It’s the first time I’m visiting Hanoi. Very different from places like Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur. On the streets, the main mode of transportation is by motorcycles. It is not uncommon to hear horns blaring every few seconds. Apparently the roads here are mostly on 2 lanes and even at cross junctions, there are no traffic lights. Horns become the main means of warning oncoming vehicles at every junction of an approaching vehicle.
I noticed a few zebra crossings for pedestrians near the project office of our client. Anyone thinking that he or she has the right of way when using those will be in for a surprise. Pedestrian crossings have no use in Hanoi. If you are on foot, you can just about cross anywhere you like. No need to run or dash across the road. In fact you should just stroll across calmly (so that you don’t look like an alien) with cars and motorcycles zipping by you while you are at it. It becomes a little tricky when you are crossing at a ‘circle’ like the one near ‘Turtle Lake’ though, I learned from one of my Vietnamese team members that if a driver or motorcyclist hits you on the road, the general morality will be that they will take care of your medical needs. Not like I’m looking forward to test that out.
If there was anything that the French left behind, it has to be the bread and little cafes with beautiful architectural. On our first day in Hanoi, we had lunch at ‘Paris Deli’ just down the street from the project office. NL and I were all game for authentic Vietnamese food. Don’t ask me why we ended up in a French cafe. I have to agree that the place was beautiful though. A striking resemblance to my great grandfather’s house in Mohd Sultan. Simply stunning!
We had lunch with the entire project team on the second day. Ok, again we didn’t have any Vietnamese food. We ended up at ‘Pepperoni’s’, some Italian buffet place. Honestly, I would not go back for the pasta. I didn’t know that Singapore was famed for it’s ‘Fried Rice’. At 3 out of 10 restaurants I have been to, ‘Singapore Fried Rice’ was always on the menu. What gives?
Anyway, the DVD store around the corner made up for it. Seasons 1-3 of Prison Break on DVD9 cost me 180,000 VND. That is about SGD 18 since SGD 98 : 1,000,000 VND when I last visiting the money exchange in Lucky Plaza. For simple arithmetic, SGD 1 : 10,000 VND. Mum’s going to love me for that one anyway. Also grabbed Seasons 1- 7 of Gilmore Girls for 240,000 VND and Seasons 1-7 of Sex In The City for 120,000 VND. Both are for JO. A carton of Marlboro’s 200’s cost just 160,000 VND. That’s about SGD 1.50 a pack of 20’s. And these were the one in that special silver box type that I was telling JO I first saw in Taipei last year. Of course, I grab one of those too.
Apart from the new experience, I have been down with fever the past 2 days. It all started with a sore throat. I guess it did eventually get inflamed and led to the fever. I think I have manage to break the sweat over the past 2 nights and I’m feeling much better now except for the fact that I’m still ‘floating’. Ok, I’m going to grab a Halida beer and chill out in the balcony upstairs and watch the traffic go by. That’s one thing you can do staying in an apartment instead of a hotel.
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