Hello Uncle Ho

One tourists at Uncle Ho's, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Last night we arrived in Hanoi. Chelsea and I visited Hanoi a few years ago and it was one of my favorite Asian cities to visit. Hanoi evokes the image of what a Westerner would think of as traditional and developing Asian city. Lots of scooters and bikes zooming around. Many small stores selling everything from baskets to bras. And of course restaurants spilling onto the already crowded sidewalks where we can eat pho or ice desserts. The smells, noises, and sights of Hanoi somehow remind me of spending summers in Taiwan when I was a kid.

Today we walked around the Old Quarter and visited Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Jennifer is learning that real Vietnamese food is slightly different to that of Pho 32 in New York and Golden Deli in San Gabriel. Tonight she found a great little pho restaurant serving very beefy (and oily) pho. It was tasty and I only had one bowl. Then we walked around a bit and found a deli for a Vietnamese sandwich, with random meats and pate.

I quite like eating in the streets. The little stools are surprisingly comfortable and you can't beat the prices. Anywhere from $1-$2 for a bowl of pho and $.50 for a beer from a "Bia Hoi" stand.

Another thing, we felt lazy today so we hired a "cyclo" (vietnamese pedi-cab). Our restaurant was about a 10 minute ride away so we negotiated the rider to take us there for 15000 dongs; this is the equivalent of 80 cents in the US. I remember the summer where I pedi-cabbed in downtown San Diego. I remember that I once got paid $40 to take two drunk guys up the street (though they were big guys and overweight). How different two worlds are!

Anyways, hope everyone is doing well back home.

Jason