Reasons to Love Hai Duong, Hanoi, Vietnam

I’m very lucky to have some great friends and family back home who, from time to time, send me Real-Mail. This is amazing for two reasons:

1. The postal system between Vietnam and the United States is actually compatible! (Though still a bit dysfunctional...the Valentine from my mother only arrived last week, and the envelope was suspiciously torn to shreds.)

2. In this digital age, cool people still look to snail mail for a more thoughtful mode of communication.

When my friend John and I worked together way back when (last year), we had a weekly ritual in which he would give me the new issue of New York Magazine when he was finished reading it, and I would, in turn, gopher to Subway to get our 6-inch combos. Really, it was more of an unspoken routine than ritual--and gophering was sometimes my job anyway--but you get the idea: between “approval matrices” and cold cuts, life was good.
Since I’ve been in Vietnam, John has intermittently continued to forward me NY Mag Issues, blank crosswords and all. In the latest batch of back issues, my most favorite issue of the year was included: REASONS TO LOVE NEW YORK. Now truth be told, every NY Mag is basically all about the “reasons to love New York,” or at least the reasons New Yorkers think they and their city are better than everyone else, everywhere else. However, this annual double issue is especially brazen in it’s self-worship, and I can’t help but eat it up. It could tell me the rats in the Times Square subway station are reason #19 to love New York, and I would be like, “You’re right! They are cute! And I think I saw one dancing beside that Asian man who plays the weird stringed instrument on the 1 train platform! I want one!”

I digress...Although reading about all the reasons to love New York--miracles on the Hudson, boa constrictors in Bensonhurst--did make me nostalgic for home, it also made me want to list some "REASONS TO LOVE Hai Duong/Hanoi/Vietnam." Without further ado, here are just a few, in no particular order:

#1. Because despite the implied capitalism of the Coca Cola billboards on Highway 5, Vietnam is clinging fast to its communist roots.
I’m not really at liberty to make further comment about this as I’m currently learning to drive a motorbike from a leading communist official in Hai Duong, and next week I’m singing at the Communist Youth Party. So much for my CIA clearance.

#2. Because that being said.....

OBAMA Fashion has come to Hai Duong.

#3. Because beer is better when it costs $0.15.
#4. Because the smaller the pineapple, the sweeter the juice.

These 4 pineapples have been skinned and cut to sweet perfection, and best of all they cost about $0.50 from the lady on the bicycle sitting outside my college.

#5. Because the Vietnamese art scene is just really good.

#6. Because the coffee is thicker than blood, in a good way.
Vietnam has got its own brand of coffee, and its own way of serving said coffee. It comes in little mugs, with little french presses on top, and a little sweet condensed milk at the bottom. Some people love it, some people hate it. I happen to really like it, with the understanding that its just not comparable to coffee elsewhere; its a breed all its own. It doesn’t taste like espresso per se, but it packs a similar punch.

My favorite part of the coffee experience in Vietnam is sitting and drinking in cafes. The first time I went to a cafe in Hai Duong, I was surprised to find that I was the only female. I asked a friend why the cafes were only filled with men, and she told me that perhaps Vietnamese women who went out for coffee alone were not considered very good women. When I asked if that meant I was not considered a very good woman, she replied, “You’re foreign.”

It was not clear whether she meant “You’re foreign, therefore the rules don’t apply,” or “You’re foreign. Obviously you’re not a very good woman.”

#7. Because despite the occasional tummy trouble, there are some great restaurants.

HANOI:

La Badiane: Might be my favorite restaurant in Hanoi....French food...great starters...good lunch menu...and one time they gave me free champagne.
Au Lac: Had some really good Vietnamese food here when my friend Anne visited. You know the food is authentic because half the clientele is Vietnamese, as opposed to some other restaurants nearby which are busting at the seams with Westerners basking in a faux-colonial experience.
Vine: Best wine selection in Hanoi, so they say... And so I believe. I had this steak stuffed with scallops and asparagus...it was really good....Wow...I need to go back there.
Foodshop 45: Good Indian food. Really good prices. Cute atmosphere.
KOTO: Run by an Australian NGO, this restaurant employs and trains street kids for careers in hospitality. Its a really great organization, made even better by the fact that the food is legitimately fantastic. The young staff is wonderful, too. I suggest eating on the roof. I am neither confirming nor denying that I once went for lunch and stayed through dinner...

HAI DUONG:

Ristorante Italian: The pizza raises my levels of serotonin.
Pho Shop: Pho is good for your soul...and I get these little pork/cabbage things, too. They know me here, and they think its strange I come alone and read books while eating.
#8.Because Hanoi has some great, fairly reasonably priced boutiques.
My favorite finds are around the Cathedral in the Old Quarter. I bought this Fedora at SONG, one of the less really reasonably priced boutiques, but still really cute stuff...

#9. Because if no one is selling it, someone can make it.
Big fan of tailors in Hanoi...why did the Western World have to get away from made-to-order clothes? It makes the lives of short people so much easier...

#10. Because remember how good coke was when we were little, before the advent of corn syrup?
Well, it still tastes like that here.
#11. Because when you’re here, you’re family.
I lived at the Rising Dragon Hotel II my first month in Hanoi, and I've stayed there every trip into the city since. It might not be the Metropole, but it's got a great location, good beds, and just the best staff...I love these guys.

#12. Because for the rest of my life I can talk about “that time I lived in Vietnam” and people will think I'm so much cooler than I really am.


And seriously, send me mail. If nothing else, it makes me feel special, and I promise to reciprocate with a postcard. Then your mailman will think you’re so cool to get something from Vietnam...

Madeline Felix
Giao Vien Tieng Anh
Truong Cao Dang Hai Duong
Nguyen Thi Due Street-Thanh Binh
Hai Duong City Vietnam