Fall in Hanoi

The temperature started to drop the last 2-3 weeks. Last week I started to see people wearing jackets, especially in the morning and evening. My friends tell me that this is the favorite season for most people in Hanoi.

One common complain among foreigners living in Southeast Asia is the heat and humidity. You hear that in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and even Ho Chi Minh City. It's hot and humid all year round.

Hanoi is different. It has four seasons. The temperature in the winter drops down to as low as 10C or 50F. That is not cold by most American city standard but it's cold for this part of the world. The high recently has been in the low 80s' and the low has been in the high 50s' (in Fahrenheit)

Keep in mind that the most common mode of transportation is motorcycles. My friends said that it's much colder when you are riding towards the outskirts of Hanoi, past farmlands.

Some my friends are also getting sick because of the change in the weather. Sound familiar?

Today is Halloween. Do they celebrate it here in Vietnam? Some of the restaurants and bars do but not the general population. I was surprised a lot of people here are familiar with what Halloween is. No trick or treating for the kids, however.

Cây Khế

Cây Khế is where we come for our coffee or tea breaks.
We nicknamed this place Cây Khế because of the tree you see in middle of the picture on the right.
This is the courtyard of an old French villa, quite common around Hanoi.








Cây means tree. Khế is star fruit, shown in the picture on the right. It is a tropical fruit that is sweet but sometimes a little tart if it's not very ripe. If you cut it cross-section wise, it has the shape of star, hence the name star fruit.





This story is not about the tree. It is about coffee or tea breaks.
One of the things that strikes me about Hanoi is the common sight of Vietnamese sitting at places like this drinking tea, coffee or any type of refreshments. Most of these stands are just on a sidewalk with a few tables and many 12-inch high stools. Sometimes you will be sitting next to a parked motorbike and people will be walking around or through your friends. Sometimes you are literally next to the road.

In the picture on the right, you see some of my friends drinking tea or coffee.


While you are drinking your tea, another enterprising person will come by wanting to polish your shoes. He or she will let you temporarily wear a pair of slippers and take your shoes away. In a few minutes, he or she will return with your nicely-polished shoes. Cost? 5,000 VND or about US 25 cents.
On the right is one of these shoe-shiners.



Sadly, last week Cây Khế closed. The property was sold to a developer for, I heard, US$5 million. Not surprising considering the boom that is going on in Vietnam. You have to sell a lot of tea or coffee to get that kind of money.

Winnie's Wedding

Being in Asia means it's easier for me to attend family functions. This weekend I took a 3 1/2 hour flight from Hanoi to Singapore for my niece, Winnie's wedding.
The wedding process is quite different from what we have in the US. Instead of a church ceremony, there is more emphasis on respect for the elders.
Unlike an oath that you take during a church ceremony, they pre-registered with the government for the marriage.
The first picture on the left shows Winnie and Wai Heng, after the tea ceremony.

In the morning, the groom comes to the bride's home with his groomsmen. He is met by a "barricade" put up by the bridesmaids. The bridesmaids would not let the guys in unless they "qualify" themselves. They are put through some taunts and pranks. These are usually harmless pranks like making the groom's party sing and dance but I understand sometimes they can get a little out-of-hand. After about 15-30 minutes, the groom is allowed in and goes to the bride's room to meet the bride.

The first thing they do is worship the ancestors. Then the couple pays respect to the bride's parents and the groom ask for permission to take the bride home. After taking pictures with family and friends, the groom takes the bride home. This part of the ceremony is attended only by close family members and friends.




Here is a picture of the smiling couple as they get ready to go to the groom's house and pay respect to his parents and family.
This involves a tea ceremony whereby the newly-weds serve tea to the elders - parents, uncles, aunts, etc. This is an important part of the process because honoring the elders is such a big part of the Asian culture. You may have noticed that the bride's dresses are different between the first and the rest of the pictures. The white wedding dress is what she starts with. The orange traditional dress is what she wore for the tea ceremony later. In the evening she would wear a couple of other dresses for the big wedding dinner. This was held at a hotel with about 300 guests.
One big difference between the Asian and American wedding tradition is that in the US, the bride's family usually bears most of the wedding costs. In Asia, the bride is married into the groom's family and therefore, the groom's family typically bears most of the wedding costs.


Lastly, I have to throw in this bonus picture of me holding my niece, Suzie's 4-month old son, Callum. Callum is part-Chinese and part-Scottish and the family has just flown in from London the day before. He was so good-natured and cute that everyone wanted to hold him.

New Design for My Blog

I decided to change the design and the front page of my blog because I was getting tired of looking at Camellia Hotel. Now that I've been in Vietnam for 3 months, I thought it'd be appropriate to display one of the most beautiful areas of northern Vietnam on my front page.
I welcome any comments or suggestions for topics.
Thanks for letting me share my experience with you.

Xe Om

Xe means vehicle. Om means hug.
Xe Om is a motorcycle taxi...you get behind the rider and "hug" him.
They are very common in Vietnam. They are everywhere, usually at strategic locations where there is a lot of foot traffic and at intersections. They usually sit on their motorcycles and gaze around looking for potential customers. Some of them will ask you if you want a ride when you walk by.
On the left you see 3 pictures of Xe Oms' waiting on the street.


So, what's the difference between a regular taxi and a Xe Om?
1. a regular taxi is licensed. Xe Oms' are not.
2. you pay by the meter with a taxi. You negotiate with a Xe Om first before you get on his bike. Otherwise, you'd be in for a big surprise. They love to rip off foreigners.
3. in heavy traffic, a Xe Om can usually get you to your destination faster than a regular taxi because he can weave through traffic.


4. you are in an air-conditioned environment in a taxi. On a Xe Om, you are exposed to the heat, dust, and all the fumes from the traffic. Not a good way to get to work.
5. I rarely take a Xe Om unless I have to, like when it's very difficult to get a taxi during rush hour. I don't think I save money riding a Xe Om because my Vietnamese is very limited and I can't negotiate with these guys.
6. I know very few people who ride Xe Oms' on a regular basis. I usually see a lot of them sitting around idle most of the time.
But, they do serve a purpose when you need one.
They are also common in Cambodia.

Durians

If you come to South-east Asia, especially around July or December, you can't miss durians. They sell them everywhere, along the streets and in the markets. You either like it or hate it.
It is sometimes called the King of Fruits. Some said it "taste like heaven, smell like hell." It has such a distintive smell that many hotels in the region would not allow guests to bring them into the building.
It is about the size of an American football and weight from 2 to 7 lb. Depending on the quality, they can sell for as cheap as US$2 or as expensive as US$20.
I don't crave for it but if I am offered, I'll eat it. Since I grew up with it, I kind of like it.


You sometimes see them in Asian markets in the US.
These are usually from Thailand, where they are shipped frozen to the US. These don't taste as good as the fresh ones that you get in Singapore or Malaysia. In these countries, they usually don't pick the fruit. They wait till it's ripen and let it fall from the tree, usually at night.
People in the region make all kinds of edible stuff from durians or add them as flavor to other foodstuff like ice-creams, candies, cakes, porridge, etc.



Here is what it looks like when you open up a durian.









My son, Shawn, "enjoying" durian in Singapore.

Sapa

I was very fortunate to be allowed to join some colleagues on a trip to Sapa this past weekend. Since I came to Hanoi about 3 months ago, everyone has been telling me how beautiful Sapa is. Sapa is northwest of Hanoi, close to the border with China. To get there, we took an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. From there it's about an hour drive to Sapa. Not only is the area beautiful, you also get a chance to meet several Vietnamese ethnic minorities living and farming in the area. There are many tour companies in the area providing tours to the minority villages and trekking (hiking) in the mountains. The pictures below are mostly from my friend Ashir's professional-quality camera.

If you want to see more pictures of Sapa, go to this website: http://www.google.com/images?q=sapa+vietnam&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7SKPB_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=JTyrTMjnJ83JcaHnsdsE&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQsAQwAw&biw=1419&bih=665





Rice paddies are terraced on the side of the mountains.

Do you take American Express?

My friend Ashir buying souvenirs from Black Hmong children outside our hotel.
There are two Hmong minority groups - Black and White.They are differentiated by the way they dress, not their skin color.

The market where the villagers come and sell their produce.









Taking a snack break at a roadside food stand.
The vendor sells eggs, corn, sweet potatoes and tea.








Silver Waterfall - so called because when the sun shines on the water, it looks silvery.

Looking out of the window of a cafe' in Sapa.

These Black Hmong children have to sell souvenirs to help their families. Amazingly, they all speak very good English.

One of the ethnic minority villages.

On a cold rainy night, nothing better than having hot pot, called "Lau" in Vietnamese. The area around my apartment in Hanoi is very popular for Lau.

A view of the Love Market in the town square.
In the past, this is where the villagers find their future mates.

Today it's just a market for souvenirs and local products.

One of the main streets in Sapa.

Many tourists from all over the world come here and there are many hotels and tour companies here.

The Emotion Hotel is where we stayed.
A double-room costs US$20 a night.
It comes with free wi-fi and a couple of computers in the lobby to check your email.

Black Hmong women selling souvenirs outside the hotel.

A Catholic church in the town square.

There were 12 of us in the group.
Three of the guys are foreigners, the rest are Vietnamese.

Many of them have been here before and it's so nice to have our friends translate and explain a lot of things to us.

The lady on the right is our main organizer but the rest chipped in to make sure that we all have a good time.

Touring Ta Phin Village and taking pictures with the Red Dao minorities. Believe it or not, these women speak fluent English. One of them told me that they learned English from the tourists. The woman standing to my right is 77 years old and she was able to keep pace with me even though she was carrying a large basket. The villagers walk about 20-30 km a day up and down the mountains, eat mostly vegetables and breathe clean fresh air. No wonder most of them live into the 80s' and 90s'.

No John Deere tractors in the field.
The water buffaloes do all the heavy lifting.




The Lao Cai train station