Hanoi Old Quarter 2023

[kerouac2]

Just a few photos due to current technical limitations.  There will be the usual plethora of images once I return home.

I've been in Hanoi for a few days to wash away the disappointment of Saigon.  Even though it is far too busy in this century, it is still not quite the madhouse.  The last time I was here, most of the traffic consisted of a zillion bicycles.  There are still plenty of bicycles but now they have added all of the motorbikes and automobiles.

So here are a few scenes from my telephone.

a pause for refreshment (fresh squeezed lime juice)...

... while I observe the street.

[kerouac2]

Ca Phè Công is a café chain where the employees all wear Vietcong fatigues and the walls are covered with military photos from both sides dating from the 1960s and 70s. And they sell merch to go with it all!

[bixaorellana]

I am thrilled to see these pictures & so happy that you're fulfilling a dream.

Did the Cong café give you flasbacks to the USSR restaurant in Havana, or more of an unsettling nightly news of yore vibe?

[htmb]

Interesting! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip once you’ve conquered the technology issues.

[kerouac2]

Aug 6, 2023 17:19:20 GMT bixaorellana said:

Did the Cong café give you flasbacks to the USSR restaurant in Havana, or more of an unsettling nightly news of yore vibe?

The photographs reminded me of correspondent Dan Rather on the nightly news with Walter Cronkite. There were also quite a few covers of Life magazine on the walls. But the odd feeling was mostly caused by the fact that all of the employees and customers were Gen Z, born after the year 2000.

[kerouac2]

Tonight I had a bo bun for dinner, called a bun bo here.

[htmb]

Beef? What are the orange bits in the little bowl? Some kind of sauce?

[kerouac2]

Yes, "bo" means beef, as in the famous pho bo soup. Bo can also mean avocado, but that's another story.

The red stuff is the usual sweet chilli sauce, which really isn't the least big spicy, which is why you have to add some fresh chopped chillies (not pictured) from another bowl.

The cost of the bo bun was 70,000 dong = 2.68 euros.  The accompanying beer cost 25,000 dong (0.96 euro).

[onlyMark]

Bun bo/bo bun not for me. I'm sure it's tasty enough but that grey meat look appalling. The pink meat(?) as well.

[kerouac2]

The problem is that my telephone takes shitty pictures. That's why I hate having to use them. There will be a better photo from my Lumix one of these days if I ever return to Paris.

It rained almost non stop the first two days.

[bixaorellana]

If you think that last picture is shitty, you're way too discerning for the likes of me! I'm sure the Lumix pictures will be downright dazzling in the unlikely event you decide to return to boring old Paris with its great internet. In the meantime, it's quite thrilling to see your trip as it unfolds.

[lugg]

Yes ...loving this report so far - who cares about shitty photos - its more about going with you as you explore .

[kerouac2]

[bixaorellana]

It's eggzackly like France, except the tables & chairs are shorter.

[htmb]

You’re certainly showing less crowded spaces than what we saw in Saigon.

[kerouac2]

When I had breakfast in the street one morning, they insisted on stacking two stools for me to get me closer to my pho.

[kerouac2]

Aug 8, 2023 1:54:57 GMT htmb said:

You’re certainly showing less crowded spaces than what we saw in Saigon.

The Old Quarter is an exception, unfortunately.

[htmb]

Too bad!

My curiosity over the complete story of this trip is getting the best of me. I need the full story!

[Kimby]

K2, are you taking precautions against JE? What travel health precautions are you taking? Any vaccinations for this trip?

preventje.com/traveler/travel-insider/youve-heard-of-zika-and-west-nile-but-what-is-japanese-encephalitis-and-why-should-you-care/

[kerouac2]

Nope, not doing anything. However, I did finally renew my yellow fever vaccination last year, as it had expired at least 15 years earlier. But that was for another trip that did not happen (or which has not happened yet).

[onlyMark]

Yellow fever vaccine is, unless there is some reason for it to be different, is for life.

[bjd]

Aug 9, 2023 11:45:42 GMT onlyMark said:

Yellow fever vaccine is, unless there is some reason for it to be different, is for life.

Yes, they used to say it was for 10 years but then decided one vaccination was for life.

[onlyMark]

That's right. I had one and it was for "ten years" but later when the rules changed the original was accepted as for life.

[kerouac2]

If you will all allow me to rewind, I'll take you back to the morning of my arrival. After wandering lost around the Opera, I was dripping with equal parts of rain and sweat. This could not continue so I sought refuge in the Laika Café.

Once things were under control and I had found me hotel, I was ready to explore. There was a bit of condensation on the lens at first.

[kerouac2]

I really appreciate all of the trees.

[onlyMark]

Unfortunately the normal flight cost for me is somewhat prohibitive otherwise I'd be there like a shot.

[bjd]

I don't like heat and humidity but I too appreciate all the trees and greenery you show.

[kerouac2]

I didn't enter any temples, but I peered at them from the outside.





The could go in the "in a pickle" thread.





These bamboo ladder vendors were there all the time, dressed the same. When it poured they were under a sheet of plastic.





This was my hotel.



A few locations still await new businesses.











On my early trips to Vietnam, Sinh Café was a very good government agency that was a victim of phishing (almost) before the internet.  Other agencies would copy their logo and name to trick people into booking an inferior product.  Sinh Café would warn people to make sure they were booking with the real Sinh Café.



I like to have a copy of my street sign so that I can show it to someone if necessary.

[kerouac2]

Aug 18, 2023 9:32:03 GMT bjd said:

I don't like heat and humidity but I too appreciate all the trees and greenery you show.

In January the maximum daily temperature is 20° and it goes down to 14° at night.  Hanoi was the first Vietnamese city where I actually saw blankets on the beds.  And then I went to Sa Pa in the northern mountains where it was freezing at night.

[cheerypeabrain]

It looks like a very colourful place. I don't deal well with high humidity but the place looks so interesting that I'd too fascinated to be bothered too much some parts look very 'western'...aside from the bamboo structures and toytown plastic furniture. I probably wouldn't want to eat anything there unless I was starving! I'm not an adventurous soul.

Are there any temples or mosques? Any ancient architecture or museums?