Vietnam Day 9: Chilling in Hanoi and Train Street

We were mostly tired today, and so just kind of walked around Hanoi a lot. Though our room was much better, the AC left much to be desired and when the nights are no colder than 20 degrees, two boys that don't handle heat well need that AC.

I think the things of note that happened today were our lunch meal, a ginger rice dumpling soup, a random encounter with a Relic, and then a walk to Train Street in the evening.

Glutinous Rice Dumpling Soup (as per my translator) was a random meal we tried out on a side street in the late morning. We sat in the tiny stools that line the streets and were served bowls of sweet ginger broth with (maybe?) a splash of cream and big chunks of ginger. 3 dumplings sat in the middle of the broth and after biting into the first, I thought they would be all filled with sesame - but I was wrong! I think the second was mashed potatoes and the third was like a corn based mixture? It was good, but I am not sure either of us will seek it out specifically again. Nice to try something new though. As a side note, I think it was this meal where we really started to appreciate Huan ordering food for us since all of our meals on the motorcycle trip were really good. But we were on our own now and would have to do the whole trial and error thing.

The Relic (which is how the ancient sites around Vietnam are referenced) was just across the street from Sword lake and is called the Dinh Nam Hu'o'ng (the Nam Huong communal house). In an aorund it, art, sculpture and statue pay tribute to "...King Lê Thái Tổ, the revered 15th-century General-turned-Emperor. He liberated Vietnam from Chinese rule and founded the Later Lê Dynasty, the country's longest ruling imperial line. Built in 1894, the Lê King Temple is a quiet portal into Vietnam’s post-colonial rebirth, layered with political significance and tales of divine destiny, rebellion and the enduring power of myth."

In the evening, after a lot of just chilling out, we decided we should get out and experience more of Hanoi before moving on, which led us to the famed "train street."

I don't know what to tell you, it is a tight corridor where restaurants and cafes sit really close to an active train track. it looks like a train comes through about a dozen times a day. During our coffee and meal, we say three come through. About 10 min before the train comes, all the shop oweners start moving people back, removing the small temporary tables and telling you to tuck your knees in. I thought it was overkill until the first train cruised by and it was very close (see the movie below). It was fun, but once is enough I think. As we left, a Russian turned to us, and simply said "Most stupid fucking thing" and walked off.

Train!

That evening, both Cass and I got massages (which can be had for about $15 for an hour) and tucked in early.