ with the Sweet Thing
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Home sweet home
I was up the usual time on Wednesday AM and had one last chat with my ST. I visited with the boys and then Van Anh showed up. We had some pictures, the I found out I would have company for the drive ... what a treat ... a Trung AND a Junie. We winded our way through the streets of Hanoi through the maze of thoroughfares one always encounters on the way to NoiBai airport. The check-in was smooth (exit row) and the plane almost empty. Not long after leaving Hanoi, they handed out immigration forms but I declined as I am not staying in China. Once in Shanghai, I encountered the passport/immmigration counters and freaked since I did not have a form.
Now what? Then I noticed the "Transfer International" sign and confidently headed that way. No such luck ... a handful of airlines had signs there but of course not my beloved Air Canada. Even if there had been an Air Canada sign, the stations were all closed. This was visions on Ganghzou last time I flew through China. I walked around bewildered. A cleaner took sympathy on me and showed me where the staff was who normally work the transfer desk. They were lounging around in a few rooms in the back. A woman came out to assist me. I then got the definitive version of what I should be doing (version 1.2 that is).
Exit row is beauty .. it's one of the newer Airbus machinery with nada for a few hundred metres in front of row 31. Ferenge is pleased. I have passed the time in normal fashion ... Sopranos and Seinfeld. I am not sure what my fascination is with the Sopranos ... it's a series of swearing, yelling, beatings, Dr. Melfi, Bada Bing, not getting along with Carm, and whacking. We left Shanghai 15 minutes early, not the hour late ST suffered through which caused her to miss her connection to Ottawa when she returned. I can't wait to ask her if she had the same experience as I did in Shanghai.
Now what? Then I noticed the "Transfer International" sign and confidently headed that way. No such luck ... a handful of airlines had signs there but of course not my beloved Air Canada. Even if there had been an Air Canada sign, the stations were all closed. This was visions on Ganghzou last time I flew through China. I walked around bewildered. A cleaner took sympathy on me and showed me where the staff was who normally work the transfer desk. They were lounging around in a few rooms in the back. A woman came out to assist me. I then got the definitive version of what I should be doing (version 1.2 that is).
- go through immigration
- pick up my bags
- go see Air Canada to get boarding passes
- Can I give you my Aeroplan number?
- Do you have exit row?
Exit row is beauty .. it's one of the newer Airbus machinery with nada for a few hundred metres in front of row 31. Ferenge is pleased. I have passed the time in normal fashion ... Sopranos and Seinfeld. I am not sure what my fascination is with the Sopranos ... it's a series of swearing, yelling, beatings, Dr. Melfi, Bada Bing, not getting along with Carm, and whacking. We left Shanghai 15 minutes early, not the hour late ST suffered through which caused her to miss her connection to Ottawa when she returned. I can't wait to ask her if she had the same experience as I did in Shanghai.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Last few days
The final few days did not dissapoint. There was a meeting with Mr. Tri Monday at 2, also attended by many familiar faces. We discussed the work I had been doing, the accomplishments and then the remaining challenges. They had a presentation for me at the 2'oclock meeting which was very nice. Mr. Tri thanked me for everything. I was thanked for the contributions I had made by all my hard work, which was appreciated by yours truly.
Monday I was at work later than usual. One of the reports I had written for them ... ooops, they forgot to tell me something that had HUGE impact on what I wrote. The new tidbit of information was delivered and we all realized about 20% of what I had written was now inapplicable. There were a few discussions and plans were made for me to "pick up the pieces" and redo that portion Tuesday AM.
I called Van Anh (Vietnamese for "Junie") cause I knew she was waiting for me at the hotel to head off to Pink Silk for the ST. She suggested we meet and go at 8:30. I got back to the hotel and she showed up shortly thereafter. Pink was closed!!! She suggested trying to find the Vuitton paraphernalia elsewhere. Sounds good to me. She was not optimistic that we would find as good quality anywhere else but agreed to try. Does Van Anh know her stuff or what :). We gave up after visiting four places.
Next stop was a running shoe expedition for Jamie M. He wanted size 45 preferably Nike Air with lots of colour. We found a suitable candidate but she only had 44 after all. I then realized that we would have problems finding anything over 44 ... just like their body type being so petite, Vietnamese mainly have very petite feet (hey that rhymes) too. The same story was received at a few more stores. We did find something good but it was 1,200,000 VND and I was not sure if Jamie wanted to spend $60. Junie and I made plans to go to Pink Silk during my lunch break Tuesday. Junie then dropped me at the hotel. I sat briefly in my office-patio and crashed.
Today I madly worked on the changes to my report and informed Ms. Trang that I was running out somewhere at noon. We met as planned, and picked up two bags for ST ... interesting how the price with and without Junie can differ by almost 35%. I got a brown and a tan bag Junie mentioned ST had seen the tan item and commented how nice it would look an someone a Junie's age (12) so I hope it is OK. I worked until 5'ish then TA and Ms. Trang walked me out of the building.
This evening was dinner with Junie, and like all our outings, it was full of chit-chat and mucho enjoyment. We went to a buffet and ferenge ate too much. I think Junie ate twice her body weight. ST commented what a good eater that little dolly is at her efarewell dinner November 15:).When I returned to the hotel I had my final evening visit with the boys, beer, and peanuts. We watched Singapore beat Mayanmar in the AFF Suzuki cup. We made plans to stay up until 2:45 and watch ManU and Madrid play football (Champions League) but only lasted until 11.
Monday I was at work later than usual. One of the reports I had written for them ... ooops, they forgot to tell me something that had HUGE impact on what I wrote. The new tidbit of information was delivered and we all realized about 20% of what I had written was now inapplicable. There were a few discussions and plans were made for me to "pick up the pieces" and redo that portion Tuesday AM.
I called Van Anh (Vietnamese for "Junie") cause I knew she was waiting for me at the hotel to head off to Pink Silk for the ST. She suggested we meet and go at 8:30. I got back to the hotel and she showed up shortly thereafter. Pink was closed!!! She suggested trying to find the Vuitton paraphernalia elsewhere. Sounds good to me. She was not optimistic that we would find as good quality anywhere else but agreed to try. Does Van Anh know her stuff or what :). We gave up after visiting four places.
Next stop was a running shoe expedition for Jamie M. He wanted size 45 preferably Nike Air with lots of colour. We found a suitable candidate but she only had 44 after all. I then realized that we would have problems finding anything over 44 ... just like their body type being so petite, Vietnamese mainly have very petite feet (hey that rhymes) too. The same story was received at a few more stores. We did find something good but it was 1,200,000 VND and I was not sure if Jamie wanted to spend $60. Junie and I made plans to go to Pink Silk during my lunch break Tuesday. Junie then dropped me at the hotel. I sat briefly in my office-patio and crashed.
Today I madly worked on the changes to my report and informed Ms. Trang that I was running out somewhere at noon. We met as planned, and picked up two bags for ST ... interesting how the price with and without Junie can differ by almost 35%. I got a brown and a tan bag Junie mentioned ST had seen the tan item and commented how nice it would look an someone a Junie's age (12) so I hope it is OK. I worked until 5'ish then TA and Ms. Trang walked me out of the building.
This evening was dinner with Junie, and like all our outings, it was full of chit-chat and mucho enjoyment. We went to a buffet and ferenge ate too much. I think Junie ate twice her body weight. ST commented what a good eater that little dolly is at her efarewell dinner November 15:).When I returned to the hotel I had my final evening visit with the boys, beer, and peanuts. We watched Singapore beat Mayanmar in the AFF Suzuki cup. We made plans to stay up until 2:45 and watch ManU and Madrid play football (Champions League) but only lasted until 11.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
No, I was honoured
The trip to Trung's home town began early. We left the Silver at 7:50 and cabbed it to the bus station. That in itself was a treat. Even though I have spent 9 weeks total in Vietnam, every day is still an adventure. We missed the VIP bus that was pulling away as we walked towards the bus station. The bus was very nice and it was difficult to hear anything over the constant blaring of the horn. I still have not discovered why these people have to bleep so much; the time they may lose following someone "slow" for a few minutes is more than made up as congestion subsides.
The trip took about 2.5 hours for a mere 50,000 VND each. We winded our way through very populated countryside. The terrain looked vaguely familiar then Trung reminded me this was the route we followed for 60% of our trip to Halong Bay. The bus stopped every 20 metres to pick up and discharge clientele. The road to Hai Phong and Halong Bay finally split and about 20 minutes later the thick of the city appeared. Just like every other voyage I have had in Vietnam, Hai Phong is a bustling metropolis in the midst of 6,000,000 small towns along the way. It is the 4th largest in Vietnam after HCMC, Hanoi and Da Nang. We hopped another bus for the 20 minute trek to the end of Hai Phong where the family lives. That was a much busier ride since the bus was urban rather than trans city.
We embarked from the bus and walked for about 10 minutes, arriving at Chez Trung. The house fronts on a not very busy road. I met the little sister, grandma, grandpa, the wife, and naturally the niece who is 1 and the princess who is 0. If I were not such a Carlin fan, I would say the niece is 18 months and the baby 3 months. George insisted that babies are only N years old ... there's nothing measured in months, thank-you very much. Then the festivities started. The food arrived and arrived and arrived ... it was a lovely seafood hot pot with yummy mackerel, squid, and shrimp chased with boiled greens. I stuffed myself. Trung told me how much his Mother likes to cook and I said that was good 'cause i really like to eat :).
The baby let me hold her but after a few minutes she freaked when she noticed who was holding her. We visited for some time after lunch then Trung and I departed on his Yamaha for a hotel hunt. We stopped at a monument in Ho Chi Minh bay on the Red Sea. The unknown boats would depart from here during the war probably to wreak havoc on the south. We went to the casino resort hotel that had actually 0 guests but the front desk lady insisted on 98++ anyways. We headed back a bit and just before the road pulls away from the sea, I grabbed a room for 40++ which is more my speed. Trung will pick me up here at 4 and to will go into the city. He mentioned how honored his family is to have the foreigner ever in their house ... I am the one who should be and is honoured. More to come ...
So I parked myself by the street where the driveway to the hotel starts and had a beer and a nap waiting for Trung. It was cool and just across the street from the Red Sea. The tide was on the way in; it's quite a distance here between low and high tide. I was picked up at 4 and the trek to Hai Phong began. It was about 25 km into the heart of the city where we were headed. I have never done that much traveling on the back of a 150cc Yamaha and it was long (and sore you know where). With time we started to travel through more urban landscape and the bikes got denser as did the people. We stopped at a pagoda for a bit then drove around the city for more than an hour.
We saw the opera house, as well as just about anything else one would want to see on a quick jaunt through Hai Phong. Just like Hanoi, it was motorbike everywhere. The streets of course in the old city were very narrow and only a handful of bikes could fit side by each. I guess the national unit of measurement in Vietnam is the MBW ... motor bike width. The street I live on is a good 35 mbw as are most large streets.
We grabbed a few beers at a street bar and it was Bia Hoi, a very nice draft and close relative of Bia Hanoi. We chowed down on some calamari sticks while downing the ales. The streets were very busy and we enjoyed watching the pulse of Hai Phong unfold before our eyes. Trung asked if I was hungry; I said "sort of" and he asked if I wanted to go to a well known street vendor for pho. Sure why not. They were closed or had gone out of business. Trung got some advice from a local and we stopped for pho at a joint right in front of the Catholic church just as we were told. The proprietor at the beer place and the lady at the noodle place had never had a foreigner in their establishments before. I was honoured.
Trung dropped me at the hotel abut 8, I watched some TV, tried to use the interNOT (did not go well), then crashed. The few times I was up to you know what, I loved hearing the sounds of the waves lapping onto the shore of the Red Sea across the street. I checked out and tried to use my Visa ... sorry, no visa before 7AM! No problem, I gave them 800,000 VND and just asked for a receipt. Sorry, no receipts before 7AM. We went to Trung's house for a lovely pho breakfast. They were already into the beer, and I was told you are supposed to drink at any time you want, no need to wait for late morning as I am used to. I gave them the gifts that I had picked up and they were a big hit.
We were in the cab by 7:30 and got to the train station with lots of time to spare. The plaza was a zoo; there was so much acitity. I could have sat there all day and just watched the show, People come, people go, on the most interesting transportation contraptions one could dream of. There was even a "Free Use WC" for my enjoyment. My ST would be proud of me using the WC just before we climb on the train. Trung did it perfectly ... we had a huge window right beside us. Not so fast ... just before the train leaves we get kicked ahead a row into our proper seats. I slept a third of the way and Trung almost all the way. His little monkey (a.k.a. sleep depriving apparatus) was up a lot overnight. The ride was 2.5 hours as promised on a train that was very crowded. We were in first class which included a nice sort-of-clean car. We headed back to Silver upon arrival.
I showered and headed off to the old quarter. I stopped at Pink Silk to check on the official Vitton purses ST wants and the proprietor wanted $100USD each. I called Dr. Vu who said we would go back tomorrow together. I walked, bought Ben some DVDs and looked for the shoe sector for my trainer. I did not find so I will ask Dr. Vu minyana if we can stop when we go to Pink Silk. I worked a wee bit this afternoon when I got back and am now watching AFF with Trung and Bien. Singapore and Mayanmae are on now then the main event is Vietnam and Phillipines at 7:30.
Two more days at the office then homeward bound Wednesday at 10:30AM.
The trip took about 2.5 hours for a mere 50,000 VND each. We winded our way through very populated countryside. The terrain looked vaguely familiar then Trung reminded me this was the route we followed for 60% of our trip to Halong Bay. The bus stopped every 20 metres to pick up and discharge clientele. The road to Hai Phong and Halong Bay finally split and about 20 minutes later the thick of the city appeared. Just like every other voyage I have had in Vietnam, Hai Phong is a bustling metropolis in the midst of 6,000,000 small towns along the way. It is the 4th largest in Vietnam after HCMC, Hanoi and Da Nang. We hopped another bus for the 20 minute trek to the end of Hai Phong where the family lives. That was a much busier ride since the bus was urban rather than trans city.
We embarked from the bus and walked for about 10 minutes, arriving at Chez Trung. The house fronts on a not very busy road. I met the little sister, grandma, grandpa, the wife, and naturally the niece who is 1 and the princess who is 0. If I were not such a Carlin fan, I would say the niece is 18 months and the baby 3 months. George insisted that babies are only N years old ... there's nothing measured in months, thank-you very much. Then the festivities started. The food arrived and arrived and arrived ... it was a lovely seafood hot pot with yummy mackerel, squid, and shrimp chased with boiled greens. I stuffed myself. Trung told me how much his Mother likes to cook and I said that was good 'cause i really like to eat :).
The baby let me hold her but after a few minutes she freaked when she noticed who was holding her. We visited for some time after lunch then Trung and I departed on his Yamaha for a hotel hunt. We stopped at a monument in Ho Chi Minh bay on the Red Sea. The unknown boats would depart from here during the war probably to wreak havoc on the south. We went to the casino resort hotel that had actually 0 guests but the front desk lady insisted on 98++ anyways. We headed back a bit and just before the road pulls away from the sea, I grabbed a room for 40++ which is more my speed. Trung will pick me up here at 4 and to will go into the city. He mentioned how honored his family is to have the foreigner ever in their house ... I am the one who should be and is honoured. More to come ...
So I parked myself by the street where the driveway to the hotel starts and had a beer and a nap waiting for Trung. It was cool and just across the street from the Red Sea. The tide was on the way in; it's quite a distance here between low and high tide. I was picked up at 4 and the trek to Hai Phong began. It was about 25 km into the heart of the city where we were headed. I have never done that much traveling on the back of a 150cc Yamaha and it was long (and sore you know where). With time we started to travel through more urban landscape and the bikes got denser as did the people. We stopped at a pagoda for a bit then drove around the city for more than an hour.
We saw the opera house, as well as just about anything else one would want to see on a quick jaunt through Hai Phong. Just like Hanoi, it was motorbike everywhere. The streets of course in the old city were very narrow and only a handful of bikes could fit side by each. I guess the national unit of measurement in Vietnam is the MBW ... motor bike width. The street I live on is a good 35 mbw as are most large streets.
We grabbed a few beers at a street bar and it was Bia Hoi, a very nice draft and close relative of Bia Hanoi. We chowed down on some calamari sticks while downing the ales. The streets were very busy and we enjoyed watching the pulse of Hai Phong unfold before our eyes. Trung asked if I was hungry; I said "sort of" and he asked if I wanted to go to a well known street vendor for pho. Sure why not. They were closed or had gone out of business. Trung got some advice from a local and we stopped for pho at a joint right in front of the Catholic church just as we were told. The proprietor at the beer place and the lady at the noodle place had never had a foreigner in their establishments before. I was honoured.
Trung dropped me at the hotel abut 8, I watched some TV, tried to use the interNOT (did not go well), then crashed. The few times I was up to you know what, I loved hearing the sounds of the waves lapping onto the shore of the Red Sea across the street. I checked out and tried to use my Visa ... sorry, no visa before 7AM! No problem, I gave them 800,000 VND and just asked for a receipt. Sorry, no receipts before 7AM. We went to Trung's house for a lovely pho breakfast. They were already into the beer, and I was told you are supposed to drink at any time you want, no need to wait for late morning as I am used to. I gave them the gifts that I had picked up and they were a big hit.
We were in the cab by 7:30 and got to the train station with lots of time to spare. The plaza was a zoo; there was so much acitity. I could have sat there all day and just watched the show, People come, people go, on the most interesting transportation contraptions one could dream of. There was even a "Free Use WC" for my enjoyment. My ST would be proud of me using the WC just before we climb on the train. Trung did it perfectly ... we had a huge window right beside us. Not so fast ... just before the train leaves we get kicked ahead a row into our proper seats. I slept a third of the way and Trung almost all the way. His little monkey (a.k.a. sleep depriving apparatus) was up a lot overnight. The ride was 2.5 hours as promised on a train that was very crowded. We were in first class which included a nice sort-of-clean car. We headed back to Silver upon arrival.
I showered and headed off to the old quarter. I stopped at Pink Silk to check on the official Vitton purses ST wants and the proprietor wanted $100USD each. I called Dr. Vu who said we would go back tomorrow together. I walked, bought Ben some DVDs and looked for the shoe sector for my trainer. I did not find so I will ask Dr. Vu minyana if we can stop when we go to Pink Silk. I worked a wee bit this afternoon when I got back and am now watching AFF with Trung and Bien. Singapore and Mayanmae are on now then the main event is Vietnam and Phillipines at 7:30.
Two more days at the office then homeward bound Wednesday at 10:30AM.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Winding down
My last 5 days in a whirlwind tour of Vietnam that started a way back when on October 31 when ST and I flew to Ho Chi Minh City. It seems like so long ago. I find that most of the time ... looking back on stuff that happened a mere 5 weeks ago seems like so long. I had dinner with Junie on Wednesday evening. We headed the opposite way from the hotel than I am used to going. We ventured down a small street and parked. There was a choice of three lovely-looking spots and she told me to choose one.
Dinner was great then back to the hotel. I spent time again in my office and watched some Sopranos. Thursday at the office was a day at the office. Mr. Tuan Anh, Ms. Trang, and Mr. Minh/Hanh went for lunch. Ms. Trang mentioned we would leave early (11) since this was a very popular spot. I told her about one I have been to near the Hanoi Towers that also gets very busy. I could not explain to her well enough exactly where it was. I said I headed down the street at the back of the office, veered right as I approached Hai Ba Trung, but instead of turning, went straight and the place was at the first corner on the right. So we headed down the street at the back of the office, veered right as we approached Hai Ba Trung, but instead of turning, went straight and stopped at a place at the first corner on the right. What a small town :). Lunch was traditional and I did find lots to eat.
I did nada Thursday after work, ordering take away delivery from AlFrescos. Bien and I watched Vietnam and Mayanmar play football at 7:30. Vietnam was too strong, and it ended up 7-1 in their favour. I walked for quite some time at lunch today, and ended up in some familiar but strange territory north and a bit east of the office. Weekend plans are probably Ho Chi Minh tomb in AM with Van Anh Vu and shopping. I am looking for DVDs of the following persuasion:
- Weeds (never heard of that)
- Big Love
- One Nut House (everyone else calls it One Tree Hill)
- Planet Earth
- Blue Planet
- Seinfeld Complete
for the little ones. I chatted with the manager at I Love Friday over lunch today. She told me her theory on the difference between westernized and real Vietnamese food ... in the west they add sugar and salt so we will like it. Interesting take! I guess if we did not eat so much, especially with less sweetener and NaCl, we would be in a lot better shape as a whole.
Dinner was great then back to the hotel. I spent time again in my office and watched some Sopranos. Thursday at the office was a day at the office. Mr. Tuan Anh, Ms. Trang, and Mr. Minh/Hanh went for lunch. Ms. Trang mentioned we would leave early (11) since this was a very popular spot. I told her about one I have been to near the Hanoi Towers that also gets very busy. I could not explain to her well enough exactly where it was. I said I headed down the street at the back of the office, veered right as I approached Hai Ba Trung, but instead of turning, went straight and the place was at the first corner on the right. So we headed down the street at the back of the office, veered right as we approached Hai Ba Trung, but instead of turning, went straight and stopped at a place at the first corner on the right. What a small town :). Lunch was traditional and I did find lots to eat.
I did nada Thursday after work, ordering take away delivery from AlFrescos. Bien and I watched Vietnam and Mayanmar play football at 7:30. Vietnam was too strong, and it ended up 7-1 in their favour. I walked for quite some time at lunch today, and ended up in some familiar but strange territory north and a bit east of the office. Weekend plans are probably Ho Chi Minh tomb in AM with Van Anh Vu and shopping. I am looking for DVDs of the following persuasion:
- Weeds (never heard of that)
- Big Love
- One Nut House (everyone else calls it One Tree Hill)
- Planet Earth
- Blue Planet
- Seinfeld Complete
for the little ones. I chatted with the manager at I Love Friday over lunch today. She told me her theory on the difference between westernized and real Vietnamese food ... in the west they add sugar and salt so we will like it. Interesting take! I guess if we did not eat so much, especially with less sweetener and NaCl, we would be in a lot better shape as a whole.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A new experience
I split from the office last night a little later than usual as I was rushing to finish some diagrams for one of my deliverables. I got back to the Silver, changed, and camped out in my office (the table and chairs on the patio out front). At some time a bit later, the boys (Bien and Truong) appeared and we sipped Bia Hanoi and munched on peanuts for a while. A woman named Rose showed up then another lady named Qunyh. Rose was kind enough to invite me to join them for dinner. We ended up around the corner at a local traditional spot I had been to once with Junie and once on my own. Then the extravaganza began.
I appreciated their dragging me along, but finally found out first hand the huge difference between westernized-Vietnamese food and the real McCoy. I passed on the dish that contained pig stomach and found some of the other fare "interesting". Rose ordered some Hue noddle soup which sounded like a plan to me, so I followed. Some garnish for the soup arrived and it looked like some form of noodles. I found out, after putting some in my soup and downing the first mouthful, that they were actually banana skins. That's what they tasted like banana skins and not noodles :). There was a jelly salad (also "interesting") and some weird tasting spices in my soup of which I downed about half (well maybe a third or a quarter).
This experience reminded me, interestingly enough, about my last meal on my own at this restaurant. The first few things I ordered the server talked me out of. She somehow managed to tell me that they were very strong and I would not like them. That must have been the nature of some of the food I tried to consume when there with the boys and the two ladies. Did you know that what we think is Vietnamese food is really a toned down version for the North American market :).
Point taken ... the company was GREAT, the food ...
I appreciated their dragging me along, but finally found out first hand the huge difference between westernized-Vietnamese food and the real McCoy. I passed on the dish that contained pig stomach and found some of the other fare "interesting". Rose ordered some Hue noddle soup which sounded like a plan to me, so I followed. Some garnish for the soup arrived and it looked like some form of noodles. I found out, after putting some in my soup and downing the first mouthful, that they were actually banana skins. That's what they tasted like banana skins and not noodles :). There was a jelly salad (also "interesting") and some weird tasting spices in my soup of which I downed about half (well maybe a third or a quarter).
This experience reminded me, interestingly enough, about my last meal on my own at this restaurant. The first few things I ordered the server talked me out of. She somehow managed to tell me that they were very strong and I would not like them. That must have been the nature of some of the food I tried to consume when there with the boys and the two ladies. Did you know that what we think is Vietnamese food is really a toned down version for the North American market :).
Point taken ... the company was GREAT, the food ...
Monday, November 29, 2010
When in Vietnam
The balance of that adage ... "do as the Sweet Thing does". There is just too much going on here, I need to do what she did ... buy another bag and check two instead of one on the way home next week. I bought some stuff for the younger generation but will buy some more. I went for steak again around the corner to a joint I noticed during one of my walks. It was OK, not remarkable, and another place to add to my list of establishments I will go to once.
On the way home, I stopped and got some ice cream. I bought two cups and gave one to the front desk attendant. They always get up when someone walks in and I always motion them to sit down. The ladies behind the ice cream display case just giggled, and each time one of their eyes met mine, they would quickly turn their heads towards one another and break into mucho-giggling. There is a lot of that around Hanoi when they feast their eyes upon foreigner-type like yours truly.
On the way home, I stopped and got some ice cream. I bought two cups and gave one to the front desk attendant. They always get up when someone walks in and I always motion them to sit down. The ladies behind the ice cream display case just giggled, and each time one of their eyes met mine, they would quickly turn their heads towards one another and break into mucho-giggling. There is a lot of that around Hanoi when they feast their eyes upon foreigner-type like yours truly.
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