VISITING VIETNAM

1. VISITING VIETNAM

A sudden opportunity presents itself, and I spontaneously agree to visit what for me, is an exotic country. Yes, Vietnam. Here are the snippets of my experiences.

1.1 87 MA MAY STREET

It is early in the morning on the last day in Hanoi. I look through the hotel room window and see the thin houses that fill the landscape of the Old Quarters. I look down from the 8th floor and see how clean the roofs and balconies of the buildings that stand shoulder to shoulder as if to hold up each other straight.

I have a good breakfast and wait until 9 to set off to walk to the ancient house. I almost miss it, but Google tells me that I am there. So I look around and spot two ladies sitting behind a table. I asked them if this was an ancient house and if they needed to buy a ticket. Yes, indeed, I have arrived at my destination, and after buying a ticket, I walked in. For the umpteenth time, I smiled at the thought of exchanging thousands of dong (Vietnamese currency) – and wondered if this was how a billionaire feels!

As I enter the house, I see a guide enthusiastically lecturing a group of foreign visitors. There is wonder, surprise and curiosity as one leans to learn a culture that again so long ago.

It is one of the 14 houses built during the 19th century. It has been restored, and the displays are from the past, giving visitors a glimpse of the homes of Hanoians from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This particular house was occupied by several families throughout the years until 1999. Now, it is for us to visit and discover.

On the right is a wooden staircase leading to the level above. I leave it for a later time and walk past the first room. I come across a small courtyard. It is neatly decorated with plants and a few old artefacts. In the middle was a splash of green from the layer of water moss floating on the water in a rectangular terracotta water pot. Passing this courtyard is a second room housing a wooden table, chairs and a cupboard.

A few steps forward, I am in another small open courtyard/kitchen. A part of it is roofed where the cooker is meant to be. Old dishes and pots are displayed for the visitors. Beyond, the house ends with a room and a washroom. The water source, they say, was harvested rainwater.

As I walk back to the wooden staircase in the first room, I am curious to find where the breeze is coming from. Ah, so these old iron pedestal fans work! The authorities have kept them on to give the visitors some relief from the humidity and heat in Hanoi.

I climb the wooden staircase and find myself in a large room, which is obviously the sleeping quarter. The foreign tourists and their guide have also moved upstairs to discover more about the way of life lived years ago in this house. Going past the room, I walk deeper into the house, passing the courtyards from one side of the second storey. The rooms display some furniture amidst the streaming sunlight of the day.

It is a small house. It takes a person but a minute or two to go across, yet I am left with my thoughts of all the people who once lived and frequented this house. They had their challenges and joys, fears and heartaches and left behind whiffs of their lives lived here. Luckily, I could visit.

Hanoi, 13 October 2024

1.2 OLD QUARTER AND EGG COFFEE

…. and so the legend goes that Mr Nguyen Von Giang, a Vietnamese bartender serving at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, innovated the egg coffee in 1946 during the Indochine War when milk was scarce. He used whisked egg yolk in the coffee. Yes, the thought is confusing, to say the least, unless you are Vietnamese and then you take pride in it.

So off I go with my travel mates to visit the Café Giangin in the Old Quarter of Hanoi to get my serving of egg coffee. A tiny, thin entrance one could easily miss takes one to a small room on the left with tiny chairs and tables and ends in an equally thin staircase. Up one goes to a small congested space, another room or two and a tiny balcony. The space is congested, and it would be lucky if you could get a space to sit. There are only small tools and tiny tables. (more suitable for children than adults) for the clientele of this special establishment.

One can choose from various coffee offerings, but egg coffee is the speciality. It is served hot or cold. I opt for the cold one. The Vietnamese like their coffee, which is strong, and if you stir and finish having the creamy top, a strong sip of coffee from the bottom may smack you. It was a great treat for me, though.

Weasel coffee is also readily available. A tale for another day, perhaps.

Hanoi, 13 October 2024.