That morning I went on down to breakfast (you guessed it: Rice and soup), and then headed out with the group on our city tour. This morning a big red bus picked us up and we were headed out for something we didn’t have on the food tour last night (because we would have really not slept if we had it at night). You would like to know what it is, right? Well, let me tell you- Egg Coffee. Yes. I did just type that- Egg coffee. Basically a raw merangue on the top of black coffee. The coffee shop was nestled through a small street, up some stairs and really had a great vibe to it. The owners were very nice and took time to show us how this egg coffee is made- it is not a simple process. But basically, sugar, raw eggs and some other things are whipped for 5-8 minutes and then placed on this coffee that has been filtering some very special way and you drink it. Now, raw eggs in vietnam wasn’t something I was dreaming of upon arrival but at the same time I felt that it was important to try. So, I did! And my thoughts on the coffee- way too sweet. It has been decided, the people in Vietnam have a stronger sweet tooth than the people of Great Britain- this is quite the accomplishment and a dentists worse nightmare! I couldn’t finish it, really took a few sips of it and that was it. So even though the coffee wasn’t my favourite, the coffee shop was really up there. It had a beautiful view and if I had longer to sit and enjoy the terrace I would be there in a heart beat. From people watching to a creative space to write- this place was where its at. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
In addition to communism, we headed toward a temple or a school where people could go learn about Buddhism. I really do like concepts of budism. What is interesting is how communism and budism go together. They seem to have very conlicting ideologies from my understanding of the two and yet some how have co-existed for a very long time. We asked our guide about this a little bit and in all honesty it just seems complicated!
Some interesting facts I learned during the tour:
- Ho Chi Minh is/was very loved by the people
- His body is on display in the museum. Originally they were going to have his body preserved in Russia but then they realised that they could do it in Vietnam (I am not sure exactly who They is..)
- It is not only tourists who go see this- locals will line up to show respect often
- He had a wife and a mistress (as most politicians do)
- He really cared about literacy. Apparently Ho Chi Minh issued an appeal to fight against illiteracy. At that initial launch 20% of the population could read and write and by 1965 95% of the population could.
- Before Vietnamese was a written language, people would read/write in Chinese. So if someone was reading aloud, they would internally translate the Chinese characters into spoken Vietnamese.
- Communism Propaganda remains throughout-
The night before I was on facebook and saw that a colleague, interpreter/educator from Australia, was in Vietnam as well and that morning she and her husband were making it up to Hanoi! I had never met Karen in person but already felt like I knew her because we had talked before and have so many friends in common. So what a better place to meet and catch up for the first time but in Vietnam! So the non biking tour group of 4 went on a mission to meet up with Karen and Joe for some afternoon cocktails!
Let me start by saying this was not a luxurious adventure. When you get onto the train and into your cabin it doesn’t actually look so bad. They have water and some welcome nuts and the beds look decent- but that is about it. Once the train starts you just rock back and forth! Some people fell right to sleep- lucky them! Others had a little extra help from their personal mini bar that was packed (ahem… Nic, Molly, Angela and Vita!!), one had some fancy red wine to assist the process (ahem Ewen.. who actually got a good night sleep! Some were just really good sleepers (even though there were snorers in the cabin), and then there were a few of us who decided to have our own little social gathering. Stayed up for a while chatting, sharing travel tales and listening to the zzzzs of Ewen. We decided to try to sleep again and finally before we knew it we had arrived to the station (which was not where we were headed because we still had an hour bus ride to go). It was dark, we were hungry, it was cold and we were tired but we managed to trek on knowing that a nice hotel and a good breakfast awaited us. While the train ride made the adventure, and saved us the notion of day time travel (could maximise our time) I think it was an adventure for my 20s and not for my 30s! When I travel, particularly long distances I do treasure my night time sleep to help me during the day- and this made the rest of the day particularly challenging! So if you decide to do this yourself I wish you well and don’t forget the alcohol and the sleeping meds.