Last day in Asia!
Trip Start
May 31, 2012
1
18
Trip End
Jul 01, 2012
Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Vietnam
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Went to a new club called Fuse with Twee and her cousin, Leo. The club was filled with rich young Viets and a couple businessmen and expats. We got a bottle of Belvedere and it cost pretty much the same as it would at a club at home - crazy prices by Vietnamese standards. Have to say though that bottle service in Vietnam is 100x better than it is at home. We had several dedicated servers making us drinks, unwrapping napkins, even lighting your cigarette haha. Love also how they give you a big fruit platter with your drinks here. The music was pretty good and we were having a great time until the lights came on and the music abruptly stopped at midnight. They apparently start and end early in Hanoi - ppl go out at 9 and places close at midnight. Twee and I were like thats it?? because we still wanted to dance haha but we left and had pho - just like at home :).
The next day I went with Twee and her grandparents to eat bun cha at lunch. Bun cha is by far my favorite Vietnamese thing to eat and it's a Hanoi speciality. Most restaurants in Toronto don't have it and we make it at home sometimes but it's nowhere near as good. Basically it's a fatty pork / bacon like thing and mini ground pork patties that have been bbq'ed over charcoal so the flavour of the meat is smoky and delicious. You eat it with vermicelli, herbs and lettuce, pickled vegetables, and the ever present nuoc chum or fish sauce that Viet people eat everything with. So so good - I could have eaten this everyday.
Had some cafe sua da after - iced coffee with condensed milk. Vietnamese coffee is delicious - the flavour is very robust and intense and Vietnam is one of the biggest exporters of coffee in the world. Twee and i went shopping after and picked up some gifts - Omai: dried apricots that come sweet, sour, spicy or pickled and Cafe Chon: Vietnamese weasel coffee. Hehe not gonna describe what the process of the latter is as its pretty gross but the coffee it produces is amazing and the most expensive kind here. I bought a kilo to bring back and it cost $40! Not sure if we got ripped off or not as we tried to speak Viet and bargain, but Twee and I kept getting taken for foreigners everywhere haha. We're the only Viet girls with exposed skin during the daytime hours and I'm darker now than most of the girls here. Twee's Viet is better than mine but i think our accents give us away. I can understand pretty well but my vocabulary is pretty limited. I also suck at using the proper terms of address so I probably sound really rude most of the time. Vietnamese has a ton of different ways to say "I" and "you" depending on how old you are compared to the person, if they're male or female, and how old they are in relation to your parents. Its worse than French and very confusing! I've been getting told my Viet is great though haha
Went to go visit my family after and my aunt and I went for some oc (snails) dipped in this amazing fish sauce with chilis, herbs, lemongrass and garlic. I took a pic to send my mom and she replied that's her number 1 favourite thing to eat in the world. At night i went with Twee's family for a seafood dinner and ice
cream. Everything they ordered was deep fried - the shrimp, calamari, even the corn haha. Babe, you would have died. And clearly all I've really done in Hanoi is eat :).
One thing that's pretty funny is that I keep hearing from everyone here that I'm "much cuter in person." I've heard it from at least 10 different people here. Apparently I'm not photogenic at all in pictures. I was like er thanks? Haha kind of a weird comment but Vietnamese people are brutal in their honesty and completely lack tact. And I suppose it's better than being told I'm uglier in real life :p. I've also gotten a billion "you're so dark" comments - disparagingly from Asians and enviously from White people (and Twee haha). I'm pretty Western in my perception if beauty though as I quite like my tanned skin and wouldn't want to be pasty white if it meant riding around sweltering in 40 degree heat in long sleeves and masks. It all stems back to an Asian class system though that associates dark skin with poorer people who once had to toil away in the fields. I personally think dark skin looks healthier but that's Asia for you and their multi-billion dollar skin whitening industry.
Today is my last day here as my aunt has been taking me around. We went to have bun rieu, crab and tomato noodle soup, which is my fave noodle soup of all. It tastes different here (less meat!) but the broth was delicious and they add fried onions which added great texture. Checked out the Women's Museum after which was pretty cool as it's a whole museum dedicated to the fascinating culture and history Vietnamese women have. I found the section on women's military efforts especially interesting as it detailed a lot of the militant action Vietnamese women have partaken in. And with the 20th century pretty much completely steeped in war, there were some pretty amazing stories! My aunt was totally bored though which is why I had originally just told her to drop me off there. I prefer going to museums myself because I know most people tend to get bored by them and I like taking my time with exhibits. So i hurried through and we had bun cha again for lunch - not a bad consolation :). I'm trying to see if my stomach can fit in one last bowl of pho before dinner haha but I'm not sure if even I can eat that much. Going to have a last dinner with my family then head to the airport tonight for my flight back on Korea Airlines to Toronto via a 5 hr stopover in Seoul. Hehe I'm going to Korea without you babe :p.
My time in Hanoi was definitely way too short but it's been great visiting everyone again and seeing what a vibrant and lovely city Hanoi has become! I definitely want to come back in the next couple years and babe, they all said to bring you back too :).
Thanks for all of you that have been reading my ramblings! I'm going to post one last reflection entry when I'm back. See you all very soon!
xo Lily
Comments
is co huong's sister really her twin? they look so much alike!
i bought weasel the first time i bought coffee from vietnam because co nga and/or the merchant said it as the best. i didn't realize it's THAT stuff (aka poop!). i don't remember paying that crazy price for it though (co nga helped me.. you should have gone with her!). mom also paid a crazy price for the stuff she brought back, so i bet you guys got ripped off unless the price ha really gone up by that much! also, you should have bought them as whole beans and grind them yourself at home as it stays fresher for longer that way.
that bun rieu looks very untomato-y!
the reason bun cha we make at home prob doesn't taste as good is cuz our fam uses a propane bbq now.. it doesn't have the charcoal stuff, or am i wrong?
you may also be happy to know we are having a bbq (aka bun cha) for gramp's bday on monday evening.
Hels, the lady had 5 different weasel types named weasel 1-5 and chon was above it... the dif. is that i bought the pure one whereas the others are mixed to varying degrees to get a cheaper price
I thought about going with Co Nga but I just decided to get it cuz i tried it in the store and liked the taste of it. Also figured Co Nga would steer me cheaper haha. Bought it grinded already cuz I was lazy but she packaged it in smaller 100g packages to keep fresher
And ya, it's cuz of the lack of charcoal. Think the herbs are not as good here too. And yay bun cha!!
where's that final reflection entry??