M-whY

I remember early that morning, I had breakfast in a small shop next to the hotel. An old woman was sitting on the sidewalk making fresh rice paper rolls by spreading some sort of rice batter on a hot surface, covering it with a lid for a minute, and then removing it and filling it with stuff. There were no signs marking it as a 'restaurant', except for a few plastic stools surrounding three tiny, two feet high tables. I took a seat, and with only one item on the menu, was spared the ordering process. A plate of semitranslucent rolls were brought to me, and with some hand gestures, I was able to secure something to drink too. When I was done, I took out my wallet indicating I wanted to pay. As I do when I have no idea how much the bill was, I handed the 'waitress' a note I was confident would cover the cost, and waited for change. It turned out that my meal had only cost 12,000 dong (US$1 = 15000 dong). Though it was nothing to die for, it was still pretty good, and was the first time since my first day in Vietnam that I could say I ate some local cuisine.

I remember, emboldened by my success at eating a local breakfast, I made it a point to take lunch the same way. The Old Quarter of Hanoi is where many tourists make camp, but most of it is still distinctly Vietnamese. Somewhere on the streets, I found a place with Hanoians again huddled over tables suffering from dwarfism. The shopkeeper presided over a huge collection of dishes, such as tofu, stuffed tomatoes, fish, and beef. Ordering was a cross between a buffet and dim sum. I went up and pointed at the things I wanted, and small bowls of what I selected were brought to me. The orders were small, but really cheap (8,000-10,000 dong each), and so I ended up sampling half a dozen dishes.

The day itself was uneventful. Thanks to a mixup in flight a few days earlier, I had lost a day in Vietnam, costing me an opportunity to visit the hill tribes up north. (A trip would've required two days at least. I only had one to spare.) Visiting hill tribes are a popular thing to do in southeast asia, in Thailand in particular. However, missing out didn't cause me too much grief. The human zoo experience is something I can do without.

(For future visitors who may go hill tribe trekking, it might be worth it to skip Chiang Mai in favor of Laos. Though I can't say from personal experience, the general consensus among people I've talked is that Laos' trekking scene is unique because it's regulated by the government. Each tribe is limited to one or two visits from outsiders per month, preventing it from being a tourist carnival.)

I remember that evening, I had seafood at one of the many vendors along the street. Again, I took my place on a tiny plastic stool, and from tubs of live specimens, pointed at what I wanted for dinner. A dozen and a half of the largest, freshest, shrimp I've ever feasted on, a crab so large and so colorful I felt sorry for eating it (until I realized how good it was), and a bowl of clams to pick at in between mouthfuls of the aforementioned. I could feel my mouth watering as it was all boiled right in front of me. All for about US$12. Try getting that at Red Lobster!

It's really a shame I don't have pictures of it all. I did in fact plan on including some, but while watching a street performance after dinner, my camera somehow got lifted from my pocket. I knew I had it because I took pictures of some of the earlier acts, and then when I reached for it again to take pictures of the finale half an hour later, it was gone. Looking back, I can see how it happened. I recall a couple kids brushing by on my right, distracting me, while their accomplice probably went through my left pocket. It's hard to put a positive spin on it, but if there's one thing that I can take comfort in, it's that I had emptied my memory card to my laptop the night before, and fortunately only lost a day's worth of pictures.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!