Vietnam has been a great experience, the last couple of weeks have been filled with great excitement, a near miss or two and the obligatory Asian travel belly. This is the land of motorbikes, humidity, pungent odors, diverse gastronomic adventures and an amazing density of people. Hanoi has both reinforced all the stereotypes of Asia on one street whilst around the next corner they have been blown apart.
I was greeted in Hanoi by a baptism of colour light and energy arriving on the day of the mid-autumn festival, held for children no less, the second biggest festival of the year. The Friday night was amazing and Kathryn and I realized we are both big kids at heart as we reveled in all that was new, bright and shiny.
The first weekend was about finding my bearings so no better way than pounding the pavement for hour on end as most of the Vietnamese looked on bemused as to why we weren’t catching a xe om (moto-taxi). As anyone who has visited Hanoi will know the traffic is chaotic at best as I experienced first hand getting collected by the footpeg of a motorbike as it sped through the red light, I escaped with nothing more than few bruises and a little dented pride and perhaps a bit more caution on the road, but I now think I have my technique sorted out.
Food has proved a highlight thus far with great food ranging from fine French Cuisine at the Green Tangerine or Café Cyclo to a few of the street stalls which I am starting to approach with growing confidence, haven’t actually cooked at home yet which is bizarre but make sense given the price of food eating out. Pho Bo is a great start to the day and it proved a staple for the first week. I managed to eat something that didn’t quite agree with me, but I am still here and now figure that I have some of the bacteria and antibodies ready and waiting for next time so bring it on…….
I moved into an apartment late last week I am living with another Aussie, Kathryn who has come over as part of the same program, it’s a quite cute 2 bedroom place in an apartment block full of Vietnamese nationals so we are making friends slowly through hand gestures and lots of smiles. Kathryn is in Hanoi on the same program as me working in marketing for a rural development group and has proved to be a great travel companion as we both find our way in Hanoi. I have come to know the shop keeper at the bottom of the building quite well, she speaks about as much English as I do Vietnamese but we have I have established she sells cold half liter bottles of beer for about 50c so I can see us getting to know each other well.
Vietnamese seem to enjoy a beer even more, dare I say than the average aussie bloke, and much of the male culture is centered around Bia Hoi. All can say is ..When in Hanoi…
Wow feels like I have been here for a month not a fortnight, good luck if you have made it to the end clearly you must be at work now! I will try and get some pics up on the web asap. I’ll give you an update on work (yes I have done some), work lunches (there have been plenty) and partying Baracuda style soon.
I was greeted in Hanoi by a baptism of colour light and energy arriving on the day of the mid-autumn festival, held for children no less, the second biggest festival of the year. The Friday night was amazing and Kathryn and I realized we are both big kids at heart as we reveled in all that was new, bright and shiny.
The first weekend was about finding my bearings so no better way than pounding the pavement for hour on end as most of the Vietnamese looked on bemused as to why we weren’t catching a xe om (moto-taxi). As anyone who has visited Hanoi will know the traffic is chaotic at best as I experienced first hand getting collected by the footpeg of a motorbike as it sped through the red light, I escaped with nothing more than few bruises and a little dented pride and perhaps a bit more caution on the road, but I now think I have my technique sorted out.
Food has proved a highlight thus far with great food ranging from fine French Cuisine at the Green Tangerine or Café Cyclo to a few of the street stalls which I am starting to approach with growing confidence, haven’t actually cooked at home yet which is bizarre but make sense given the price of food eating out. Pho Bo is a great start to the day and it proved a staple for the first week. I managed to eat something that didn’t quite agree with me, but I am still here and now figure that I have some of the bacteria and antibodies ready and waiting for next time so bring it on…….
I moved into an apartment late last week I am living with another Aussie, Kathryn who has come over as part of the same program, it’s a quite cute 2 bedroom place in an apartment block full of Vietnamese nationals so we are making friends slowly through hand gestures and lots of smiles. Kathryn is in Hanoi on the same program as me working in marketing for a rural development group and has proved to be a great travel companion as we both find our way in Hanoi. I have come to know the shop keeper at the bottom of the building quite well, she speaks about as much English as I do Vietnamese but we have I have established she sells cold half liter bottles of beer for about 50c so I can see us getting to know each other well.
Vietnamese seem to enjoy a beer even more, dare I say than the average aussie bloke, and much of the male culture is centered around Bia Hoi. All can say is ..When in Hanoi…Wow feels like I have been here for a month not a fortnight, good luck if you have made it to the end clearly you must be at work now! I will try and get some pics up on the web asap. I’ll give you an update on work (yes I have done some), work lunches (there have been plenty) and partying Baracuda style soon.
