Day 14 – The Late Pause
With only two full days left on this trip, it may seem like
an odd time to take a pause for a day, but after waking up to the loud PA
system on the party boat that it was 10am and we were being asked to check out
so they could clean the rooms for the next group that would arrive in three
hours. It is an impressive operation, turning this over day after day.
There was not much to do in the morning as they served a ‘brunch’
– in reality, just a lunch – at 10:45, and by 11:30 we were leaving the boat.
If I have any issue with my time on the Oasis boat, it would be that it is really
not a two-day cruise as advertised; but even for one day, it was a great time.
The bus-ride back was fairly uneventful, another three hours
in a beautiful air conditioned bus, fighting sleep for most of it. I was awake
for the second half – again taking place right after a 30 minute pit stop which
this time actually gave me a chance to buy some random stuff. I will say I was
interested to see how much of the drive back was through towns and cities
rather than open land or farms, especially one we left the Bay area.
I got back to Hanoi around 4:30pm, checking into the
Sheraton at 5pm, giving me time to recover, enjoy the lounge, and plan tomorrow’s
itinerary where I’ll have to try to chew off as much of Hanoi tourism as I can.
I also had to plan out dinner and post-dinner for the night. I remain a bit
annoyed at myself for doing so little research into Hanoi, not really having a
clear plan or shortlist of places.
Prior to dinner, I got to do a bit of beer tourism, going to
Turtle Lake Brewing Company, which has a nice lake-side spot. Turtle Lake is
the massive lake towards the North of Hanoi, also going by the name ‘West Lake’
(or Tay Ho in Vietnamese). This area is quite a bit different than the tight,
claustrophobic Old Town, as it is a bit more upscale, pleasant and serene. The
views of the Lake show how large a megapolis Hanoi is, with buildings on all
directions.
The beer itself was quite good – one of the better stouts I’ve
had in my time in Vietnam. Honesty, I shouldn’;t have been so surprised by
Vietnam’s embrace of craft beer. Vietnam’s beer culture and history is lock
strong – mostly known of the Bai Ho (beer bars) where you can sit on a stool
and drink tap Saigon beer for under a dollar. This is the natural extension of
that. The beer is plentiful, and there are a few places that are started by
Vietnamese. My only issue would be that for at least all the one’s I’ve been to
in Vietnam, the food is completely western. I would love a craft beer joint
that serves Vietnamese food.
For dinner, I went to Ly Club, a well decorated old-house in
French style. They offer a Vietnamese and a French menu, and tasting menus for
each. I got one of their Vietnamese tasting menus which was all around quite
strong. The appetizers were a pomelo and crab salad (pomelo is a truly
underrated fruit), a fried scallop dish, a chicken and pumpkin soup served in a
cute little pumpkin, and then a steamed snowfish served with ginger, which was awesome.
The main was served all in a platter – similar to what they
were doing at Manda de Lao. The main pieces were a galangal-spiced chicken, a
bamboo and beef dish, and a fish spring roll, with sides of rice and mixed
vegetables. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and to be fair their French
side of the equation sounded really good too. I know that Vietnam has a giant,
lasting French influence, but even given that I did want to avoid having non-Vietnamese
cuisine when here.
For my post-dinner activities, I went to Savage, which is
almost like a carbon copy of The Observatory from Ho Chi Minh, but in a
basement setting instead of a semi-rooftop. They had the same ratio of
Westerners and Locals, the same back-room with a more serious EDM/House vibe than
the DJ in front, the same balloons, the same everything – and you know what, it
was about as good.
I still haven’t done anything touristy in Hanoi yet, but after
another meal, going out in a more refined area, Hanoi is growing on me. It will
take a while to reach my opinion of Ho Chi Minh, but it is off to a better
start than I would have expected after my first dalliance on Wednesday.
