FIVE Things You Probably Didn't Know About Hanoi

This post should probably be titled, "Five Things *I* Didn't Know About Hanoi". I have been here exactly one year as of this month. In this time, I have come to have a deep appreciation for this country, it's culture, and it's people. I have been exposed to so many different traditions and ideas, but I decided to do a post about 5 particular things I found to be quite astonishing about this city in Vietnam.

So here are FIVE things I found out after arriving:

1. Colombia isn't the only Coffee Mecca. Yep, Vietnam, too!

Okay, this one is more about Vietnam as a country than Hanoi, but it was still a huge shocker to me to learn this. Brazil is actually, the biggest exporter of coffee, but most everyone is familiar with Colombian coffee. No. 2 behind Brazil is, you guessed it... VIETNAM! Check out this article on it... => History of Vietnamese Coffee. I have NOT tried Egg Coffee just yet, and I still drink hella Americano. That's primarily because I still prefer larger quantities of coffee than just a swallow in a shot glass.

A little fancy maybe... photo by Fiammetta Mancini

2. Long Bien Bridge was built by the same company that made the Eiffel Tower.

It is a common misconception that Gustave Eiffel designed the bridge, but this is not true. The same company... yes. Daydé & Pillé of Paris designed and built it, but Eiffel was not involved. Long Bien bridge opened in 1902 at almost 2300 meters long after about 3 years of construction. It spans the Red River and was bombed 14 different times during the war. It is no longer used for automobile traffic today. Only trains, bikes, and pedestrians cross this bridge now. 

3. John McCain has a memorial next to the lake he fell into after being shot down.

This one was sort of huge for me. I had just visit the War Museum a day or two before visiting the McCain Memorial. As an Army Veteran, I grew up trained by Vietnam war vets. When I enlisted, I was issued the same gear they used in Vietnam. I saw the PRC-77 radio I used in that museum, along with the same M113 armored personnel carriers I drove. My jungle boots were in a display case there. It was eerie. 

I visited there with my British friend Richard and his Vietnamese girlfriend, Trang. After leaving the museum, he told me about the John McCain Memorial site. I passed by it at least once a week and never knew it was there. It was nearby and I visited it the next day. I wasn't sure how to think of it. The late Senator and former POW returned to Vietnam several times in his effort to strengthen Vietnam/US relations. In 2009 he visited the memorial. To me, the statue depicts a defeated, kneeling figure. I saw it as more celebratory that he was caught than honoring the improved relations, but I could be wrong in that. 

4. The Lotus Flower is not just for decoration!

The aquatic pink lotus flower is the national flower of Vietnam, but it is more than something pretty to gaze upon. I had no idea, but it is also an edible plant. The flower, the stem, the seeds, and the roots have all been part of a cuisine or recipe ingredient. A lady on a plane gave me a seed pod and I ate the seeds incorrectly at first. I didn't peel off the green casing around the seed. I had downed about 5 of them before she corrected me. But after getting down to the actual white nut underneath, it was quite good. I haven't had lotus flower any other way beyond that, however. 

5. The Coronavirus has been checked better than most any other country in the world!

Make no mistake. Vietnam has been on top of this Covid situation since DAY 1. From the very first infected citizen, they took measures to protect it's densely packed 100 million population. Aggressive quarantine and contact tracing has kept case and death numbers down better than almost anywhere else in the world. A new wave recently brought us to just over 2400 cases. Not 24 Thousand... 24 HUNDRED. There have been a total of 35 deaths that all occurred during the second wave back in July/August 2020. The preventative measures have been exemplary. The country remains on a new entry visa lockdown, but we are free to travel within the country. International flights have been allowed in under the most strict circumstances... none of which is for tourism. 

In Late March 2020, I came up as a possible exposure contact (F2) and had to quarantine. Fortunately, I had great accommodations, food, and a hotel staff that treated me respectfully.

Quarantine breakfast

Quarantine room at Halais Hotel in Hanoi

Three Years in the Making and New Priorities

 

Vincinguerra Glacier hike, Ushuaia, Argentina November 2019

You can never ever... like EVER really know how things are going to conclusively work out. Try as you might, the world around you could give two cents about you and your "plans". Eighteen months is what I had imagined this trip taking me. All I wanted to do was tour Central and South America. But the question popped into my head... why stop there, at the end of Argentina? I had no good answer, but more than a hundred reasons to keep going. But you've probably heard this story. So instead of looking back, this time... let's look ahead!

In my last blog post, I asked the question, "What Are You Going to Do Now?", given the nature of all the changes that... essentially, the world... has been subjected to. It's a valid question! Some of you already know. You've adapted already or your current situation is built/designed already to handle these hectic times. If your business or job was predicated on working from home, count your blessings. If your business is 100% travel related, you'd better do something. 

Vincinguerra Glacier hike, Ushuaia, Argentina November 2019

As we move forward, we hear terms like "the new normal", suggesting that life as we know it has died and will forever be relegated to talk in the taverns of how we USED to do things. Sort of how we maybe discuss today of life before the internet, emails, and iPhones. Personally, I do think things will return to pre-2020, just as life did after the last severe global pandemic in 1918. It may take all of 2021 or even into next year before we see Covid-19 as a thing of the past. We'll learn from it. New regulations and oversight will emerge on how we travel. Those are the things we'll have to get used to. Just like 9/11, we got used to taking our shoes and belts off for airport security. We expect to do that now, but we still travel.

But we have to make it to that point of "normality" again. (Side note: I hate that word.) And that brings me back to that last post question. What are you going to do now? Looking ahead, I can say that I am grateful to be where I am. It wasn't by design, I can assure you. I don't take credit for riding out this pandemic in Vietnam, one of the safest places to be in the world. I'm here and it helps being in a place where living expenditures are a quarter of that in the US. I know what you're saying. My mission is to backpack around the world! I get that. Reread the opening paragraph. CHANGE! Priority number one for me is to make my opportunities here. I'm looking into endeavors that will allow me to stay a couple years here. Yuuup... YEARS. Plural. 

I can't see "normalcy" in 2021. And I don't like the idea of basing my life on waiting for it. So I will make my opportunities, seek my happiness, and do what I think is right for me based out of where I am, right here in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi has a sort of hold on me. When I thought about leaving, something seemed to always snatch me back. I'm not talking about fear of the unknown. No, I've returned for practical reasons. The people, the places, the city itself. I'm gradually understanding it. Ergo, I may as well get comfortable, stable, and start finding my opportunities here. 

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, built in 1920

I was all set to begin launching Wide World Terrell, a new content platform that would concentrate more on travel and ACCENTED with photography. It's still in development, but I'm holding on to it right now. Wide World is suspended until further notice and it's just going to be Wide Hanoi or Wide Vietnam, at most. Maybe I will introduce you to a black man's musings in the most promising locales in Southeast Asia. The important part for me right now, is that I'm committed to being here, as opposed to moving anywhere else. 

Next on agenda is getting my body right. I did not blog between November 20, 2019 and January 20, 2020. I did not cover any of my time in Argentina. Apologies. I spent the majority of October and November in Ushuaia, Argentina. I had a beautiful experience there and got some great photos. I'm going to talk about it more in the next or a future blog post. However, one particular event almost changed the course of all my travel plans. Towards the end of my trip, I chose to hike the Vinciguerra Glacier, right there on the outskirts, north of Ushuaia. I took a chance. Got some great shots, THOROUGHLY enjoyed the experience! BUT... man I ripped up my knee on the way down.

I am not really sure how much I've talked about my military injuries on this blog. Usually, I don't want to bring up those kind of personal hardships, but I think I will in the future. Maybe they can be helpful to someone. But I went home to the US for the holidays, not knowing if I would leave again anytime soon, have to get surgery, or what. I had moved from the VA hospital in Nevada to the one in Texas and getting set up in a new spot was not anything that was going to happen quick. 

Snow storm in Ushuaia, a few days after arrival. No Black and White conversion here. 

Instead, I found that I was able to walk around casually and decided that I would take a chance to travel. My strategy was to just be careful and see how I could heal on my own. Maybe come back in two years to repair it. Yeah... then Covid came. I was good for a while, but dagnabit... things changed about two months ago, where I began having problems again. So I have to make some lifestyle changes. I sort of need this knee! So I'm going to do some conditioning on my own, first. And then as I get stabilized in Vietnam, I'm going to seek care outside the VA and get medical advice here. 

So that's the plan. Get comfortable in Vietnam. Generate new opportunities. Get healthy! I'll talk about Argentina maybe next time, but meanwhile, enjoy the pics. 

Vietnam is Coming Alive Again

"Vietnam's economy could boom thanks to fast coronavirus response"

~ Axios, May 4, 2020 - Economy & Business, Dion Rabouin

On April 23, 2020 the government of Vietnam rescinded the lockdown mandate across the nation. People slowly came back to the streets. The hotel where I'm residing opened it's coffee shop and for the first time in almost 2 months the chairs have come down from being stacked on top of the tables which have been pushed to the sides along the wall. Customers populate the sitting area and enjoy a foamy caramel macchiato alone with laptops and cell phones or chatting with friends. Hanoi had come alive again.

I hope it's not too soon. In the last three weeks, there has been one new case and that came from a British Oil expert who flew in for a project, but was immediately put on quarantine upon arrival. So he had no contact with the public. I can hear the distinct difference in pedestrian traffic from my hotel room. And when I go down stairs, the coffee shop is most always packed with visitors. It has always been open. It never closed down fully, but customers could not take a seat and only 5 or so were allowed in at a time. And when you placed your order, you had to stand in circles that were 6 feet apart and you had better be wearing a mask.

I have been in this particular hotel for about 6 weeks and I had no idea what many of the staff looked like until recently, as I have caught them sometimes without a mask. The lady that cleans my room or the one that brings my breakfast, initially left it on a stool at the door. Now they knock and bring my tray inside my room and set it down for me, sometimes wearing a mask... sometimes not, but always with a smile.

I am waiting on my visa extension approval to be processed. These are done through 3rd party travel agencies instead of the official government immigration office, although I have no idea why. I was told it would take 7 to 12 working days for my 3-month single entry visa extension. The going rate is $360, which is twice what I paid for my initial 3-month visa which was muli-entry. But whatevs... I'll deal with it, if that's what is required. Unless they are quicker, I have another week before I can expect it to be processed.

The company which is processing my visa extension says I should be good to go as long as I have broken no laws. I haven't been anywhere to break any laws. If she's correct, my visa will extend until August. I currently have no plans to go anywhere! The thought crossed my mind to try to do Sa Pa and the border villages I initially tried to do mid-March before all that got shut down and Sa Pa kicked everybody out. I would still like to get more pics of Vietnam.

I am also keeping an eye out for Thailand and Cambodia to see how they are handling this pandemic. Nobody in this region is doing as well as Vietnam, but I still have to chart my way around the world. It feels like a game of hopscotch where I may have to skip over a country here and there. Cambodia only has one month visas. That may not be doable for me. Laos is the same, but you can extend for 60 more. Ninety days is what I'm generally looking for. I am not traveling fast.

Congratulations, Vietnam!

Latest Updates:

• Vietnam’s early border restrictions and social distancing measures have helped the country avoid a large wave of infections.

• Despite sharing a land border with China where the coronavirus first emerged, Vietnam has reported just 271 cases and no deaths in a population under 100 million. It has not reported any new local cases in nearly three weeks.

• Vietnam’s success in containing the virus is attributed to decisive measures the country made early in the outbreak, building off its experience with SARS in 2003. Back then, it was the first country to be removed from a list of countries with local transmissions, according to the World Health Organization.

CNBC.com MAY 5 20201:38 

Huileng Tan

@HUILENG_TAN

Quarantined in Hanoi, Vietnam

Heading out to the next hotel

Latest Updates:

• As of April 6, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 241 cases of COVID-19. The updated number was an increase of just one additional case as of April 6 morning in the past 24 hours.

• Vingroup, Vietnam’s large conglomerate, plans to produce around 55,000 ventilators a month to combat COVID-19.

• Authorities have submitted a proposal to delay tax and land lease deadlines for a number of industries from real estate to labor services affected by COVID-19.

• Hanoi city authorities stated they would intensify the social distancing rules and fine people who were out for non-essential reasons. In addition, ride-hailing motorbike services have also been temporarily suspended in Hanoi.

• Vietnam imported 200,000 rapid test kids from South Korea to carry out mass testing.

I was identified for possible contact exposure via Coronavirus Case #237 after I arrived at this new hotel. He stayed one night at my last hotel while I was there, but I never interacted with him. Nonetheless, my current hotel and the local government sent me paperwork ordering me to quarantine myself in my room. They send me paperwork to record my temperature twice a day. Today, April 7th is my official last day to do this, but I believe I will volunteer for one additional week. The mandatory shelter in place is still effective until the 15th. I figure it won't do any harm. I am well cared for and have everything I need. And I think it will help make the staff here comfortable being around me.

I'm taking every day one at a time and figuring it out as I go. This obviously won't be the type of trip I counted on. At some point, I'll have to cross over into Cambodia and I hope they have their situation contained. They currently have about 114 cases, but the borders are closed. I'll have to head down that way soon, through central and South Vietnam and over the border. I have't checked into Laos yet, but that may be an even better option. I don't know. 

A few people have asked what the weather is like here. It ranges between 65 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take 5 degrees in either direction. Many days there is a low lying fog over the cityscape. I can leave my windows open during the day to freshen the air and turn the AC off if it's not too hot. The traffic outside is consistent during the day, but it's not blaring traffic with a lot of horns, nor is there much smog or exhaust fumes, despite being on a busy street. I can look down and see some pedestrians, but there is not much on any given day. 

Watching the Dragonball Z, "Perfect Cell Saga" with some seafood spaghetti and spring rolls. 

Though many people here can speak English it is sometimes a challenge to understand English phrases. It's particularly more difficult on quarantine where I cannot speak face to face with anyone and I don't have the benefit of Google Translate on my cell phone to show them. For instance, it proved difficult to get a lady to understand that I wanted a sandwich with double the meat, not two sandwiches. They call the sandwiches "bread", for some reason. Not sandwich. They had a chicken sandwich. It was hella bread and little meat. So I asked for one sandwich with double the amount of meat. I tried many different iterations of that before it finally clicked. 

Another time, I requested my temperature monitoring paperwork which is supposed to be delivered in the morning and afternoon. They were late one afternoon and when I requested it, she thought I was referring to toilet paper. Then she thought I wanted paper for me to WORK on. But, I don't lose patience. I find a different way to say it. 

"I'm on quarantine, right?"

"Yes."

"And I need to take my temperature."

"Okay."

"Yes... so I need the paper to record my daily temperature on that I get every morning and afternoon."

"AHHH!! YES! Sorry, we will bring it up to you, right away."

They have all been good to me and have treated me kindly. Even though I don't know the language, I'm still learning a lot about communication. I can easily put myself in their shoes. I've been there. AND they know a ton more of my language despite me knowing ZERO of theirs, despite being in THEIR country, not mine. Respect.