A fitful night’s sleep had me up at 4:30. Whether it was anxiety, a rooster crowing at 3:45 or the street sweeper at 4:00, I was up for the day. Hai met me at 7:00 on the nose, whereupon we cycled off to see the out skirts of town. Being on my own bike with my eyeglass mirror made all the difference when it came to riding the streets with motorbikes streaking by in every direction. Over the Mekong Delta bridge and onto dirt patches in a tropical setting of banana and sugar cane, Hai brought me to a series of floating river houses where many of his friends lived. About as far from luxury as you can image, a real earthy bohemian life style. Mangy dogs, litter on the shoreline, cobbled together house boats and makeshift everything. One area was a men’s nudist vegetarian camp. Hai insisted I walk the narrow twenty foot planks to board several of the houses. Everyone had extensive gardens growing just about everything from sugar cane to bananas to corn.
Once back in the city, Hai took me to the Hanoi Hilton which he insisted me to see. He served forty years in the military, doing combat against the Chinese in Loas and along the Vietnam border with China. He was shot and wounded in the process. Hai is around 5’7” and in incredibly good shape, every muscle finely tuned, sixty years old and retired for four years. Next came a stop for a mid morning bowl of MY, pronounced Me, the same as I had with Dan yesterday. I am so fortunate to have made this connection; great guy, fun to be with and totally in the know about everything Vietnamese. From one unassuming little hole in the wall to another, he took me around through his world. No normal tourist would have experienced what I have. Two more stops followed, one to Hai’s favorite bicycle shop down a dark covered alley to adjust my squeaking brakes and two, the catholic cathedral built by the French. In three and a half hours, we covered a lot of territory, not to forget the insane traffic we wove through. Upon arrival back at my micro hotel, Wing Cafe, Tuyet was there to greet me. Hai, an amazing enthusiast guy, will be a great memory for me. It is difficult for me to express this experience. I am an definitely experiencing the inside track on what is happening in Old Hanoi. You have to be here to understand. Old verses new Hanoi is night and day. In the distance, I can see the high rises; apparently a new city devoid of the charm. Dan didn’t have much good to say about it.
With laundry to do, Tuyet walked with me to the local laundry, a small open front hole in the wall.
For a few dollars I had my clothes done for pickup 4:00. On our way back, I found Dan at his favorite corner cafe sketching away with his watercolors onto pages of an old book written in French. Everytime we meet, he turns to a new page and begins sketching an abstract of my face. He is so laid back but smart; our friendship is growing. At this open cafe, various friends of various nationalities, both gay and straight stop by to chat it up. Really fun!
Dan and I hit the town again, scoping out numerous city haunts. We came upon one restaurant which would be our dinner spot later in the day. Through a maze of small streets and large boulevards, he took me to an area populated with expats where we stopped for a beer at s restaurant more in keeping with the European style setting. Stopping a several stores looking for whatever we needed including art books for painting and trying find a portable WiFi which Hai carried on his bike. I may have to revisit this city to absorb all its little subdivisions of cultures.
Back to the hotel and a chat with Tuyet and then a nap. Come 5:30 we had a charming dinner at the little restaurant we came across earlier. While eating, the skies burst opened up for the first time dumping a load of rain in a short period of time. Navigating our way back around the numerous puddles had me barefoot, saving my Teva sandals. In writing my blog, Peter, the gay guy downstairs dropped by for another visit. A piece of work, a flamer from South Africa with a good sense of humor. He teaches at a local school, I imagine for expats. Tomorrow starts early as Hai will meet me at 6:30 and lead me to the outskirts of town for my ride to HyPhong about one hundred Kilometers due east. I have a bit of anxiety about what to expect but I am confident the ride will be a fun adventure.
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