8-1-2018
Beer street cans, city tours and intro class
I keep trying to edit a vlog that I started in the Dragon Airport Hotel, but time has been surprisingly short. Even taking time to use the trim tool in shotcut has been “cut short”. Still, Jack has been sound enough as a roommate, letting me have space to edit on my laptop while he’s out. I feared I would be stuck with someone with a more aggressive personality that would have been pretty bad. Not the case here.
I had a simple intro class today that didn’t last too long. David Scott was talking more about the dangers and tourist risks in Vietnam rather than any teaching tips. I got to meet red team, the wise Vietnamese elders of enthusiastic ladies in red coats. Program leaders and teachers were there too. Overall it was short and not taxing in the slightest.
For the afternoon I walked with around 6 or 7 other new recruits through the streets of Hanoi (Thuy Khue street to be precise). Instead of going left, this time we went to the right. The streets are just as chaotic, but a few shops to buy food are around this time, such as Vinmart. I got 4 Saigon Specials and a can of….Not Tiger? Pizza flavoured pringles were put into the clear plastic bag as well.
Headed to a cafe by the stunning West lake. Misty skyscrapers and windy waters are in the distance, as well as the large Nhat Tan bridge that the bus I was on drove over to get into Hanoi proper. I had a blueberry mojito and just relaxed…until the bill came. Splitting the bill between 8 people was a mess, I guess they don’t do individual tabs here.
The walk after was far longer than expected. We decided to walk from the lake to the CWD by Nguyen Ding Thi street rather than back down Thuy Khue street. While it was a stunning view, we ended up looping back to the cafe I was at yesterday and it took nearly an hour in the heat. There were no side alleys to get back to the CWD heading east rather than west. I was nearly exhausted getting back to the hotel, but had a decent lunch.
Ngoc Son Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Cian lighting up an incense stick, the Presidential Palace, Ba Đình Square, and the internships ‘Red Team’
We had a city tour on what seemed like 5 busses. We had a very quick tour of the Ngoc Son temple at Hoan Kiem lake, the Tran Quoc Pagoda, and the Ho Chi Minh presidential palace and Ba Dinh square. While nice to see, it was fleeting, and I feel like I need to see all of these places more thoroughly.
After a quick change of clothes, all 100 of us (yes, that’s big) headed to a Vietnamese restaurant. Gia Vien, 228 Trieu street. It was dark, with plenty of lantern lighting and space large enough for all of us! Spicy sate pork, battered beancurd, boned duck and watermelon were on the menu, along with buckets of rice. It was all very tasty but I could have done with boneless meat. Not too bad though, a fine spot. Hanoi and Saigon specials were had on the table too.
The bus was a crazy, one of a kind experience! I had to stand up while a full coach sped through the streets. The coach had to turn off the interior lights to avoid revealing us as the overloaded cargo. Even with the lights off we were very easy to spot, but still made it.
From there we all sprawled out, and visited “Beer street” in Hanoi’s old quarter. After a few minutes taking in the urban atmosphere, me and a few others stopped at My Phâm, also known as the Bia Hoi junction at 5 Mã Mây. Me, Cian, Jonathan, Mia and Cristian (the intern photographer) were chilling with bias and sitting on tiny yellow stools on an equally yellow table. Saigon Specials were cheap, but draught beer was even cheaper! 7000 dong for draught beer in a pint glass, not a bad way to enjoy the night!
Paul's TEFL Adventures 