Viet-Nama: The Real Saga Begins

Turtle Tower, at Hoan Kiem lake, the Icon of Vietnam

It Is All About Food!

After checking out from the Imperial, we headed out to the hotel we had our reservations at - the Golden Lotus Luxury (Luxury to distinguish, because there's one without that tag, and the reviews stand at 1.7 out of 5 for that).  We were hungry, and my bloating had begun to seriously trouble me (and I wasn't able to locate my antacid).  First stop, a medical shop to buy sucralfate solution (yeah, only that helps). The lady at the shop didn't speak English much, and Google images helped.  We found sachets of the medicine (one sachet at a time, twice a day, the lady said), and I took one straight away.  Sayambhu wasn't yet in the mood for adventure vis-à-vis food, and suggested we grab something at a Starbucks close by (his favourite coffee place, and my least).  I assented.  

Pandan Cake at the Starbucks; the beginning of pandan obsession of Sayambhu

The place was huge, the seating available on two floors, and yet it was packed to the brim.  We barely managed a place to sit.  I got myself a hot chocolate, while Sayambhu got some pasta, a cake, and coffee for himself.  I managed to eat most of the cake though - a new flavour, pandan.  That began the journey of Sayambhu wanting pandan-flavoured everything all through our trip. Even when we were shopping for souvenirs, he wanted pandan flavoured chocolates, coffee, and what-not.  I was sure he would even pick up a pandanus bush for home, while returning.  I wouldn't be surprised if he now starts a kitchen garden just to grow this. Pandan is one of the earliest domesticated plant (a 'cultigen'), is sterile, and has fragrant leaves that are used in cooking across South and South East Asia. There is a species of pandanus that grows wildly in the Andamans, and even bears fruit (called pandanus); though it looks like pineapple, they are unrelated. 

Once we checked into the new hotel and took some rest, we headed out for our first Vietnamese meal at a nearby restaurant called, Met.  It was barely a few metres away from the hotel we stayed at; Sayambhu had chosen it based on google reviews (every place hereafter that we went may also be assumed so; the place had to have at least a 4.5/5.0 in the reviews for us to try). He promptly fell in love with the pho they served (we also had soup, and some starters).  Pho is a meal in itself; it consists of Vietnamese rice noodles and meat served in a clear, herbs-flavoured broth  in a bowl.  Usually, the meat is either chicken or beef. One adds a variety of sauces to it to make it more flavourful. Hereafter, at every place we dined, he invariably had pho (apart from other things).  His appetite for pho continued through the trip. 

Fresh Spring Rolls and Pho!

The breakfast spread at the Golden Lotus L matched any five-star property I had stayed at, and even surpassed several of them in quality and taste.  Their service was impeccable too.  Sayambhu got to appreciate the flavour of dragon fruit too (among other things, bacon and cheeses included). 

I am not a foodie, nor a hardcore meat eater; I barely nibble on some chicken and fish, and never miss meat in my meal.  Eggs are the only non-vegetarian constant in my meal. Usually, while travelling in other countries, I tend to eat chicken and fish as much as possible, to avoid looking for vegetarian dishes (if I readily find in the menu, I order them, as it's so much easier on my palate). Sayambhu though went a few steps further to ensure I get my quota of vegetarian stuff through the trip, by finding vegan restaurants - we tried one vegan restaurant each at Hanoi, Da Nang, and HCMC! Again, he applied his stringent 4.5 rule to ensure we visit the best places.  Needless to say, each of the places we went to dine offered delicious food, and exceptional service. 

I would like to recount just one experience of dining in Hanoi. 

The first night of Hanoi, Sayambhu found a place that said vegan on google, and said we would dine there - vegan because my tummy still hadn't stabilised, and I didn't want to risk eating meat.  The place boasted of great reviews. However, when we actually went there, we discovered it wasn't vegan, but was assigned so, since the place also served some vegetarian fare.  Since we were hungry we chose to dine there itself (and the food was as usual by Vietnamese standards, scrumptious).  But, the next day - to make up for the previous night's faux paus - Sayambhu found a place called, ‘Katze’ and we decided to walk to this place. Since we were in the Haon Kiem district (Old Quarters), most of the places - including all the traditional attractions - were in walking distance. 

The restaurant was about 700 metres away from the hotel we stayed at. It took about ten minutes to walk to the street, using google maps. Surprise! We couldn’t locate the restaurant, and we thought it might have closed down for renovation, and there were no updates. Since we had planned to see the one-pillar pagoda, we thought we would start walking towards it, and eat somewhere on the way. 

Suddenly out of nowhere, I saw the board, ‘Katze’, almost hidden by something dangling from the roof. We were happy that we didn’t have to find another place, and entered. 

The restaurant ran in two small cubicles of space, side-by-side. The space available was very limited, and the seating was very basic. I wondered if we had chosen the right place at all. We saw there were other - foreign - customers eating there, and that gave some confidence to sit. The menus were offered, and it declared, ‘Whatever you order, we will further serve one of the following free of charge’, and went on to list a set of salads, soups, and starters. 

Sayambhu ordered vegan pork, while the unadventurous me, went for vegan prawns. We also asked for fresh spring rolls. The proprietor of the place himself served the free salads and the short eats, and showed us how to eat - he took some salad and mixed with sticky rice, dipped them all in two different sauces, and literally fed the first bite to Sayambhu. The rest of the food too arrived in quick time. 

Every morsel we ate was yummy, and was an explosion of flavours for the taste buds. Sayambhu went ga-ga over the faux pork, and said it tasted almost exactly like the original! By the time we finished the meal, we were bursting at the seams, as the portions were large. No wonder the place enjoys a perfect 5 star rating on google reviews! 

It wasn’t just the food that was special at this place. The proprietor of the place was a boy on the streets, who grew up shining shoes. With hard work (and help from a charity), he went to school and today runs this place. Not just that, every year he - William Cuong - donates 100 million VND (Vietnamese Dongs) to charities that help children off the streets (amounts to roughly $4000). It’s two weeks since we ate there. I still feel overwhelmed about the whole experience. There are people, and then there are humans like William Cuong.

Cuong at his vegan restaurant, Katze

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Justifying the Food We Ate

We were staying in the Old Quarter district of Hanoi.  It is centrally located, and at walking distance to most of the tourist attractions . Most of the great eateries too were just around the corner, and one could shop for all the souvenirs and coffee/chocolate right there (it's another matter we didn't shop; sigh!).  I had read up about the place before booking the hotels; heeding to the advice saved us quite a bit of money (and time).  However, we didn't truly know how closely we were to the monuments, until we used the Google maps to locate where the Hoan Kiem lake was.  It was about 300 metres away!

Ngoc Son Temple

So, our tour began with a walk around the Hoan Kiem lake (it translates to 'Sword Lake').  We noticed a small monument, called the Turtle Tower on a little island in the middle of the lake - the most famous monument of all in Vietnam, built in 19th Century (not that old by Indian standards).  There was another temple on another islet of the lake, called the Ngoc Son temple (again built in the 19th Century) in memorium of three sages belonging to Taoism. As we roamed about different historical places in Vietnam, we realised that turtle is the symbol that is most represented and revered in this country (in Cambodia, it is the snake, which gets incorporated into every building). Eastern cultures - including India - have so much connections with one another, I mused. 

As always, I found a tree by the bank of the lake, climbed it, and got myself clicked.  It was the closest I would get to a driftwood here. Of course, I made even Sayambhu climb over.  Seeing us, a couple came over and asked us to click their pics, with the husband climbing atop a branch. 

Monkeying as Usual!

Post seeing the lake and its monuments, we headed to the Train Street.  People throng to this place to see a train whizz past barely a few inches away from their faces.  The crossing is not automatic, and the gates are closed manually each time a train crosses.  A train time table is published regularly online to help tourists reach the place in time to catch a glimpse on their phones/cameras and upload on their social media handles (like I did too). On either side of the track, one finds loads of cafes - you could sit and trainspot while sipping on a coffee or a beer (if you are not willing to spend, you aren't welcome to occupy the seats).  For Indians who have grown up travelling in trains, this is no great experience, but for the White tourists (and the new gen Indian kids), this is something new.  By the way, the cafes that line up the track serve some awesome coconut coffee.  

Bustling Train Street at Dusk

The next day, we first set off to visit the One Pillar Pagoda.  When we walked up to the place, we were stopped from entering as our attire was considered inappropriate for the campus.  We were dressed in shorts and sleeveless tees.  Thus, we instead visited the Temple of Literature .  It was originally built in the 11th Century.  The correct name for the place should be Temple of Confucius.  This place also served as the first university of Vietnam.  It's a sprawling campus, with multiple courtyards featuring several lotus ponds.  The place is lush green, has Chinese style of architecture and buildings.  Indians who visit Vietnam should desist from comparing the ancient monuments found there to those found here, and say how great we were.  It is so annoying!

Temple of Literature & its Courtyards

We went back to the One Pillar Pagoda and the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh on another day.  Sayambhu - like a petulant child - did not want to come; he had taken the refusal the previous day hard, but he relented after much coaxing when I said I wanted to see the places. Originally he was excited to see the one pillar pagoda, but he was miffed that we weren't allowed to enter the previous day.  Once at the mausoleum and pagoda, he refused to get his pictures clicked, and grumbled 'racism' when he saw a few people in shorts and singlets that were allowed.  Even the carrot of another coffee or a visit to the train street wouldn't abate his annoyance. 

One Pillar Pagoda, the most important Buddhist Temple

The pagoda is found in the same campus that houses the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, and was built originally in the 11th Century, and has seen modifications thereafter.  It is the most well-known Buddhist temple of the country.  There weren't too many people when we visited, as it was drizzling a bit.  One is not allowed to enter the mausoleum of HCM, possibly for security reasons.  The mausoleum is built in a modern style, and looks imposing, but not noteworthy, architecturally. One possibly visits this more as a result of wanting to see the pagoda. 

The area where the mausoleum is located is called Ba Dinh, and it also houses important government offices and embassies.  We noticed that there was a police security post, at every circle here.  Each post had a cabin to take shelter for the police, and also a pedestal fan to keep the police cool in the heat.  Interestingly, Vietnam is still a communist country, one of the last in the world.  However, unlike in China, there are no social media restrictions here. Yet, the country is known for censorship and restrictions on media, issues of religious freedom, etc., though these issues may not be noticed at all by the visitors. 

Security at a Govt Building

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Tailpiece

Just like we explored different places to dine at, we also looked up some of the happening watering holes.  But, will write about them in another write-up, as this is becoming a bit long-winding.