Hanoi Continued

After our little break back at the hotel on our first full day in Hanoi, we headed back out. First we went back so Elizabeth could make her final decision about which shirts to get. I think I may have convinced her to get a peasant sleeved blouse (I have a weak spot for big drapey sleeves) but it's ok since she looked really good in it.

After that we made our way to the "fish street". I don't know if I mentioned this, but the layout of Hanoi is a lot like the layout of Shanghai. In that stores are grouped by what they sell. In Shanghai they have a street called Jingling Rd which pretty much ONLY sells musical instruments. I have also seen streets where almost every store is for pregnant women, or almost all shoes. It makes shopping pretty convenient. When I needed to buy a guitar tuner here in Shanghai, I just popped from store to store on Jingling Rd until found one I liked at a good price. Hanoi is similar. I saw craft streets, shoe streets, silk streets, etc. According to Elizabeth the name of the streets in Vietnamese actually say what the street sells. So...we went to "fish street" for dinner.

This fish ROCKED. One thing I loved was the "menu" here. All it said was "We only have one dish at this restaurant. Grilled Fish" followed by the price. We ordered enough for two. Out came all the prep material. Some cold noodles for each of us, chili sauce, peanuts, a big dish of herbs and most importantly a pan of fish and veggies cooking over a stand filled with hot coals. The smell was intoxicating and the taste was even better. You put everything in your bowl, gave it a mix and ate up. It was savory and refreshing at the same time. I want to know how to make this fish. I found a recipe on line but I haven't tried it yet so I'm not sure how close it is to the real thing.

After that we went for some coffee and a sit down by the lake, then went back to the place Elizabeth likes for some more ice cream. Then we walked around eating and singing. (Yes, singing...how do you pass the time?) During our walk we passed a park full of kids in little electronic cars. It took us a minute to realize that they were like remote control cars, but big enough for children to sit in. So a bunch of parents were walking around "driving" their children. It was funny.

Luckily, we were able to catch the night market. Elizabeth wasn't sure if and when it would be held and we happened to see it being set up as we were walking around. After it was set up, we walked up and down taking a look at everything. I also got some meat on a stick. Not sure what kind of meat it was. Tasty though.

After all the walking, our feet were hurting pretty bad so we decided to get some foot massages. There was a place near our hotel that offered 1 hour foot massages for about $10. Considering that's exactly how much I pay back in Shanghai, I figured it was fair. The massages were advertised as "Chinese" but speaking as people who LIVE in China, Elizabeth and I did not agree. They weren't bad...they just weren't Chinese. Regardless, it was a nice refresher for our sore feet.

Just to break up the days a bit better, I'm going to write about the next day as another entry.

Loves!