Stranger in a Strange Land

And now for today.  Roman gave a tour in the Old Quarter, the historic shop district in Hanoi, for The Friends of Vietnam Heritage, an NGO for which he volunteers.  We started at 9:30 am and finished at 12:30.  It was tiring but terribly informative.

Entrance gate into Old Quarter and part of original citadel.

I

t was dreadfully loud and crowded and dirty, normally the trifecta of misery, but there was a plethora of things to see and smell and feel, resulting in a literally sensational experience.  We visited a Buddhist pagoda, the name of which I don't currently know, but there are LOTS in Hanoi.  Pagodas here refer to Buddhist religious centers, while temple denotes a Taoist place of worship.  Please understand that what I've gleaned about Vietnamese Buddhism and Taoism is sparse and limited, so take everything I say on the subject with a grain of salt.  From what I understand, Buddhism here is an amalgamation of Indian Buddhism (but in a religious, rather than philosophical, form), Taoism, animism and ancestor worship...make of that what you will.

Main entrance to pagoda, open only on certain days.

Itty bitty alley through which we walked to the side entrance. 

Taoist section of Buddhist pagoda.

Angry guy to left of Taoist statue. He's red and intimidating and sitting on a lion while holding its tail.

Empty chair in invitation for the Buddhist god to come have a seat.

Gold leaf is a specialty in some Vietnamese villages. This is directly above a large, tiered display of Buddhas representing various principles and practices.

Ancestor worship in the same room as the Buddhas. These dudes are half of the ten guys who rule the ten levels of hell through which one must pass in order to make it to one or all of the six heavens. That is, of course, highly simplified.

Animistic mother goddesses representing water, metal, wood, fire and earth.

Animistic patriarchs...I think.

This cat picture is dedicated to my sister. ;)

These are bats, which hold some significance in Vietnamese Buddhism. They just reminded me of Austin.

We then went to Cho Dong Xuan (please note that I am not including the correct Vietnamese tonal characteristics because I could never figure out how to convey them via my laptop and because I am too lazy), the oldest and largest market in Hanoi.  It houses stall after stall of merchandise including, but not limited to, fabrics, bags, clothing, cookware, toys, sunglasses, and basically anything you could ever need and didn't know you wanted.

Everyone and their mom rides a motorbike here. I'm going to try to convey how many are used here through a series of photos depicting them in vast quantities throughout various areas of the city. Stay tuned.

It was gigantic and congested and I had to climb over people and squeeze under bundles to get out.

We walked around some more, visited a confectionary stand where I tried dried Vietnamese plum covered in grated ginger (eh), visited another pagoda and ended the tour at a dinh, or communal area, in which people go to visit, chill and worship.

I forgot I wanted to show you the cable system here. Very organized, obviously. Apparently, the city is working on a project to bury all wires like this, so this is a final vestige, although I've seen at least a dozen cases like this in the last two days.

In the worship area at the dinh. If there are too many people praying, you ring this bell to make sure that the Buddhist god hears you.

And off to a well-deserved lunch at Paris Deli on Church Street.  This area obviously caters to Westerners and is in the shadow of a French, Catholic Cathedral (St. Joseph's).

Delicious and Western. I got my comfort food: macaroni and cheese.

I'm going to go back and check this out. Will issue report shortly.

We then whiled away the afternoon walking around Hoan Kiem Lake, the cultural center of Hanoi.  The lake was huge and beautiful, with the Turtle Pagoda in the middle-esque.  There's a good story for its foundation, but I'll let you Google it if you really want to know.

There are some really cool displays around the lake and lots of food stands and coffee shops and benches for sitting.

Giant clock visible from space.

Yes, Vietnam is still Communist...I am still not.

My Converse, which were forcibly cleaned by a shoe-shiner who sweet-talked me out of my shoes.

Roman (left) and Kyle (not-left)  buying tea.

Awesome three-storied coffee shop on the terrace of which we took libations.

And finally, we went to a club owned by a friend of a friend called 21 Degrees North on West Lake.  I had drinks with six gentlemen who swing the other way, 2/3 of whom I saw coming a mile away (including a pint-sized Aussie who I wish I could carry around in my pocket and pluck out when I'm in the mood for a smile), but apparently I need to upgrade my Gaydar and download a VietGay app.

"Club" (more like nice bar)

Set of stairs on West Lake that lead straight into the water. I stuck the toe of my newly-cleaned Converse in the lake--I didn't actually want to let any of my skin come in contact with the questionable-looking water.

We were at the bar for happy hour and scored free beer and appetizers for two hours.  I tried steamed clams for the first time (better than expected) and got some more squid (yums).  Overall, today was awesome.  I met a Japanese woman, a Kiwi, two Canadians, an Aussie, five Vietnamese and two Poles.  Highlight: weaving on foot through relentless motorbike and car traffic without flinching (at least on the outside).