Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Still in Hanoi

I'm still here in Hanoi. I'm enjoying it. I'm staying in a hotel with impeccable service. They are so proactive, i felt scared. It's too much for a singaporean. The westerners simply loved it. The amazing thing is that they seem to provide the same level of service even though we are asians who are often known for not being able to reciprocate the same sort gratefulness the westerners are able to provide.

Hanoi is fast-paced, yet there's a zen feeling about it. You can feel that sense when you cross the roads here. Traffic lights basically have no meaning for the people and the motorists here. no one cares cos no one needs them. people cross wherever they want and whenever they want. Here's the zen magic, the pedestrians never ever turn to look at the traffic, and the vehicles will always seem to weave around the pedestrian without even losing a beat. How amazing is that? You will not know the feeling until you try it. There is order in chaos. I have not see any accident between the vehicle and the pedestrian over the past few days and the roads are super super packed.

The food here is great. Lots of veges, lots of mint and basil in everything. That's probably the reason why I don't see any rounded bodies around me. Probably also the fact that the average annual wage is 7-800USD. I'm sure there's also an elite rich class here. It's just that i'm not in the right city to see them, not that I care to see them. The pho (noodles) and the banh xeo (rice paper wraps) are some of the stuff that we liked here. Yummy Yummy.. Food is quite cheap here, but I believe it's still inflated due to the tourist attraction.

Loads of places have internet access, and i'm typing on a hotel provided IBM thinkpad right now!! Another fantastic service from the hotel. hahaa. But somehow, facebook is being blocked here. No way I could load the page. interesting.

I'll be off to another part of Vietnam tml evening. Sapa valley, a place where we are going to meet up with the local tribes and probably live among them for a while. Looking forward to it. :)

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