I went to Hanoi in April for one (1) month and ended up staying two (2). Not because I loved it that much (it was hugely interesting). But because the first month was a slap in the face. Now that I was awake, I could look at it over a second month, by which I mean properly.
The Hood
I arrived in the evening, and it felt like the Asia of my dreams when I have been drinking a lot and I can hear the neighbour's music. In those dreams. That Asia.
The house was pleasant. Just below my window was a woman who made probably the best pho I have eaten yet. And all around the house, everyone was building other houses. There were already lots of houses. They seem to have replaced the military draft with a mandate to build something. There were saws and winches and hammers and, when it got serious, cranes and music.
A bit beyond that were massage parlours (the other kind) and they always thought I wanted one.
Eating
There's lots of food, and lots of cafes. A gobsmacking array of cafe varieties. The coffee was great almost always. They have coffees with an egg in them, and you have not consumed a better thing than that.
It was hard to order food because the Vietnamese language fled my brain as soon as it got close, and it also bungled the great Google Translate. I'm pretty sure "banana technology" isn't edible, nor is it technological, or real. Either way, ordering was pointing. If you lose your fingers, you go hungry.
Some restaurants looked like garages and served great food. Others looked like restaurants and served mediocre food. Others looked like garages and served... food that was not nice at all. Or maybe they were really garages, in which case it was my fault for not being as granular in my assessment of the establishment's purpose. It wasn't easy. Every building with a hole in it had a motorbike stuffed in.
It's All Normal
There was a garbage can in the middle of a crossroad, a pig on a leash, and there was a gym in a garage and it had sharp swords and spears, so that was fun.
And that kind of thing was normal. Hanoi tends to spit on good sense and yet makes it all work out in the end. For example, without fail, every time I have stood at a huge intersection with motorbikes, bikes, cars, buses and trucks hurling themselves through it at the same time, every time and without fail there is this:
a tiny grandmother walking her cart of wares diagonally straight through the middle. Like a living middle finger, she never stopped, never looked left or right. She played Russian Roulette with the carnage of steel around her and never lost.
That one will die in her sleep, if she wants.
I, on the other hand, got into two minor accidents in one morning.
Worms
I also got into a puddle deeper than my ankles when walking to bar. The puddle was a good 20 meters long, unfortunately, so I couldn't help but think of worms crawling in through my pores as I waded through.
I did have a deworming pill. You're recommended one every 6 months in Hanoi because garage food, but quite unrelated to the pill, I had explosive diarrhea one Sunday and if anything in there managed to hang on through that little extravaganza, it's welcome to stay.
Swallowed
A lot of foreigners get swallowed by Hanoi, coming for a month and staying a year or 10. They teach English, though some of them knew a lot less of it than I imagined. How does that work? Well...It's like those friends who insist on teaching you snowboarding when you're in your malleable 30s. They're sh*t at teaching it but look a lot more alright on the board than you do, so you go right along with it.
What's not alright is a large, floating dead catfish in the big lake in Hanoi, trapped between where it's supposed to be and where it very well cant't go. There were a lot of smaller fish doing the same, but I thought the bigger fish were supposed to set the example of proper aquarian etiquette.
Etiquette
It's difficult to have good etiquette in a rowdy city where sushi is sold out on the street (and it's effing good!!) and certain bars give free beer every week, for free.
Locals feel free enough to exercise in droves on the sidewalks. It's the cutest thing to watch all the zumba moms go at it in the pretty evening light.
Pretty
Hanoi is pretty, and pretty dirty in some places, and pretty loud, and pretty chaotic, and pretty amazing to see and drink and eat and live. Have you been?
What do you think?
Disagreement on rewards
You think he should be losing more?
Do you realize how meaningless your comment can be for the average person?
I suggest you upvote @transparencybot reports instead.
your comment is worth $ 0.000001
Beautiful .. Be yourself and be a good
Great words from you, well done
Thanks for sharing..
woow nice about travel, made nice post by beautiful original photos with huge information my friend keep up your job be happy
@vahidrazavi yar kya app ka pass bohat sbd haan.itni zyada amount ma bidbot ma send kar ka apna bi noqsaan kar rahy haan or dosaroon ka bi.send money to bidbot according to vote value of this bidbot.and also consider how much people already send money to present bid roll.
You received a 40.00% upvote from @brotherhood thanks to @vahidrazavi!,
join on @brotherhood community on discord channel:https://discord.gg/3HZdaGk and share your post there.
Delegate to Bot and Get High Return Fix 100% earning return,
)
bidders will always win something and it will adapt to distribute all the 100% upvote ,now we reached to 12000 SP and recommend. send the 0.15 to 0.4 sbd or steem.
My friend its a great opportunity to be informed a lot at a time. thanks and have a travelous life. and keep always happy
You're welcome @subroto. :) Travelling is great, opens up your mind. I'm happy to share it!
Thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed the read :)
Thank you! I always try to be happy :) I wish you the same
Would love to go one of these days! Love the food and the culture and scenery look amazing! Was it difficult not speaking any Vietnamese?
What a beautiful place. I can see getting swept away in all the fun stuff to do there.
Great post, it reminded me my trip to Vietnam last year. it was a great trip, it was warm(hot), cheap, and people are nice, of course, you always have to pay tourists tax in a way that i am not such a fan... i do understand it though, anyway it was a great trip hope to see more of your posts, :)
Hey @annieliu :) Thanks for reading!
You know, I like the tourist tax. I was raised in Kenya and experienced it from the other side. For locals, the experience (let's say going on safari) was a novelty and we hardly travelled, so we got it at half price. It brought up local tourism and we got to see more of our own country's luxuries. So I get it from that perspective!
I get that, I understand it totally, I am from China after all, lol.
Fantastic, Hanoi looks like it has an awesome personality
That's actually a good way to put it :) An incredible personality actually. And a bit insane hehehe
Hmm, i'm a bit skeptical of the $$$ amounts and the reality of this post. But i'm gonna say good job anyway. Anyone feel the same way? Not that I don't think the poster is getting legitimate upvotes it is just that something seems fishy. That is all. Have a good day guys.
He almost bought all his upvotes, just check :
https://steemit.com/art/@oneminja/it-s-true-hanoi-swallows-people#@transparencybot/re-it-s-true-hanoi-swallows-people--bidbot
Thanks for letting me know about this!
I fucking hate bots! ..... hate them!
Hi @djsteef and @geronimo! Thanks for reading!
Well, maybe I'll help by clarifying. Some Steemit users have created a lot of bots that can increase your visibility quickly. They do this by upvoting you and you pay for that service. Then you're much more visible and, IF people like your content, then you get more people enjoying and following. And that also shows me more people with interesting posts which I then look at.
I really like very good work.
Greetings.
FS
Thanks man! I'm happy you like it. :)
Gran post
Thank you, @rogeer!
Nice post,thanks for sharing and cool pics
Great art by workshop on above pic
Nice post,thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it!
Okay carry on that's great fork
Wow! Adding to my bucket list! Hopefully one day I will be there :)
Regards,
@ubfitzone
You have received an upvote from
Adam_Tran. I'm the Vietnamese Community bot developed by witness @quochuy and powered by community SP delegations.Amazing writing @oneminja couldn't help but reblog it.
Looking forward to the next one, ever visited the Philippines?
Ok
Hi @micscrypt! Thanks for reading and loving!
No I haven't been to the Philippines but funny enough you're the 3rd person who asked me that in the last 3 days. So I think I'll head there next year :) Are you from there or have you been?
I'm in the Philippines at the moment but not from here, there's a huge steemit community here :))
I've heard there's a big community there :) Also in Malaysia!
sweet, Steemit is spreading like wild fire...
I love your style of writing!
Asia. the smell, the chaos, the street food. Ooo man, I love it. you can try to describe the feeling, but actually you just have to experience it.
100%
Pffff! 200% :D
lols
Agreed @keysa :) Asia is cool. I only started to visit it last year and have only been to Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. But next year I'll pop into Indonesia and Philippines. :)
I like this place!!!
It's a fun place :) Funny, but also fun!
I like your information, it was excellent
first time i've heard someone say they like another's "information" :p
I've heard it before hehe. Sounds like a pick up line from the AI of the future.
Thanks! :)
Haha, this is great! I loved the animation at the start - you should add some music to it
Thanks! Maybe. Maybe.... mayyyybe. :)
So nice post!! And I really love your artwork! Still so many beautiful places in Vietnam. Hope you'll take time to travel more here!
THank you! I hope so too. I've been quite busy with some projects but next time I'll travel around more in this lovely country :)
If you come to Ho Chi Minh city, I can suggest you some best places.
Your Hanoi trip seems like one roller coaster ride, @oneminja! Fun at times but otherwise at some point. But it must be a fun and unforgettable experience of a lifetime! 😊
BTW, I laughed at the "If you lose your fingers, you go hungry" note. 😁 I have friends who have had the same problem, but they surely had a good time in Vietnam, and of course, good food and pho as well.
Cheers!
Yes, @michelleast! It WAS a rollercoaster. But all in all very interesting. And I had some goooood experiences there. Definitely not the most accessible city (maybe country) I've been to. But if you like motorbikes meets wild west meets free-for-all... you'd absolutely love it.
If you're looking for cheap (and good) eats too, Vietnam is the place to be! Everything's just part of the experience. 😀
Excellent post and tremendous experience I have always been a lover of Asian culture .. Thanks for sharing. That experience I hope to know that place and why not the whole continent😊
Thank you @cellomusic91 :) I agree, Asia is a mind-blowing place for several reasons.
Wow it's a really good looking place, I really enjoyed reading and seeing the original photos of the post. Great job bro, keep going and keep enjoying life
Thanks @aaronyst! Yeah I really recommend a visit, though it's not as ... streamlined as other places ;)
What I wouldn't give to have just 2 weeks here. From your post I'm already salivating and wishing we could swap locations. Have fun 😊😉
Do it! :) The diarrhea waits for you! Haha, no really, it's a staggering place.
If diarrhea is the only issue then I'd be packing my flagil tablets lol. Thank you
This looks really really cool. Thanks for sharing!!! I have always wanted to travel to these typed of places!
I'm happy you liked the post! It's a pretty interesting place to travel for sure :)
It's true. Hanoi Swallows People! This post has been resteemed by the @resteemmuse
Well, during your journey was an adventure, adapted to different circumstances, and even predictive because even pills if any food was the least accepted to your stomach, but anyway, you enjoyed the journey, that's good.
It was a very safe adventure, you're right! (Almost) never in any danger. Although I could have broken an ankle in one of those little accidents but it didn't happen!
Thank God.
nice post though, but hard to believe!!.... thumbs up
Hanoi is real :) Weird, and very very very real hehehe.
Thanks!
That means you were almost swallowed or would I say swallowed already 😂, I wish to visit that kind of peaceful place one day
I don't know if Hanoi can ever swallow me, brother :) And to politely correct you, it's not a "peaceful place" at all. At. All. It's a hurried, interesting, busy, crazy, fun place.
Oh so I was wrong, I thought it was peaceful and all that, well still, it's somewhere one can enjoy, am I right?
Love your artwork. makes me think of Tekkonkinkreet, a favourite manga. Keep it up!
Oooh thanks! That's a great compliment. I love Tekkonkinkreet, one of my favourites!
Never been there, but I'm fascinated by your post! tnx for sharing
You're welcome. I recommend a trip if you can do it!
<3 in 2 years i will go to vietnam 2 Gordon Ramsay said that he eat the best dish in his life in Vietnam on a boat
Did he? Cool! Maybe I should find that boat. Haha. Thanks for reading!
That means Hanoi must be a great place for one to stay and enjoy his/her stay 😂
Thank you! beautiful photos. I invite you to see my works. I'm starting in steemit
Welcome to Steemit! I will definitely look at your posts today :)
LOL I love your video. @fotografia101 check it out :D
Hahaha! I'm glad you like it, sir :)
One of the best travel posts I have read for.. I can't remember. Love your sense of humor! And although I have never been in Hanoi or Vietnam, now I kinda feel like I have and I like this city too!
Hey @jasonontheroof :) Man, I'm happy you enjoyed it. Yeah I think everyone should have a good look at Vietnam. It's an interesting place for sure!
Greetings, excellent publication really I would like to know these beautiful images of your photos, thank you for showing the attributes and other cultures, someday with the favor of God I hope to know, keep posting that to be as excited wanting to see more ¡¡
Thank you @raybull! Very happy to know you enjoyed the post. I hope you get to visit it at some point and experience some of those things and much much more than that!
thanks mate, honestly I hope some time, I invite you to follow and see my publications!
muy bello,de verdad me encanta,te sigo gracias por el apoyo
Gracias para todo :)
@oneminja,
Quite interesting. I guess I live vicariously through other peoples travels and the photos posted. I want to travel. I live on the US - Mexico border and it seems that I rarely get to go there. Your post is informative and I hope that any worms that found refuge in your gut are evicted! LOL.
Thanks for the post.
@Lymmerik
Hey @lymmerik!
Glad you enjoyed the post and having a look at Vietnam through my eyes.
You say you rarely get to go to Mexico? I haven't been there either. But i do recommend a bit of travel to eh, Ctrl-Alt_Del your mind :)
As for the worms, ahhh they keep my weight down. ;)
@oneminja,
Too funny! I do go rambling here in AZ, to the Chiricahua Mountains and to the Dragoon mountains where Cochise's Stronghold is, just to clear my mind but I have Apple computers. I used to have Windows, but switched.
Glad you are able to travel.
Have fun!
@Lymmerik
hahahaha sincerely I had never heard of Hanoi, but the description you gave us of it took me to that place. With many things that are not common for us but that are worth experimenting to change the routine. Excellent post friend, God bless you.
I'm very glad I managed to conjure Hanoi for you. It's an odd place and quite hard to really describe. And, hehe, yes, worth experimenting on and in. :)
Thank you!
It is very nice publication, some day I hope to know at least some of those beautiful countries, by its nature, for its beautiful landscapes and colors, I hope to have that great opportunity to know any beautiful country of the world, my venezuela is beautiful but there are countries that They are also charming. steemit will give me the great opportunity to earn money to know the whole world
Thank you @josemc :) Yes, I hope you have a chance to see every country you desire to see! And maybe even some that you didn't desire to see but fall in love with!
I hope everything is getting better there?
Great post! You gave a realistic feel/expectations to living in Hanoi. Personally, I was thinking of taking a gap year there or in Taipei, Chiang Mai or Sapporo.
Thanks @blorg :) A gap year in this area is perfect! Though if I were you I wouldn't take it in one place. I would hop once every month or two or 3 months, so you see 4-10 places in a year. It's quite cheap to hop if you plan it a little bit, and I know that Thailand and Vietnam are very cheap to live in (and Chiang Mai is a very friendly easy accessible city). Sapporo or Taipei I don't know.
Nice and real photos, these are cities, good and no so good places, that is the reality!
Thanks a lot for share your experiences, I´ll be attentive with your interesting publications
Regards from Venezuela
Thank you @mjoa07 :) Yeah, these are cities. I love the differences. They're such a challenge for your brain when you're in them, but always very interesting. Hanoi adds humour to it that, honestly, I find hard to find anywhere else.
Hope everything is ok there ?
Haha thanks for the exploration Oneminja. I like the garage food experience. Did you know that garage food is one of the best foods?
Let me tell you firstly it's less costly than what you can get from a hotel or uptown restaurant. I remember one time I bought a plate of food and a cup of milk for $2 which is not enough in the hotel. Last year at my cousins wedding in a hotel a plate of food would go for atleast $10 and a drink for $2. Why the abnormal increase in prices?
Secondly I think about hygiene when you mention garage food. Most people would think garage food is unhigienic and would trust the hotel or uptown restaurants. However, when it come to hygiene the reverse is true. I can trust the hygiene of these attendants in the garage and become sceptical of the hotel waitors and waitresses. Do you know Why? Let's imagine we are In the garage. The kitchen and serving point are at the same place. You can be able to see what kind if food is cooked, what ingredients are put in the food , how the food is covered, how the general cleanliness of the kitchen is. You can agree with me that you can't see any of the above in a hotel or uptown restaurant. We alwaysb trust those restaurants and hotels but do they have the right cleanliness given the fact that we cannot be allowed to inspect their kitchens. They are always hidden from the customers. I strongly believe there should be policies allowing customers to inspect the premises of a restaurant or hotel.
Hey @techmillion!
I agree! And what's more, with hotels and big restaurants, the storage contributes risk, when meat is stored near vegetables, which may be served in a salad (uncooked) with whatever contaminated them from the meat. The one time I had a reallllly good food poisoning for a week came from a very nice hotel restaurant.
This thing in Hanoi was just my stomach going "The fuck is this??? Get it out!! .... Ok, back to business." One hardcore 12 hours, like a good party hehehe.
Great post @oneminja. I visited Hanoi in 2013, on a cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong. Wonderful experience! We docked in Ha Long Bay (worth a day all by itself, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and took a bus into Hanoi.
Indeed, Hanoi swallows people. What I remember most is were the motor scooters swooshing around these 16 lane traffic circles with entire families and caseloads of fruits and vegetables impossibly balanced. You take your life in your hands just trying to cross the street. I grew up in NYC and never experienced anything nearly like it.
But there are also some incredibly peaceful and quiet respites from all the hustle and bustle. such as Truc Bach Lake, where I enjoyed a relaxing picnic lunch purchased from a street vendor. Even though I'm an American, and I ate my lunch where John McCain was shot down, nobody seemed to mind.
I loved the mixture of Oriental and French ambiance, and I could easily spend a month or two there.
Ira - upvoted and resteemed.
Hey @irakrakow! Thanks!
Yeah, oh man I love Truc bach, seriously chill and there's a nice bar there with very very very good beers right by the water. Overlooking the memory of McCain hehe.
And this is why I love and hate the city. There are aspects of it I can't deal with for a long time. For example, I briefly was doing some work with someone there, and the office was in such a place that coming back from a meeting with her would involve rush hour traffic. Forget it. That is a special, innovative type of rush hour. It's like swimming with a bunch of sardines in the can but without the brine.
But... there are oases here and there. And even some of the strangeness or chaos is hilarious!
What a place :)
Quite welcome, @oneminja! I only spent that day in Hanoi, which included the bus ride from Ha Long Bay to Hanoi and back. That's the way cruises work, you can only get a taste of the place.
What I love about travel is getting immersed in the strangeness, as you call it. It can be frightening at first, but once your mind comes to accept that it can expand your horizons, travel can actually be liberating. Anyway, I remember the craziness of the rush hour traffic (the cruise also stopped in Ho Chih Minh City, which may actually have a worse rush hour than Hanoi). Whole families balanced with all their possessions on one moped, trying to navigate through all l the chaos. But there's also the opportunity for incredibly peaceful moments in unexpected places, such as a park, temple, or lakeside picnic.
As an aside, I visited the "Hanoi Hilton" and thought that, as a US citizen and given my country's history with Vietnam, that I would stand out like a bull in a china shop. But that wasn't the case at all. I found everyone to be very polite and friendly. The prison seemed to highlight the French occupation more than the US involvement in the Vietnam War.
I look forward to reading and commenting on your other posts and learning more about you and your experiences. All the best, Ira..
Seems awesome! Great pics and moments thank u for sharing it! Up-voted loved and followed!
Thank you very much @lovecycle48 :)
Yes it's awesome! Very much so. Strange, and awesome too hehe.
Hello everyone