I’m sat here munching chocolate biscuits for breakfast, a clear sign of the morning after the night before.
I haven’t updated this in 2 weeks and so much has happened! I can’t believe I have been here for a month now. It still feels like yesterday that I arrived.
Last night I went round to a friend’s new house for a big gathering of people eating and drinking. One of the girls had made spaghetti bolognaise which was lovely and that was accompanied by a load of fresh spring rolls, bread and various meats. The spring rolls aren’t typical of the type in the UK, which are pretty shit if I’m honest. The fried ones are amazing but you can get a load of different types. Last night we had fresh spring rolls, which are cold but really good. They’re called gỏi cuốn - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_roll - and very tasty! There were a lot of people out last night and I met a lot of new faces too. I have met some wonderful and interesting people here so far. I even, randomly enough, bumped into a guy I done my degree with when I was in a bar last night...and he is also teaching at Apollo! Crazy! There are a lot of French people in Hanoi. I think most of them were out last night! There’s definitely a good mix of cultures in this city.
I made some plans last night to go out tonight to a place called Snake Village, which is about 25 minutes out of Hanoi and consists of a load of restaurants all specializing in...well, snake! You can eat various dishes (I think they serve food other than snake although I’m not sure) and they present you with shots of snake’s blood and snake’s bile, mixed with rice wine. Apparently it is good for men’s fertility and can bring you good luck. I’m not sure of the influence it has on women but it’ll be an interesting experience if anything!
I made some plans last night to go out tonight to a place called Snake Village, which is about 25 minutes out of Hanoi and consists of a load of restaurants all specializing in...well, snake! You can eat various dishes (I think they serve food other than snake although I’m not sure) and they present you with shots of snake’s blood and snake’s bile, mixed with rice wine. Apparently it is good for men’s fertility and can bring you good luck. I’m not sure of the influence it has on women but it’ll be an interesting experience if anything!
I’ve definitely felt myself change over the past week. I’ve just felt a lot more relaxed in my surroundings and more open minded to discover and learn new things. This state of mind was something I was yearning for when in London but I couldn’t find it. I didn’t feel like there was anything new to learn. Of course, London is an amazing city and it will always be a home to me but having lived there my whole life, it was all I really knew and when you’re kept inside your comfort zone for so long you forget you can find happiness in other things. I had to throw myself out there and find out what else there was and so far, the discovery has been amazing.
On Tuesday I went with a couple of friends to a place called Perfume Pagoda, out of Hanoi. It’s a temple in the mountains and gets its name because as you go up the mountain there are a lot of aromatic flowers, although now there is more just a long trail of stalls all selling the same useless junk you don’t really want but think could be good to take home. I’m glad I’m living here and already see the unimportance of these things. I used to waste so much money on buying useless crap. I still love to shop, but I’m learning to buy what I only really need. Too many materials will just weigh me down, in my mind and in my bag! Anyway, back to telling you about Perfume Pagoda. We took a 2 hour bus ride out of Hanoi and then a boat ride for about an hour, which pulled into a port full of loads of Vietnamese people selling food. With most of the stalls here, they will kill their meat there before cooking it, so to keep it fresh but the site can be pretty brutal. There was one stall which had a cage with a deer in it, then a few feet away there was a freshly killed deer hanging by a hook, and then a few feet from that there was a deer’s carcass hanging from a hook. The evolution of a tasty Vietnamese meal... It is pretty intense to see but you have to remember that that is how people work here and I don’t want to come to a completely different country only to challenge the culture and refuse to accept it. I love animals, but I highly doubt there are many animal rights activists living in Vietnam.
There were a lot of people there due to a Buddhist festival happening. At the first pagoda, which went down into a huge cave, there were hundreds of people gathered, all praying. There were also a lot of monks walking round. It was a very spiritual place to visit.
The tour was good fun and I met some interesting people from all different places and of all different ages. Some people had great stories to tell. There was a lovely Vietnamese couple who became everyone’s friends. They brought fruit for us all on the bus during a quick stop off, and they were very fun to talk to. I met quite a few people who were also travelling alone, old and young, travelling around and seeing different parts of the world. It was really nice to see. Before I left London I was very excited but also very scared because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A lot of people thought I was crazy coming here alone but you’re never really alone. When you’re travelling with yourself and nobody else, strangers become friends very quickly. You find yourself spending a long time with someone and you don’t even know their name.
There were a lot of people there due to a Buddhist festival happening. At the first pagoda, which went down into a huge cave, there were hundreds of people gathered, all praying. There were also a lot of monks walking round. It was a very spiritual place to visit.
The tour was good fun and I met some interesting people from all different places and of all different ages. Some people had great stories to tell. There was a lovely Vietnamese couple who became everyone’s friends. They brought fruit for us all on the bus during a quick stop off, and they were very fun to talk to. I met quite a few people who were also travelling alone, old and young, travelling around and seeing different parts of the world. It was really nice to see. Before I left London I was very excited but also very scared because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A lot of people thought I was crazy coming here alone but you’re never really alone. When you’re travelling with yourself and nobody else, strangers become friends very quickly. You find yourself spending a long time with someone and you don’t even know their name.
I moved into my house last week. At the moment I am living with 2 guys and 2 girls but the girls are moving out in the next month and 2 guys moving in. Me and 4 men! Haha! But it’s all good. Everyone is really nice and we have a maid too who comes 4 times a week so the house is always pretty clean. She is very nice and speaks good English. Yesterday she took me to the pharmacy to help me buy medicine as I started feeling really ill. Today I’m feeling fine! She does everything, even my washing. Life here is like luxury! Although, I’m sure my mum will despair that I’m still not doing the washing up.
The house is very big (4 floors) and really well kept. We have a huge wooden staircase that goes up the middle of the house. On each floor there’s 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and on the top floor there’s 1 bedroom and a roof terrace, which is lovely to sit on and eat breakfast in the morning. We live down an alley which is nowhere near as loud as the main roads. People ride bikes down it all the time but you don’t get the constant beeping of horns you get on the main roads. There are women just outside my gate who sell vegetables and tofu in the morning and then as the day goes on they are replaced by different women selling motorbike masks and various other random bits. It is a nice alley to live on. People around have started to recognise me so I always get a smile from someone when I leave the house. I seem to spend my nights sleeping to the sound of dogs barking and crying but to be honest I’ve just become used to that now and I actually sleep very well. My mornings are greeted with the sound of roosters and the hustle and bustle of life outside, but it’s a pro rather than a con as it wakes me up naturally, rather than having my alarm jerk me out of sleep and drop me into an early morning start.
The house is very big (4 floors) and really well kept. We have a huge wooden staircase that goes up the middle of the house. On each floor there’s 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and on the top floor there’s 1 bedroom and a roof terrace, which is lovely to sit on and eat breakfast in the morning. We live down an alley which is nowhere near as loud as the main roads. People ride bikes down it all the time but you don’t get the constant beeping of horns you get on the main roads. There are women just outside my gate who sell vegetables and tofu in the morning and then as the day goes on they are replaced by different women selling motorbike masks and various other random bits. It is a nice alley to live on. People around have started to recognise me so I always get a smile from someone when I leave the house. I seem to spend my nights sleeping to the sound of dogs barking and crying but to be honest I’ve just become used to that now and I actually sleep very well. My mornings are greeted with the sound of roosters and the hustle and bustle of life outside, but it’s a pro rather than a con as it wakes me up naturally, rather than having my alarm jerk me out of sleep and drop me into an early morning start.
I joined a really fancy gym yesterday, which even compared to London gyms is ridiculously expensive, but as it was Woman’s Day on Tuesday I got a good discount. I’ve signed up for 6 months and I think it will do me good. It is very new and expensive, with great air con too so when it gets really hot and humid here I will be able to find solace on a treadmill.
I’ve also booked a man to come round later with a bike for me. Yep, that’s right. Today is the day I sign my life away. I’m kidding...I think! I’m going to rent a bike for $40 a month but that will give me complete freedom and means I won’t be spending money on a xe om every time I want to go somewhere. I’ve become quite used to the xe om here and most of the time I don’t need to hold on to anything whilst being driven so I’m hoping I’ll be OK on a motorbike. Small steps though. I’m not going to tackle the big roads just yet!
For now I’ll leave you with some pictures of my journey to Perfume Pagoda. It was dry but actually a pretty cold day. As for the sky, there is never any sun here...the sky is always grey! That’s Vietnam, baby.
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