Life in Hanoi

A view of Hoan Kiem Lake.

One of my new favorite foods in Hanoi, fruit cup with yogurt.

Maybe my ultimate culinary adventure? Hmm, not so sure.

My time in Hanoi is quickly coming to a close. While originally I was planning on taking the 36 hour train back down to HCM to catch a bus to Can Tho, but after some thinking decided a flight would be better. So now we’re flying out of Hanoi on Saturday, which gave us a full two extra days to enjoy the city. What has turned out to be an almost 40 page paper is finished. A few days of procrastinating and a few days spent living in the cafes around the city and I’ve finally wrapped it up. I’ll present the project to everyone else in the program on Monday and then I’ll officially be done with my academic work for the semester.

This was the longest time I’d ever really spent in a real city, which was a new experience. Being able to walk everywhere has been amazing and I’ve loved just looking down my alley and finding someone selling fruit. I’ve recently discovered these small mandarin orange type of fruits. They’re all over the city and are so much better than clementines. That’s probably one of the things I’m going to miss most about being in Vietnam--that you can go anywhere and get fresh fruit or find a little stand to have a meal. I’ve found though that the food down south is notably better. They have stronger flavors and it seems like a lot more vegetarian options. This is likely a result of having a lot more tourists than Can Tho and a much bigger demand for western restaurants. Although I’ve eaten some pretty crazy things this semester, I think I might be ready for the ultimate crazy culinary adventure. Snake perhaps? Maybe mouse? Though dog is not in my near future and the same goes for cat. Until I find that new food to try I’m going to stick with my fruit cups with yogurt, kebab sandwiches and papaya salad (shredded papaya with greens with a fish sauce-based dressing).

Most days in Hanoi have involved some time spent around the Hoan Kiem Lake (five minute walk from my hostel), some work on my project and eventually getting together with friends for some exploring around dinnertime. There has also been some serious shopping and when I go back to Can Tho I still have to pick up the clothes I was having made at the tailor (something really common and inexpensive in Vietnam). One of the best parts of spending this month in Haoni has been the people I’ve been meeting. Tons of just-graduated students who have finished a year or so teaching English, lots of Europeans, Kiwis and Australians, and so many people who are just traveling the world for a year or so. Some have specific timelines and plans, but a lot have come into their journey with some basic guidelines, but are just kind of going with the flow not quite sure when they’ll go home. The trouble in Thailand has become an issue for a lot of travelers here, but not so much the attack in India. Being over on this side of the world is definitely putting a new perspective on something I’d be fairly disconnected with back home.

As usual, the weather is absolutely gorgeous today which is making listening to “Winter Wonderland” right now a bit more ironic. So crazy to think that in less than two weeks I’ll be on my way back to the U.S. and have to put away my flip flops for the first time in almost eight months!