It's a Dogmeat Dog World

After our 12 hour bus ride on the sleeper bus, we rolled into already bustling Hanoi, with it's thousands of honking motorbikes in full glory at 7am. Sleepy eyed, we peered out the window to find a 1km stretch of a meat market.... rubbing the sleep out more vigorously we looked again and in horror realized the only meat sold was roasted dog. The dogs were whole with tongues out and paws prancing but with their rotisserie colored skin we realized their tails weren't wagging and they had no hair. In shock Gabi exclaimed "Hey Lis, it looks like they're playing!" Good Morning Northern Vietnam! After three weeks we had finally made it all the way to the top. If only we knew what the largest city in Vietnam had in store for us.

We found a quaint hotel, with the nicest Northern Vietnamese people we would encounter, in the Old Quarter, a melting pot of Commerce for almost 1,000 years. Our first stop was the Ngoc Son Temple, founded in the 18th century and set on an island in the middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake. After crossing a beautiful red foot bridge, we entered the meditative center with possibly the only expansive serene views of the city. After our first relaxing afternoon in over three weeks we set out to find Cha Ca, a regional dish scarce on local menus but highly recommended by the lonely planet. We soon discovered the reason behind this scarcity.

The restaurant claimed as THE place to get Cha Ca was not fancy and looked within our modest price range. A grill was brought to our table with an assortment of ingredients that the waiter used to adorn the fish he cooked in front of us. Excitedly we tried the first bite with the purple colored shrimp paste as they smiled, watching our nods of approval as we forced it down. The shrimp paste was pungent, to say the least. We would learn more about this fish paste in the coming days... In our true open minded fashion, we finished it all, without the fish sauce, washing it down with two Heinekens. The bill was the shocker as it was more than double what we had anticipated or ever spent on a meal in Vietnam as of yet. Only then did we realize we never saw a menu for the single item the restaurant offered. Long story short, we didn't have enough money or a debit card on us and the restaurant ended up paying for our beer. We continued onto the night market as planned, empty handed as unplanned.

The next morning we rented bicycles and successfully dominated the chaotic traffic of the Vietnamese capital. We were the only helmeted bike riders but we still felt badass. We passed the Presidential Palace and many embassies, making our way to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a modern museum to commemorate the Communist Vietnamese President who served from 1946 until his death in 1969. Ho Chi Minh never lived to see the North's victory over the South. He is affectionately referred to as Uncle Ho by his admirers. This site, constructed in 1975, is considered a holy site for most Vietnamese, who we suspect consider the Great Uncle Ho, as greater than Buddha. We learned that he was indeed a very inspirational leader, successively sustaining positive ideals, holding dialogue with local communities and fostering beneficial connections with world leaders. Interestingly we also learned that Uncle Ho's final request was to be cremated, yet the Mausoleum exalts his remains in a glass sarcophagus, against his wishes.

Tired from our bike ride, we rested before meeting up with friends to watch World Cup. Who did we run into, but our German friend, Robert, again! With a group of people we ended up at a bar with a tv in an alley which looked like a promising place to watch the 1:30am match. The police didn't think so. They showed up in a truck yelling in Vietnamese and confiscating all of the plastic furniture we were using in the street, leaving us standing and confused as commotion ensued. Realizing Hanoi's early curfew we retreated to our "suite", only to get lost on our seven block walk home for 45 minutes in a downpour. We laughed it off as usual.

Five hours later, we awoke to the three S's: sunny sweaty Sunday. We arrived early to the Municipal Water Puppet Theater to watch water puppetry, a cultural art form originating in Northern Vietnam. We splurged and got third row tickets to the event and snuck in cameras. The show included a fabulous ensemble of regional instruments and vocalists, and a water stage with colorful wooden puppets manipulated by hidden puppeteers. We both enjoyed the animated show which brought laughter from all ages.

While we had many other excursions in Hanoi, our final notable tale takes us back to our initial entry to the city. It's a dogmeat dog world. Hungry and feeling creative, we took a Fear Factor challenge to find and consume dogmeat. Lisa sends apologies to Coco Channel. After a harrowing and expensive 45min cab ride through Hanoi's North side, our exhaustive efforts at dog charades (barking, eating motions, sniffing and clawing) led us to a dog meat market. The only tourists in sight, we discreetly took photos as we were shooed from packed food stalls until we managed to sit down and get in an order. We know you're all wondering what golden retriever, lab and chihuahua taste like, so here you go... Your pet is made of three layers: skin, fat and meat. The meat we were served was grizzly and mostly fat with a crunchy layer of skin. We suspect we got the worst cut seeing as the butcher was glaring at us and yelling for us to leave throughout the meal. The skin was unchewable but we were thankful they had burned the hair off in the fire. The rest was fatty and grizzly. We ate this with lime, cucumber and rice crackers. mmmm.... canine. The silver lining of this excursion was that we barely escaped cholera after learning from a nice Vietnamese lady that it is currently prevalent in this region in none other than purple shrimp paste. Good thing taste buds aren't keen on Cha Ca and Fido.

The following morning will take us out of the big city and onto a well deserved three day boat tour.

Good Times and Good Byes in Central Vietnam

Happy belated 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!

After a 10 hour train ride, we arrived in Hoi An on the 4th of July. Upon recommendation, we met our traveling English and German entourage at their hotel via motor bike taxi with our giant backpacks. Upon true North America fashion, we proceeded to imperialistically impose USA celebrations on all encountered nationalities at a local bar, picking up a couple other proud Americans along the way.

A UNESCO world heritage sight, Hoi An is known for its preservation as an international trading post as far back as the 17th century. Along with unique historic architecture and delectable regional cuisine, Hoi An offered made to order tailoring of shoes and clothing. Such opportunity demanded our full designer attention!!! Never had we thought our imaginative creativity was at the level of couture. After12 hours of sweaty toiling over fittings and alterations, the receipt of our goods was all but gratifying. While a few of our creations were comparable to Coco Channel, the majority were well below fabulous. We literally “shipped” a few items home and the Lisa and Gabi Summer Collection will be arriving in Seattle in time for Thanksgiving!

Tired of high end fashion, we were ready to get back to our grungy backpacker routine. Now sharing a hotel room with our favorite travelers, saving just $1.00/night, we decided to join them on a 90 minute moped ride to My Son, a UNESCO world heritage sight. Weaving through bicycles, mopeds, trucks, and people we arrived dripping and thankful we were alive! Lisa drove both ways alone on a moped like a pro. In over 100 degree heat and high humidity we lethargically wandered the ruins of the ancient Cham city of My Son dating back to the 4th century.

   

Working up an enormous appetite, the following afternoon we treated ourselves to a well deserved private Vietnamese cooking class. A talented and very patient mother and daughter taught us and our friend Dan the art of making fried spring rolls, spinach-garlic stir fry, and a sweet and sour hot pot. We garnished each dish with homemade shallots. Without hesitation we feasted. Look out for our five star meal on your local Vietnamese menu sometime late September.

Our cherished moments with Phil, Dan, and Robert were celebrated at the beach with about 200 other foreigners watching the World Cup, playing foosball and taking a late night dip in the China Sea. We rolled into our hotel as the sun was rising dripping, salty, and exhausted via xe om (moped taxis).

From Hoi An we ventured to Hanoi on a 12 hour "sleeper" bus. The seats, too narrow and short for even us, were stacked three wide and two high down the length of the bus. We felt lucky not to be the 6' 2'' Australian man on the bunk above us. Gabi, with a phobia of throw up, was greeted by a woman sitting across from her already vomiting into a clear plastic bag before the bus left the terminal...enough said.

The next episodes of Girl Talk will feature Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Sapa. Don't forget to check out our Picasa web album link to get more visual accounts of our travels.