slosh down the pepper!: Hanoi Escapade

Monday, July 16, 2007

Hanoi Escapade - Day 5

DAY FIVE / 1 January 2007, Monday

We loved the kebab so much that we ate it for breakfast again! This was the third time we bought the finely-cut grilled pork sandwiched between two pieces of freshly toasted bread!

Remembered that we couldn't locate Huy and group yesterday evening? We popped by their hotel in the morning again to see if they left any note for us. And indeed they did. We were supposed to meet them at the hotel lobby at 7pm for a final gathering before we part our separate ways; me and tempest back to Singapore, whilst they continued their exploration down Southern Vietnam.

It has become a habit for us to splurge on a good meal on the last day of our travel. Reason: we still had a lot of money unspent! Going for a buffet was one way we could utilize the unused dollars while maximizing pleasure. Before we set off for Hanoi, we found Brother's Cafe.

The restaurant boasted a buffet of over 30 dishes at the price of only USD $8 for lunch and USD $13 for dinner! We immediately took to the bargain.

Decor-wise, it had an ambiance that portrayed a subtle sense of tranquility. Food-wise, due to the many chinese and western influences, I couldn't notice the distinctiveness in Vietnamese cuisine save for their rice paper spring rolls. The buffet also did not feature many local fruits but displayed only the dragonfruit, even though jackfruits were in the season.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed with the variety and lack of uniqueness. Or maybe I just wasn't exceptionally hungry. However given its low prices, I must say that the quality and spread were reasonable.

One of another good habits we cultivated for our budget trips: relying on our two good legs to carry us to our destinations. It not only saves transportation costs but also aids digestion so that we can continue to eat what we want without putting extra weight during the trip!

Look where we had walked for the whole day:

Camellia 2 is our hotel.

From the map, our stopover station 2 is at Ho Chi Minh Museum (Camellia 2 is the starting point). To our dismay, the museum was closed! In the end, we could only satisfy ourselves with staring at the big doors.

We walked over to the nearby Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, hoping to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh. Again, closed! Argghh!!!

It appeared a little weird to me that both tourist attractions were closed on a public holiday. On the contrary, in Singapore, similar attractions would be opened and packed to the brim during festive holidays.

Lena was telling us about the restaurants which she had enjoyed her seafood dinners along West Lake (Yes! We obtained huge loads of information on food from the Singaporean-Vietnamese cum Australian immigrant trio!). Heh, but we found ourselves some chocolates and little pastries instead of seafood or luxurious looking plates of exotic delicacies. It wasn't close to dinner time at all! Besides we were going to meet the trio that very evening; thus it was best to save our stomachs for who knows what could be waiting for us!

West Lake (Ho Tay) was not anything like the one in China. This one is big, but not as grand and scenic looking as the authentic Xi Hu 西湖. The swan rides resembled those in Chinese Garden, where I remembered sitting in one with my aunt & uncle when I was still in primary school. Tempest and I had to step foot into one of them numbered "67" to kill time!

Our legs were beginning to tire out from the long walks we had since morning. It was a deviation when we decided to ride a cab back to the hotel. Maybe I felt a little distracted by my weariness and started to stone away, immersed in my own little quiet world amidst the ever blasting traffic which boasts of rows after rows of motorists horning away. My blues appeared to catch onto Tempest too, for he remained silent throughout our short journey back.

The clock read 6pm when we reached the hotel. We had an hour to waste before meeting Huy and the rest in their hotel. And we conveniently blew into some kind of cold war out of a distressed mood of trying to find something to kill time! In retrospect, that was amusing. :-p

It was nearing 7pm before we broke the silence and headed towards Huy's hotel. We took a little walk to the street which sells weasel coffee and bought 2 packets, one for Huy & Kim, and the other for Lena.

Huy met us at the hotel lobby first. Kim and Lena were on the opposite street collecting their tailor-made clothes. The two ladies appeared 10 - 15 minutes later; Lena started complaining about the tailors' skills being not up to standard. She found some of the clothes made not to her satisfaction despite one to two rounds of alteration. Kim, on the other hand, was more easy-going. She did not mind the shoddy work and regarded it as a form a charity when she gave work to the tailors.

Huy brought us to this posh looking restaurant near the Hoan Kiem Lake.

This had been their second time dining here. I think we ordered some kind of set meal which comes with several dishes and a dessert. All I remembered was having eel soup, snails, some vegetable salad, and a little tangerine as dessert. Oh yes, and they gave us roses which me and Tempest found joy with the very next morning!

Kim seemed to adore Tempest very much, probably of the large resemblance Tempest has to her only son, Peter. Just at that moment, Peter sent an sms to Huy & Kim, telling his parents that he missed them. It was also then that they showed us a picture of their son topless and posing sexily in front of the camera. It seemed like a skinnier version of Tempest!

All three of them are very sociable people. They loved to share their experiences with us. At one point, we touched upon Christianity (all three are Christians), and they seemed eager, especially Kim, to encourage us to embrace their religion even they repeatedly assured us that they weren't. We also learnt that Huy & Kim are in the jewellery business in Australia while Lena, of course, is their customer cum neighbour cum future-in-law (yup, Peter is dating Lena's daughter :p). Apparently Lena also inherited her father's knack in spotting valuable antiques! Following her 21-day Vietnam trip with her 2 Vietnamese friends, she will be soon cruising away to Alaska! A truly rich tai-tai!

What followed next was most delightful! Huy, without even a word, paid for the entire meal! We put up a ritualistic weak protest, and gave in to their generosity in the end. Haha. This also meant that we had huge wads of dong in our pockets still!