Hanoi with photos by Michael Margolis

So for a little change, all the photos taken in the post  are by Mike (most of the photo's at least, I snuck in a couple of my own), the friend I met in Chiang Mai and had the luck to travel with in Hanoi before I moved south and he flew north to China.  If you like what you see more of his photos, then check out his photo blog shutternomad.  He is a great portrait photographer and has some amazing shots.

"Cheeeeeeeeeeese"

He has a series started of found objects. This lucky/not so lucky bear we found out in the rainy streets of Hanoi as we were trekking down warm clothes and shoes to buy.

This was in my last post, but I just posted the pictures of the food at Kichi Kichi.  Here Michael captures the very obvious experience I enjoyed.

It also had a great wall of lit up bottles.  I was happy to be a model to see if it worked as a composition.

This was a super happening spot right outside Kichi Kichi.  Later in the week when the rain thinned out and when the air warmed up a little bit, this corner had at least 20 people on it minimum.  I should have tried it, it must have had the BEST corn.

My favorite dish of all of Vietnam: Bun Cha

Now this meal (of the food adventures of Hanoi) absolutely got more than one of my "deLICiousss!" exclamations.  This was recommended to us by Lj, the woman I did the cooking class with in Chiang Mai.  She was a wealth of food recommendations and introduced me to this blog.

 For dinner one night we walked to meet my family friend and his girlfriend just outside of old town Hanoi.  We walked along the street at one of the most busy times of day, Vietnam rush hour.  It was NUTS I tell you. So many motor bikes, cars, bikes, and people.  It was over whelming and fascinating at the same time.

(I love this shot.  Texting on a motorbike!!)

(These next couple of photos are my own photos. They're some of my favorite shots of Hanoi that I was able to get)

That's right, eight single room stories.  This is an example of building up rather than out.  (Did I already tell you that I found out businesses are taxes on size of storefront/first level.  Meaning a business that is eight stories high gets taxed the same as a building with only two stories. Or something like that.  Definitely not the rule book version of the definition, but you get it, right?)

I walked by this window and couldn't help myself. "OMG! shoes!"

Sneaky shot of police officer directing traffic

 Now back to Michaels photos

On our walk home we found another found object. I'm sure it's a character of some sort, but of course all I see are my initials.  I wanted to take it home, but then I had paranoid flashes of a ghost haunting me for taking a piece of it's tombstone.  I of course have no idea if that's what it was, but I wasn't about to take the chance....ummm, I mean if I believed in that kind of thing....cough. cough.

 When the sun finally came out everything looked different.  Even though we had been walking around for days and knew how to get to and from the hotel, when the sun came out, we got lost.  On one of our food wanderings we found this little one totally camouflaged in with the clothes.  There were actually two of them and a cat tucked under some ruffles t-shirts

Another food adventure. We aren't making out with our sandwiches, I swear, just really excited.  This was my first Bahn Mi (other wise know as "Vietnamese Sandwich").

Hanoi is a city of water. Not only is there a huge river going through the town but there are literally dozens of lakes.  One of the many lakes is the most popular and is the place to be. I guess anybody and everyone who gets married in Hanoi gets their picture taken at this lake.  Luckily it was the lake that we were closest to.  One evening we decided to walk to the local movie theater via the lake, here are some beautiful shots that mike was able to get.

Okay, this one isn't "beautiful per-say, but it's interesting.  On the lake there is also a famous pagoda that one can pay to cross a bridge to go see.  Instead of paying, I choose to peer over the gate at the entrance.  they are serious about you needing to pay.  Look at that barbed wire.  There is no sneaking by (not that I would have tried).

The bridge to the left of the couple is the bridge to the little island that has the pagoda.

Thanks Mike for all of you wonderful photos and for letting me share them on my blog.  Here are two last shots of Hanoi from Mike.  Hope you all enjoyed. Sending love. xoxo

24 hour BKK and Goodmorning Vietnam

From Chiang Mai I traveled the 8 hour night bus back to Bangkok to fly out the following morning.  I found myself, again, just off of Koh San Road but was not willing to just stay around.   I found out that a friend from Seattle was in Bangkok staying with her brother so I trekked to find her on the public transit. Bus to light rail.

Thank you Heather and Ashley for my birthday hankie, it has come in so handy to have.

Torrential downpour a great break from the humidity for the 20 minutes.

I saw this at the light rail station.  Why is it that white=power? Advertisement proof of institutionalized racism, and Thailand's continued westernization. If you don't think that it racist, I pose this question to you, have you ever seen something being advertised as black and powerful, "get the new black power iMac"? Exactly.

White Thai girl to go with the white power.

Enough ranting, on with public transportation.

So I got to the neighborhood that my friend said she lived in and I wondered looking for the address.  After about an hour an a half and some more sprinkles I retreated into what looked like a mall thinking I would at least see a movie. 

I took the escalator up 3 floor until realizing it was a school.

So back to the train I went to find my way back to my hotel.  Another Westernization billboard.  It says "Too shy to speak English? Speak to Wall Street" EEeeeeewwwwwww!

Life size clown fish/Feminized Nemo for Molly.

On my way back and during another big rain with lighting and thunder I found the real mall.  And in the mall I found the Thai Travel Channel having a promotion where people could get their picture taken, guess where?  That's right, in NYC, USA.

Then I watched a movie with the theater to myself.

My flight to Hanoi left at 6:50 am which had me landing in Hanoi at 9:30.  When I landed it was cold and rainy and the weather reminded me of San Francisco.

How I felt about the weather.

But the city itself is amazing.  Very obviously colonized by the French.  A lot of tall buildings smooched together, like different worlds depending at which angle you decide to look at it.

My friend of the family, Greg, meet me at the hotel that he knew the manager for and worked out an amazing deal.  Easily the fanciest place I've stayed so far, but besides the hotel itself, the location rocked.  Right in the middle of "old town" which consists of the narrowist, busiest, packed streets that you can imagine. And the food, OMG, I love Vietnam.

Lunch by the lake with Greg and Michael.  Remember Michael in Chiang Mai that I met through the NY amazing lesbian femme Alice? It ended up that he was coming to Hanoi to meet up with his cousin.  So we got to ramble around together and go on food and movie adventures. 

Both Michael and I didn't have warm enough clothes or shoes, so first thing was first, warm clothes. Then warm tea after.

and some delicious Pho Bo.

For dinner we went to a conveyor belt hotpot.  Look at that food.  All of that went into the boiling broth above my plate.

Kitchi kitchi was good, not the "delicious" that I normally would exclaim, but the experience was fun. I liked that I felt like I was cooking.  I miss my kitchen, I miss cooking and I miss cooking for my people. 

I am having a wonderful time despite how much I miss my life and all of you.  I am a couple weeks behind on my blog.  The rest of Hanoi and the start to traveling south next.

xoxo