Vietnam: Hanoi Pt 1
April 30: I slept until 3pm. At 6, Tom and Miu, the leader and a participant from a CISV Camp in Norway in 2014, picked me up for dinner and drinks. We had several drinks, including a cannabis-laced absinthe (though definitely not real absinthe because I was not hallucinating and I didn't feel high in the slightest, which was kind of disappointing).
At 5 am, I woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Seems I got traveler's diarrhea from my first meal in Vietnam. Womp womp.
May 1: Tom picked me up for brunch ... Seems that noodles are eaten for 3 meals/day. I tried Bun Cha and absolutely loved it! We were served a huge plate of half-cooked rice noodles, fresh vegetables (mostly yucky greens and bean sprouts), and a bowl with sweet broth and fried pork. It is a dish that is very popular and apparently famous in Hanoi.
We then went for the strangest massage I have ever had. It is entirely possible that I was being told everything in Vietnamese, but I really had no idea. I was given a locker, told to strip and shower, then hang out in a steam room. I wasn't sure how long to stay in that steam room, but I was in there with two others.
Upon exiting, I had to use a bucket with scented water to rinse off, and was then given disposable hospital panties. They told me to wrap a towel around myself, put all of my stuff in a basket, and I was ushered into a different room full of massage beds. These are far sturdier than our massage tables. I started on my back, face up, and they put a bunch of either leaves or towels across my face; it was very refreshing. I was massaged, tapped, rapped, and moved about. She used her knees, elbows, hands, feet, and forearms. It's kind of like Swedish massage meets Thai massage.
I went back to the hostel for a nap, and met up with Tom and Hunt - the boy from Tom's delegation, for dinner and coconut coffee. It would seem that laughing gas is totally a thing here. We were at a coffee shop and ordered a small Funky Bowl, meaning a small balloon filled with laughing gas. All around this coffee shop, people had balloons of various sizes in their mouths. It's not the kind of gas that makes your voice go funny, and it definitely does not knock you out... I started laughing because my fingers and face felt a little fuzzy/numb. But, I saw someone with a big balloon quite literally fall over, on her face, laughing hysterically. Perhaps I was too cautious.
We took a nice walk to a French church and had lemon tea before I asked to be taken back to the hostel. I was very careful about being near a toilet at all times ... and sometimes that is difficult.
May 2: Breakfast at the hostel included a Vietnamese sweetened coffee and a smoothie. It was lovely. Miu picked me up at 11 and we went to Hoa Lo prison and it was overwhelming. There were sections in which I could feel the energy of residents past, and it was INTENSE. The last time I visited a prison, I was not energetically attuned .... but more than that, this prison was used in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975 .... that's only 42 years ago. In one particular area, just above death row, I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was visceral. I could see blue in my throat chakra, and felt like the wind was knocked out of me; I was suddenly light headed, and could feel my throat and jaw pulsing. I needed to get out of there, but when I had the courage and fortitude, I went back to listen: fear, anguish, betrayal, horror. I can't believe how we treat each other.
North Vietnam was a French colony for more than 100 years, and then the Americans tried to stop the spread of communism by entering the Vietnam war. This particular prison was built by the French to house Vietnamese. When the French left in the early 1950s, the Vietnamese used it to torture prisoners - both Vietnamese and American. Prisoners would try to escape ... here is a photo of the sewer that 5 prisoners used to leave. There is a picture of three of them looking at this section of sewer; I can't imagine what it must have been like.
I made friends with a German in my room, Maria, and we decided to enjoy the free hostel beer. We met some guys who suggested we join them at another hostel for free beer, stopping on the way for some shawarma/kebab. The street meat here is fantastic, and the locals say that it is often better than going to a restaurant. Plus, it's cheaper.
The other hostel has a rooftop bar, on the 8th floor. What a view! Too bad Hanoi is so smoggy.
All along the backpacker's strip there are drink deals at different hours. It seems that every hostel has an hour of free beer (usually until one or two half kegs run out), then the bars offer a free shot, and hostels will have special drink deals.
Montana (one of our new friends) took us to his favourite Banh Mi stand at the end of the street. The lady was SO nice, and Banh Mi is a delicious and hearty sandwich, so I will definitely be going back.
We went to a bar with free shots and chilled there for a while; I decided to head back to the hostel around midnight.
May 3: Maria and I got breakfast around 11, then she went to play pool with the guys while I stayed around the hostel for most of the day, mostly reading and eating. I need chill days, on occasion.
Maria came to get me for dinner/beer at 6, and we took advantage of the free beer at our hostel, then went to the other hostel for the view and to hang out with the guys until she left for Philippines at 9. I went back to our hostel for a drink, then I went to bed. It was a really nice, chill day full of very little.
Clearly, backpacker life is quite full of food and drink. A lot of drinking, it seems. Maybe I am staying at party hostels, or maybe this is just how it is. Ah well, it's a good time! And the cool thing about hostels is that I don't really have to join in if I don't want to.
At 5 am, I woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Seems I got traveler's diarrhea from my first meal in Vietnam. Womp womp.
May 1: Tom picked me up for brunch ... Seems that noodles are eaten for 3 meals/day. I tried Bun Cha and absolutely loved it! We were served a huge plate of half-cooked rice noodles, fresh vegetables (mostly yucky greens and bean sprouts), and a bowl with sweet broth and fried pork. It is a dish that is very popular and apparently famous in Hanoi.
We then went for the strangest massage I have ever had. It is entirely possible that I was being told everything in Vietnamese, but I really had no idea. I was given a locker, told to strip and shower, then hang out in a steam room. I wasn't sure how long to stay in that steam room, but I was in there with two others.
Upon exiting, I had to use a bucket with scented water to rinse off, and was then given disposable hospital panties. They told me to wrap a towel around myself, put all of my stuff in a basket, and I was ushered into a different room full of massage beds. These are far sturdier than our massage tables. I started on my back, face up, and they put a bunch of either leaves or towels across my face; it was very refreshing. I was massaged, tapped, rapped, and moved about. She used her knees, elbows, hands, feet, and forearms. It's kind of like Swedish massage meets Thai massage.
I went back to the hostel for a nap, and met up with Tom and Hunt - the boy from Tom's delegation, for dinner and coconut coffee. It would seem that laughing gas is totally a thing here. We were at a coffee shop and ordered a small Funky Bowl, meaning a small balloon filled with laughing gas. All around this coffee shop, people had balloons of various sizes in their mouths. It's not the kind of gas that makes your voice go funny, and it definitely does not knock you out... I started laughing because my fingers and face felt a little fuzzy/numb. But, I saw someone with a big balloon quite literally fall over, on her face, laughing hysterically. Perhaps I was too cautious.
We took a nice walk to a French church and had lemon tea before I asked to be taken back to the hostel. I was very careful about being near a toilet at all times ... and sometimes that is difficult.
May 2: Breakfast at the hostel included a Vietnamese sweetened coffee and a smoothie. It was lovely. Miu picked me up at 11 and we went to Hoa Lo prison and it was overwhelming. There were sections in which I could feel the energy of residents past, and it was INTENSE. The last time I visited a prison, I was not energetically attuned .... but more than that, this prison was used in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975 .... that's only 42 years ago. In one particular area, just above death row, I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was visceral. I could see blue in my throat chakra, and felt like the wind was knocked out of me; I was suddenly light headed, and could feel my throat and jaw pulsing. I needed to get out of there, but when I had the courage and fortitude, I went back to listen: fear, anguish, betrayal, horror. I can't believe how we treat each other.
North Vietnam was a French colony for more than 100 years, and then the Americans tried to stop the spread of communism by entering the Vietnam war. This particular prison was built by the French to house Vietnamese. When the French left in the early 1950s, the Vietnamese used it to torture prisoners - both Vietnamese and American. Prisoners would try to escape ... here is a photo of the sewer that 5 prisoners used to leave. There is a picture of three of them looking at this section of sewer; I can't imagine what it must have been like.
I made friends with a German in my room, Maria, and we decided to enjoy the free hostel beer. We met some guys who suggested we join them at another hostel for free beer, stopping on the way for some shawarma/kebab. The street meat here is fantastic, and the locals say that it is often better than going to a restaurant. Plus, it's cheaper.
The other hostel has a rooftop bar, on the 8th floor. What a view! Too bad Hanoi is so smoggy.
All along the backpacker's strip there are drink deals at different hours. It seems that every hostel has an hour of free beer (usually until one or two half kegs run out), then the bars offer a free shot, and hostels will have special drink deals.
Montana (one of our new friends) took us to his favourite Banh Mi stand at the end of the street. The lady was SO nice, and Banh Mi is a delicious and hearty sandwich, so I will definitely be going back.
We went to a bar with free shots and chilled there for a while; I decided to head back to the hostel around midnight.
May 3: Maria and I got breakfast around 11, then she went to play pool with the guys while I stayed around the hostel for most of the day, mostly reading and eating. I need chill days, on occasion.
Maria came to get me for dinner/beer at 6, and we took advantage of the free beer at our hostel, then went to the other hostel for the view and to hang out with the guys until she left for Philippines at 9. I went back to our hostel for a drink, then I went to bed. It was a really nice, chill day full of very little.
Clearly, backpacker life is quite full of food and drink. A lot of drinking, it seems. Maybe I am staying at party hostels, or maybe this is just how it is. Ah well, it's a good time! And the cool thing about hostels is that I don't really have to join in if I don't want to.
Comments
Post a Comment