Finally, a real vietnamese spring roll! Day 2: Hanoi, Vietnam

We awoke this morning to the ubiquitous sounds of car, bus, and scooter horns as early as 600AM, and as we half dreamt from bed, we were soon tantalized by what appears to be a morning ritual in Hanoi: at 730AM daily, a gorgeous song with a woman's voice is played over public address systems throughout the city, perhaps a national anthem or maybe a popular song? It is followed with what seemed to be some announcements by a man's voice... And so our first day in Vietnam begins! 

As with anywhere, there are rules on appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and we make note to abide by all of the hotel regulations, posted in our room.

We start things off with breakfast in the hotel lobby, which includes your choice of Western items and Rain Man playing on the TV with Vietnamese subtitles in the background.

The peach juice was our favorite (two glasses each), and we both ate an egg-based dish, which we found to be cooked up well, even if it's not the traditional Vietnamese breakfast. From the staff that checked us in last night to the breakfast crew this morning, everyone is so helpful and accommodating.

Even though there usually exists a bit of a language barrier, a smile and a few hand gestures can get us what we need, or they will get someone to help translate. We snapped a pic of the kitchen staff on our way out, and thanked them for the meal.

After this, we spoke with the hotel concierge (Manh is the man!), and he arranged our travel and accommodations for Halong Bay, and we scheduled our departure for two days later. Manh also hired Chung for us, a bicycle tuk tuk driver, to give a proper introduction to the neighborhood.

We witnessed motorbike, bicycle and auto traffic moving in what simultaneously seemed like chaos and harmony, as every moment was filled with what seemed like at least five potential accidents.

We were later told this rule in Vietnam: "Just go and don't stop."  If you stop, they will hit you, but if you close your eyes and just walk across the street, you will reach the other unscathed. As we people watched, Dasha pointed out several Vietnamese families along the way, and we noticed the youngest generation seems to hang out with mom, dad, or grandma during the work day if they're not yet of school age.

Following our hour long tour of the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, the cultural heart of Hanoi, we ate a quick lunch across from the hotel at Tamarind, a vegetarian restaurant serving Vietnamese fare and all day breakfast. The pumpkin soup was outstanding, but Dasha's two color soup was just okay. We also ate summer rolls and spring rolls (we couldn't choose) that featured fresh veggies and deliciously thin rice paper.

This was also our first authentic Vietnamese iced coffee. Yum! Energized, we then took to the streets for an exciting afternoon of shopping and people watching on Hang Gai & Hang Bong streets.

There is beautiful silk clothing everywhere; Dasha found a few pieces to her liking, and even got one altered in just two hours.

Joel found a cool hoodie, and was astonished at how affordable everything seemed to be.  Continuing our journey through the Old Quarter, we walked by a street full of scooter repair shops and the St. Joseph Cathedral, completed in 1886.

As we wrapped up our shopping, we saw hundreds of locals and foreigners alike sitting on small stools along the sidewalks, dining, drinking, and cooking together in what was a daily ritual for many.

It's a casual yet cosmopolitan culture here in Hanoi, which is celebrating 1000 years of existence in 2010, marked by the Vietnamese phrase "Thanh Long."

We finished our day with massages at $7/hour upstairs from Tamarind, where we couldn't resist more fruit juice and smoothies.

Relaxed from our thai-style massages, we felt jet lag setting in, and were off to bed by 730PM, looking forward to another exciting day in Hanoi!

the honeymoon begins! Day 1: Seoul, South Korea

We arrived in Seoul, South Korea at 530AM local time at the new Incheon International Airport, completed in the 1990's to accommodate throngs of travelers outdated Gimpo International could not handle. The new airport is situated on an island, about 50 km from city center. Sunrise was amazing on this crisp fall day, and we had a 12 hour layover to burn.

We boarded bus 6011 at a cost of 10,000 won per person, or about $10 US, and headed toward the city. This trip took about 75 minutes, so we mostly napped through the crazy morning rush hour traffic.

Our main visits were to the Kyeong Bok Palace and the Insadong neighborhood, both in close proximity to each other. Hopping off the bus, we meandered a bit in hope of finding our destinations on our own, but eventually had to pop into a little cafe for a "coffee roll" and some directional assistance. The lady behind the counter was very sweet and helpful; she came out from behind the counter to direct us and tell us we were but two blocks from the palace. The morning cold was biting, but but as we approached the palace, our focus turned to the immense structures and beautiful grounds enjoyed by past Korean dynasties.

 

The site had been restored in the 1860's, and while it was fairly quiet this morning, a small procession of people in traditional Korean garb were intriguing. After about 90 minutes of exploring, we headed past the stunning folk museum and watched some young women throwing leaves, taking photos and doing their best to jump at the same time. With no map, we exited and looked for clues as to where the Insadong neighborhood might be outside of Hank's Book Cafe.

 
We learned we were close and arrived shortly to one of Seoul's liveliest streets, full of small shops and restaurants.

After enjoying the sights and sounds while ambling up and down Insadong's action-packed streets and alleys, we found a massage place to help relieve some of the tension from our 14-hour flight.

We then dropped into a little cafe on the street and ate some noodles, veggies and rice, although they tried to push some pig on Dasha despite her vegetarian requests! Post lunch, we explored the area a little more and eventually found a PC room (internet gaming lounge) to print our Vietnam Visa approval letter. We were now in the bustling Jongjo neighborhood, a bit more cosmopolitan with more high rises and businesses sprinkled in with small shops. We witnessed some sort of organized protests with many folks in wheelchairs, and saw a somewhat humorous incident unfold right before us as we waited for a stop light. At this intersection, all traffic was stopped for nearly five minutes, and there were a handful of disabled people waiting to get across the street to the rally. Unprompted, a gentleman in a wheelchair shot out into the intersection despite the protests of local law enforcement and somehow evaded the traffic cop trying to chase him down and stop him. We weren't the only ones giggling to ourselves as we watched this brave man stick it to the cops. After a quick afternoon tea break, we boarded the airport-bound bus and said goodbye to Seoul.

The city presented a very exciting mix of history and present-day bustle, with pagodas from the past and modern amenities side-by-side in every direction. We arrived at Incheon with plenty of time and had a fantastic dinner at the airport's Kraze Burger, with a variety of vegetarian options!

We boarded our flight for an on time departure and were on our way to Hanoi, Vietnam. Upon arrival, we were scooped up by a transfer from our hotel, the Hanoi Elegance Emerald. We finally walked into the hotel around midnight and were treated to a tasty mango drink. We slept soundly in Hanoi's gorgeous Old Quarter with excited anticipation of our first day in Vietnam.