Tuesday was my last full day in Hanoi, yet I still wasn’t that interested in seeing the sights or dealing with any more taxi drivers.  Believe it or not, after breakfast,  I spent a few hours back in my room!  Which reminds me, I’d like to comment on the breakfast at Art Boutique Hotel.  There was tea, coffee, fruit juice and milk to drink.  One could eat off of either the Western menu (omelettes and such) or the Vietnamese menu (pho and the like).  Their breakfast buffet also had cereal, fresh passionfruit, charcuterie, miniature pork and/or beef Vietnamese sausages, toast, dragonfruit, watermelon and pineapple.  I’m probably forgetting something, but it was a bountiful breakfast spread.

When I finally ventured back out in the world of hectic Hanoi, my first mission was to peruse the street filled with jewelry shops.  Each shop seemed to have about half silver and half gold, but 22K gold, not 14K.  They took cash only.  Had I known that before, I would have used my ATM/Visa card to pay for meals and other things more, saving my cash for the jewelry!  I only bought one thing – a nice size star ruby ring set simply in 22K gold.  The price was good for the size and quality, though, when compared to the U.S.  A few doors down from that jewelry store was a lacquer shop.  Although most of the same things could probably be found right here in San Francisco’s Chinatown, I indulged myself a bit.  The shop owner was so happy to be making a sale that he threw in a few sauce dishes for free.  Since he was being uncommonly friendly, I asked him what the regular price would be for an hour’s cyclo ride in Hanoi.  He said 150,000 and even hailed a cyclo driver for me.  The cyclo driver was an older man who I was worried might not make it very far!  He was huffing and puffing his way through the Old Quarter as I took pictures and made videos.  At some point, I mentioned wanting to see Hoan Kiem Lake.  When we got to the lake, he said that the ride was over, even though it had barely been 45 minutes and, most certainly, NOT an hour.  He also begged for more money than the 150,000 dong because he “needed a beer.”  If anyone needed a beer, it would have to be ME after all the B.S. I encountered in Hanoi!  Since he’d dropped me off near some temple at the lake, I proceeded to get out and take pictures.  Many couples were having their engagement photos taken there by professional photographers that day, so we others aimed our cameras at the subjects as well.  There were also models having their photos taken, so I got a few of those, too.  All the vendors around the lake were selling those pop-up cards!  After having bought 8 in Hoi An, I didn’t think it necessary to buy more, so didn’t even check to see what they were hawking them for.  On my way back to the hotel, I came upon another lacquer store with a few different items.  I picked up a few more things, went back to the hotel and, once again, stayed in for the night.

After breakfast on Wednesday, I went up to my room to pack. One of the hotel employees, T., called my room. Although she wasn’t working until that afternoon, she wanted to make up to me the bad time I’d been having in Hanoi. She said that she’d be by at 10:00 a.m. to take me for coffee/tea, then lunch. That was very sweet of her. She picked me up on her motorbike and took me to Align Cafe, a two story coffee house with nice, large spaces. While she had coffee, I had some fruity, girly pink drink! Her friend, V., joined us awhile later. Both of them spoke English well; T. had been in the U.S. before, having studied for a year at U.C., Berkeley, as well as living half of that time at the Hotel Triton in San Francisco! V. had never been to the U.S., but seemed to speak English well from his interaction with tourists at the hotel he works at. While they decided where to go for lunch, I ran around taking some photos. They ended up taking me to Quan An Ngon, which was one that was on my list. It’s a huge restaurant with “food stalls” from all areas of Vietnam. They shared a rice dish, I had mi quang and the 3 of us shared spring rolls. It was a pleasant afternoon, which certainly did make me feel better about the less-than-pleasant time I’d been having in Hanoi. They dropped me back at the hotel via taxi, I gathered my luggage, waited for my driver and was off to the airport.

So… in conclusion, I would say this. In all honesty, Vietnam was not one of my favorite travel destinations. Unfortunately for me, it rained or was overcast most of my time there. I didn’t like being ripped off by taxi drivers in Hanoi, didn’t like being harassed by vendors in Hoi An and found that, in general, people were not that friendly and preferred not to have their picture taken. On the pro side, it’s very affordable, the food was incredible and all of my hotels were great. I will probably go again, within a year or two, mainly to Hoi An to have more clothing and shoes made. If I spend more time in Hanoi, at least I’ll know what to expect.

Model at Hoan Kiem Lake

Engaged Couple at Hoan Kiem Lake

Around Hoan Kiem Lake

Align Cafe

Part of the Menu at Quon An Ngon

Spring Rolls from Quon An Ngon