Hanoi Day 3

 Xin chào

It is surprisingly cool this mornings. I need to enjoy it while it lasts. Soon enough I expect to be complaining about the heat and humidity.

Yesterday was, another day of walking and exploring. Every day I head out in a new direction exploring the old quarter where I am staying.

I also took advantage of some rain to wash some laundry. Very convenient, only about 1/2 a block from the Hostel.

After laundry, I treated myself to a nap. A bit too long of a nap. The problem with long naps is not sleeping throughout the night.

The trains station is not far from here and unlike most places you are familiar with, the train tracks leaving the station use shared spaces. Meaning the train tracks are the street with shops on both sides. More on that later. The trains leave the station mostly in the evenings in one direction at 7 and the other direction at 7:30. I will probably take one of these somewhere later in my stay.

Chores and nap out of the way, I head out towards train street. 

Along the way, I saw the first street vendor selling durian. The trays were a bit to big for me so I didn't buy any. Not cheap even here, about $6 for a tray (probably tourist pricing, bargaining would result in a lower price) of 2 large pieces or 3 smaller pieces. I would have like to buy 1 piece. For those not familiar with Durian, it is typically only sold outdoors. Many inside places ban them because they stink so much. Depending on who is discribing they say it smell like: rotten onions, gym socks, garbage or compost, sewage, strong blue cheese, or turpentine. Others have a different take referring the smell to sweet custard, almonds, caramel, vanilla and ripe tropical fruit. It amazes me how one fruit can have such diverse discriptions of its smell. To me it smells rotten. The taste however is much different. The taste and texture is hard to pin down, but maybe sweet custard or pudding is the closest. For anything more, you will just have to try it yourself.

I came across a lady selling intricate pop up greeting cards. Cathy this is for you. Such an assortment: castles, trees, ships flowers,butterflys and even a ferris wheel. Intricate patterns especially the trees.  

I also saw these trees in a shop window. They are very detailed wire bent creations. Beautiful. You will have to expand both the pictures of the cards and the trees to fully appreciate the detail and artistry. 

I saw a couple of these old delivery motorbikes. Relics from the past, but apparently still working and being used for deliveries.

I arrived at train street only to find out it was closed indifinitely due to an accident that happened recently. A bit disappointed, I decided to head back to my place. 

I found a Grab motor scooter driver. (Grab is the Uber of Vietnam and maybe other asian countries.) I asked a price to take me back to the hostel. He quoted be 200,000 dong, we settled on 150,000 dong, about $5.75. After a somewhat harrowing drive, instead of taking me back to the hostel, he pulled up to the other end of train street that was open for business.

This was probably about half the is distance to my hostel, the agreed upon destination. I decided to stay there and asked him how much. Not surprisingly he told me 150,000 dong. We haggled back and forth because the ride was shorter, I ended up paying him 125,000 dong. Only later did I discover that if I had used the Grab app, the cost would be about 50,000 dong or less. Live and learn. I thought I had a video clip that I made riding on the back of a scooter, but I can't find it. I will make another one to try to give you an idea of what it is like riding on the back of a scooter on the crazy streets of Hanoi.

I walked up train street a bit and took a seat at one of the many places selling beer, coffee, tea and food. A young waiter seated my and gave me a menu. He suggested one of the premium beers for 150,000 dong ($5.75). That is a bit rich for my taste. I started looking at the full menu and saw local Vienamese Hanoi and Saigon brand beers for 60,000 dong ($2.35). That aligns better with my budget. Even this is high, but it is train street. Google tells me I should be able to find draft beer for at little as $.50 a glass. I also ordered bánh gối, fried dumplings to eat. They come with a dipping sauce (similar to Thai spring roll sauce) and salad greens. Really delicious.

Not long after, the train arrived. It was longer than I expected and actually moving faster than I expected. I will upload that video on YouTube.

Here are a couple YouTube links. The first one waiting for the train:   https://youtu.be/K7ofCxuNErs

This next one is the train passing: https://youtube.com/shorts/ClME8zaAvdo