Whisk(y)ed Away 3

Long Biên and the French Quarter

All through the American War, a very symbolically and strategically significant target for US bomber crews was the Long Biên bridge, which connects east and west Hanoi.

The metal bridge was designed by Gustavo Eiffel (yep, the tower guy), and was built during the turn of the millennium before last. Yeah, the 1900 one.

Despite it being bombed, the industrious Viets always managed to repair it and get it up and running again swiftly. Somehow it became a symbol of Vietnamese resistance during the War.

I didn't take this pic

Bewdy watching the road at the entrance to the bridge, hoping another bicycle will notice her

What's more interesting is that on the nearby huge dyke wall that keeps floodwaters out of Hanoi, artists have created the largest mosaic mural in the whole wide world. That must be true because apparently it's in the Guinness Book of Records. It's over 4kms long, and is still growing.

Pedestrian overpass. Way more tacky than the Bangkok versions

A selection of parts of the mural

Delicious freshly cooked pastry, in fact it was so fresh and so hot that when I bit into it steam shot out and burnt my face.

I skimmed down to the French Quarter, a well heeled leafy area of wide boulevardes, beautiful colonial buildings, gardens, fountains and statues. Most of the foreign embassies are located here.

If it weren't for the cyclos (cycle rickshaws) it honestly could be Paris. Except maybe it's too clean here. Everyone wandering around was dressed to the nines in expensive designer clothes, which I really didn't understand because it was already way past nine.

Ritzy café.

Looked to me like they were trying to make a good impressionist.

Missing you Lalik.

The beautiful Hanoi Opera House. I skipped on the performance.

On my last night in Hanoi I met J, a San Franciscan who'd seen my bike parked up somewhere and left a note on it saying he'd like to meet up. I messaged him and we coffeed together, it turns out he did a cycle trip through Finland a couple of years ago, and was very keen to interview me for a podcast that he wants to do on people he meets whilst travelling.

He also wanted to record me spouting off some of my life philosophies, as he's also a music producer, and sometimes samples words into his music. He also asked for any music recordings of mine that I'd be happy for him to sample into his new tracks.

I of course reminded him that due to my exceptional fame levels my minimum royalties would be at least a mill. He asked me if I was talking Viet currency and I said of course I was.

J's such a lovely guy, in his late 20s, and super cool and interesting. I hope we can meet up again, somewhere along the cosmic path.

Hoa Sơn

It was drizzly and muddy as I left Hanoi.

Last bánh mì in the city. Sob.

Getting out of a big chaotic city, particularly on a day like that, was grimy, tricky, and at times a bit stressful.

When your bike's all loaded up you just don't have the speed, the swerve options or the narrow streamlines to be able to zip around like you can on an empty bike.

But across the city I went, and then headed north across the mighty Red River again, to eventually hit the countryside.

Cemetery on the outskirts. They need to pack 'em in around here.

Very competitive card game

Bánh mì wrapped in someone's multi choice exam

Ain't just coffee mate. It's coffee and green tea too. Noticed the condensed milk at the bottom of the coffee? Bet you're jealous.

Gorgeous temple in a tiny town

Brand new apartments for Hanoi commuters, 50 or 60 clicks from the city.

I found a little guest house, went to find food, and got swamped by the locals.

First it was the kid tribe.

Then their parents, and then the grandparents got involved. Once everyone got the hang of the audio function of Google Translate, it was on for young and old.

First one of the young mums cooked me this, despite me saying I don't eat meat.

Then Được rode me over to his pad and we all sat up drinking this delicious rice whisky, eating sunflower seeds and huge rice crackers, and, of course, drinking green tea.

Next up was dinner number 2, in which dead pig was the main feature. When I asked Được about it, his translated response was ...

Besides the pig, there were tableloads of local greens, eggs (quail, duck and chicken), and, of course, rice.

We finished late, and they all invited me for breakfast, which they said would be at 6am. Urrrrrghhhh! What?!!??

Of course I had to show, and the feature dish at that unBuddhly hour was, wait for it, dog soup. Yep, no kidding. And that was, of course, preceded by the rice whisky, which, I admit, I've never ever had the pleasure to drink at 6am in the morning.

Of course I've definitely had rice whisky at 6am in the very very late end of the night. On too many occasions.

When I asked Được about the contents of the dog soup, he explained that the dog was a stray, and then said ....

The dog meat wasn't too bad this time actually, given that it's dog, and given that dog flesh is not particularly vegetarian in nature.

I've actually tried dog soup once before, and it wasn't good.

In fact it wasn't just dog soup, it was actually a dogbroth hotpot, with all the other food getting chucked in there to cook, as we sat around on the floor. They had everything you could imagine to cook in there, in a rustic, village kinda way - loads of greens and local veggies, eggs of all description, flat rice noodles (phở), mushrooms and, of course, various parts of animal that were a little difficult for me to identify.

It was a bit tricky because everyone kept flopping things in my little bowl for me to try, and watched with bated dogbreath as I did so.

But it was a really beautiful experience to be there, and so interesting to hang out with these men and women, farmers, ex-army officers, stallholders, workers. Life is so incredibly different for them, but, as usual, we all have so much in common.

Their hospitality and generosity was boundless, as it always is. I had a necklace to give the grandmother, I always like to keep a small collection of gifts for such special moments. She absolutely loved it, and I can imagine her remembering this day for a long time, as I will, in a hazy, rice-whisky kinda way.

http://buymeacoffee.com/krolesh9

Go to Part 4