Four Day Writing Trip To Cultural Hanoi: Part 2
Read Part 1 here: https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/four-day-writing-trip-to-cultural-hanoi
So after getting settled in at the hotel and having a short afternoon siesta, I was ready to hit the streets of cultural Hanoi and see what was happening. The street where my hotel is appears to have gained about 30 massage parlours since last i was here. The hawkers for just about everything else is still the same. “Cyclo, sir” “Massage sir” wallet sir” “shoe shine (despite the fact that I’me wearing sandals)?“ It can get pretty irritating, truth be told.
This is a lovely time of the year to be here. The weather is just perfect, dry and pleasant without the oppressive heat that arrives before the wet season starts. Today was a very clement 25ºC/77ºF. Hanoi is always a little cooler than Ho Chi Minh City so this is a welcome change.
I found a quiet cafe where I had a milkshake as I posted the first instalment of this blog, then move on to Black Jack’s a steak and ribs joint. I was stuck between half a rack or a third, I ordered a third rack of ribs and when it arrived was glad I had. They were huge. The ribs weren’t exactly fall of the bone stuff but they were tasty. However the garlic buttered veg were disappointing. The garlic was so strong you simply cannot tell the difference between carrots and corn. I would have preferred just a few more chips.
Cultural Hanoi has changed in Recent Years
There’s great area in town where two of the newly designated beer streets meet. People sit out on the corner, to drink beer and watch the world go by. It’s called Beer corner, which is not very imaginable but it gets the job done. It’s pretty wild, every bar has its own music blaring out of the doors to create a real cacophony of sounds, but it’s an interesting little part of town. On one street I notice that so many of the bars have just themselves “Bia” then the number on their address, hence there is “Bia24” “Bia 27” Bia 29 “ and so on. What they lack in imagination they gain in efficiency.
I spotted the “Obama Restaurant” he is held in high esteem here, I wonder what establishments will be named after Trump following his visit to Vietnam later this month? I could hazard a guess. Answers on a postcard!
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