Lessons Learned in Hanoi

Jerilyn Hirsch was brilliant in bringing me here to Hanoi for a few days before going to Ho Chi Minh City to visit the school. This way, I get to try out international travel, equipment and supplies before I have to put the tire to the road. She knew she was traveling with a newbie.

So, here are some lessons learned:

It's cold in Hanoi: Thanks to Rodney Hiel for the heads up I threw in a pair of long underwear a fleece muff and gloves. The long underwear has been glued to my body since I got here. The locals are wearing their winter coats all day long, and yesterday while rowing down the Perfume River all that gear came in very handy. The funniest thing has been this snuggy. Jerri told me that I might not score a blanket on the International flight, so last minute I packed a snuggy that we got as a gift from Wells Fargo for opening an account. It's the perfect full length airplane blanket (with arms to read books etc) and, it has become my blanket here in Hanoi. I have it under this little quilt. My room has a kingsized bed with sheets and a twin bed quilt over part of it. Seeing that arrangement and the window near the bed, I have opted for the single bed in the corner. The covers fit the bed, and for the most part it is quite cozy.

Motor Scooter Driving: They tell me that the traffic is worse in Ho Chi Minh City but it is hard to believe that could be true. I feel like the grandmother in Mulan who holds the cricket, closes her eyes and just walks across the street. The narrow streets are packet with zooming vehicles of all sorts; mostly motor scooters. However, there are buses, trucks, bikes, rickshaws and they are all zooming around. No streetlights or stop signs. If you want to cross, you just figure out how to do it. It's like living in a video game.

Hanoi streets: The old city where we are staying is organized by type of merchandise sold on the street, a clever urban planning design from centuries ago that is still used today. The streets are also named accordingly so it is true that on hardware street there is indeed hardware. The streets are about 16 feet wide at the most, the sidewalks are packed with parked motor scooters, and the venders are sitting on the sidewalks cooking food, conducting business, chopping chickens, bending tin, welding or just about anything else. So, you walk along the "side" of the street. It's a wonderful and very noisy cacophone of sounds, sights and smells. I can't describe it!

Hanoi of Today: My image of Hanoi was never like this. Long Vo says that Vietnam is positioning itself to become the lead developing country by 2020 and I don't doubt it! Move over New York City, this one is a lot busier! The juxtapositioning of communism and capitalism is mindboggling. Merchants are everywhere and people seem very busy all the time. This is definitely a city on the move up; you can feel it. As a result, there are many tourists here and people passing through on their way into and out of other Asian cities. Our hotel, Golden Wings II is a bit more like a hostel than a hotel. It's relatively inexpensive (about $30 dollars a day) with private rooms with bathrooms, hotel water, breakfast and very accommodating and knowledgeable staff. You might want to check this out.

Walking through the Alleys: One of the tour books said for the true Hanoi experience walk through the alleys. What crazy advice. Would I have done this at all before coming here? Not on your life, I barely do that at home. However, the advise is true, the walk is safe, and this has led us to some very fun experiences. Following a comment in the Lonely Planet Hanoi guide, we found an unmarked cafe where you walk through a silk shop through a long walkway back to an open courtyard and proceed up three flights to the skytop roof overlooking the central lake. It's fun.

Being compulsive about where you put things: Finally, getting ready for Ho Chi Minh City here has allowed me to realize that I have to be compulsive about knowing exactly where is my money, my Vietnamese phrase book and my tissue paper (for the toilets) etc so that I don't have to search everywhere. It takes a bit of getting used to , but reminds me of backpacking. Pulling out the exact amount of money needed helps finalize a purchase. Looking all over for it or pulling out 20 times the amount can set you up for a price increase. (The exchange rate here is 19,600 dong to $1.00, so it's important to know the difference between 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000 dong on the spot and to know how to access the right amount smoothly. (100,000 is roughly $20).

Well, more later. We hit a bit of a snafu: The Tiger Airlines which we are taking to Ho Chi Minh City has luggage and weigh restrictiions which we are kilos over. So, we might be paying more for bringing these supplies and gifts to the kids. We will see if we can get over that hurdle. Meanwhile, it's almost 6:00 am, time to get dressed and get set for another day of bustling Hanoi!