hanoi

i started my trip in hanoi, the capital of vietnam. it's noisy and polluted but charming none the less. not as busy as saigon but still loads of tourists flock here. "same same but different" as the vietnamese say.

seoul's got nothing on the traffic in hanoi. imagine a swarm of motorbikes, scooters and bicycles coming at you at breakneck speed with no intention of stopping - all the while tooting their horns. some intersections didn't even have traffic lights. i held my breath every time i crossed the street.

everyday i'd walk out of my hotel and be greeted by a chorus of "hello! cyclo?" "motobike?" drivers courting their daily fares so they can feed their families. you know they're trying to rip you off yet at the end of the day, it's just chump change for the tourists but that money is so much more important for the locals.

there are tons of expat restaurants and cafes in hanoi. they serve a cleaned up version of vietnamese food for tourists who may be averse to fish sauce and fragrant herbs. they've got jacked up prices and a veritable phone book for the menu however the draw is the menus are in english and they provide much-needed A/C.

yet i knew i could get better food on the streets so i tried to eat like the locals. there are mom and pop operations on every street. they set up plastic tables and chairs on the sidewalk with a small sign to tell you what's on offer. it looked like each place only served one thing which is always promising.

one night i chose the most crowded patch of sidewalk and pulled up a small plastic stool to the low table. (i felt like i was back in kindergarten.) nobody could understand my english or pigeon vietnamese so i'd just point to what the guy next to me was eating: a big plate of rice with stir-fried beef and pickled mustard greens. "beer" together with my index finger was understood because the vietnamese word for beer is "bia." the meal was served with a basket of sliced cucumbers, lettuce and mint leaves along with a bowl of chile sauce. it's like their version of 상추, 깻잎 and 오이 with gochujang. the meal was homey and delicious. total tab: 30,000 dong including the beer. that's less than $2.

i took over 500 photos in vietnam but i've whittled them down to a dozen or so for each place i visited. click here to see shots from hanoi.