A rather chilly weekend with Louise

Louise Sanderson (a friend from Singapore who I’ve known since birth) came to visit this weekend. She arrived on Thursday, and despite strict instructions from me that she should bring warm clothes as it is Hanoi’s winter, she appeared at arrivals wearing cropped trousers and crocs!! The weather in Hanoi has gone a little bit nuts, and it’s the coldest winter in about 20 years or something… Although I’m hesitant to admit it, I think it’s about the same temperature as it is in England right now (about 10 degrees)!! So Louise definately needed more than crocs and cut-offs. Fortunately, I had a fleece, north-face trousers and walking boots for her to borrow (lucky that eurasians all have little feet).

On Thursday night, we had a late dinner (Pho Xao Bo) and went to bed… Then on Friday, we donned our many layers of clothes and braved the artic streets! It was mostly a weekend of eating (need fuel to keep warm, plus I knew Louise would appreciate Hanoi’s culinary delights)! For breakfast, we of course had Pho Bo… we then took in some sights (the Sofitel Metropole, Hoan Kiem Lake, Gia Ngu Wet Market, the streets of the Old Quarter…) before feasting at Quan An Ngon for lunch… we then watched the Water Puppet show at Thanh Long… and then met up with a Ukrainian/American/Aussie guy (who I met at breakfast one morning) and his Brazilian doctor friend. We all went out for Cha Ca (you barbeque your own fish at the table, with lots of veggies and bun noodles), followed by some Bia Hoi on a street corner. Bia Hoi is fresh pilsner beer without any preservatives added. It goes off after a day or so, therefore the point is to sell it on very quickly (thus at very cheap prices). It’s the street corner drink of Hanoi, and you basically sit on low plastic stools drinking your bia hoi for dirt cheap prices (and I mean DIRT cheap). A glass of the stuff costs 2000 dong (which works out at 6 pence (UK), or 12 cents (US)). I actually really like Bia Hoi, it tastes fresher and lighter than normal beer. Plus (oddly), it has a delayed red-face reaction for me. I go red when I drink alcohol, usually within 5 minutes of my first sip of alcohol. However, Bia Hoi doesn’t make me red until about an hour after I start drinking it. Wierd huh?

Here’s a photo of us at the Bia Hoi place:

 

Normally, people stay out on the streets drinking Bia Hoi for ages (think how long £1 could last at 6p/drink). But on Friday night, after one Bia Hoi our hands were like ice… so we had to retreat to Mao’s Red Lounge (an indoor bar) for some warmth! It was a nice bar, and we stayed for a few hours having normal beers…

The next day, Louise and I went to a few museums (I was trying to come up with as many indoor activities as possible). The problem with a lot of the museums in Hanoi is that the English exhibit descriptions are quite brief. You have to go their being clued up on all the background history info in order to really understand the exhibits. We thought that the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution might give us more insight into the Franco-Viet Minh War and the American War. But instead we just saw lots of photographs of people during the war, or chairs that Ho Chi Minh sat on when he signed key documents, or the microphone he used when he made key speeches… and we left none the wiser about the actual chain of events! (We did read up on it all later in the Lonely Planet… I began to feel quite ignorant for not knowing important facts about Vietnam’s history despite having been here since November!)

Anyway, we also made a trip out to West Lake (Ho Tay) to see a pagoda, and sit at Highlands Coffee (they have a cafe on a boat on West Lake). We considered hiring a goose/swan paddle boat to paddle around the lake, but there was a light spitty rain, and we were feeling lazy! So instead we spent ages at Foodshop 45, a great Indian restaurant overlooking the lake.

Our last stop of the day was at the Temple of Literature where we wandered around for a bit… That night, we had a cheap but tasty meal at a Bia Hoi street corner, along with a glass of Bia Hoi (I got Louise hooked!). We had an early night, because the next morning we were off to see Uncle Ho!

Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh) is embalmed (against his wishes… he specifically asked to be cremated and scattered at various spots around Vietnam), and you can go and pay your respects to his yellow, waxy body at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It’s an experience I would recommend to anyone visiting Hanoi. I went three years ago with Will, and it was just as fascinating the second time! There are lots of locals as well as tourists, it’s free entry, but you have to leave your camera’s in a left-luggage facility, and put your mobile phones into a clear plastic bag (that you have to carry in your right hand… very specific instructions!). You queue outside the imposing square marble mausoleum, guards alongside the queue shout instructions at you, for example ‘no hands in pockets’ ‘remove your hat’ ’shhh no laughing, no talking’… then you are ushered through the mausoleum, single file… you can’t stop walking, you have to keep perfect distance with the person in front… the gap should not widen. You spend about 30 seconds walking around Uncle Ho’s body (he’s inside a glass case, surrounded by 4 guards), and then you’re back outside and it’s all over!!

Anyway, other activities on Sunday included more Pho Bo, a trip to the temple on Hoan Kiem Lake (mostly because we wanted to see the Giant Turtle remains… it was a day for seeing embalmed things!). Hoan Kiem Lake has giant turtles in it (quite how they survive the pollution I don’t know). It’s name means Lake of the Restored Sword, because legend has it that a giant turtle came up and took a sword from King Le Loi, and took the sword to the bottom of the lake, where it still lies. I don’t know whether the whole sword thing happened or not, but the turtles definately exist. There have been several sightings over the years, and photographs too. Plus, at the temple, you can see the embalmed body of one of the giant beasts! Quite massive!

The last stop on Louise’s weekend trip was to Dong Xuan Market, and then a late lunch back at Quan An Ngon (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eaten there!).

Today, I went to Hanoi Medical University to get all my paperwork signed… and then I had lots and lots of waxing! It’s so cheap! I went to a great salon near my hotel, and had the full works (half leg, bikini and underarm) for less than the price of an underarm wax in the UK. The lady doing the waxing was adorable… she would warn me before tearing the wax strips off ‘very hurt, very hurt!’… The salon was very posh looking (it wouldn’t look out of place on High Street Kensington), the floors were marble, with marble columns, lots of water features everywhere, soothing music, feng shui style rocks lining the stairs… I felt pampered!

Well… that’s all for now. Mum turns up on Wednesday… Tomorrow is my last day in the hospital. I’m meeting Dr Ha at 8am in the Operating Room. I’m sad that it’s all coming to an end, but this freakish cold-spell here in Hanoi is sure gonna make leaving easier!! Whereas England can’t handle hot weather, Hanoi can’t handle cold! My hotel room is freezing! At least I can convince myself that the amount of food I’m eating is because I need fuel to keep warm…