after_alex

It’s always a challenge finding appropriate places to eat when you’re in a foreign land. Sometimes it’s a crapshoot: look what’s around and pick; if you’re not happy with the selection then move elsewhere and repeat. But in Vietnam with the right guidance… with internet food forums, it can be pretty easy to find some standard eateries that are acceptable to a newbie stomach…

Street cooking is often a gamble – you can get the best value and best tasting food….but beware stomach bugs.

I’d say myself that part of the joy in traveling is the desire to find the perfect place to eat…for each sort of mood, timing, and tolerance for cleanliness. The method of my madness mostly consists of the “look-and-pick” strategy, while always hoping for the surprise discovery of that hidden jewel in the rough. It usually works for off-the-beaten path budget food and also for my particular cravings for local “scene” (which require an extended search and discovery process…and is often irksome to companion travelers).

But on the other hand, the big cities of Hanoi and Saigon – the only places in Vietnam which I’m visiting – are not exactly off the beaten path. Therefore, personal testimony and references are king.

At Brother’s Cafe, a Hanoi favorite we have some uniquely Vietnamese specialties: Goi Cuon (Spring Rolls), Banh Beo (rice cake in the mini-bowl), and Cha Gio (Eggrolls)
Victoria digs into her favorite dish, “Bun Rieu”.

The beauty of Vietnam is that underneath the urbanite skyscrapers and display of world-class chic, the streets on the ground are abound with food vendors and cafe-lounges that are still accessible to the middle class. Mind you, the Vietnamese middle class is still relatively small compared to American or Western standards, but nevertheless it’s growing.

Hanoi is also known for its Banh Cuon, the wet rice-rolls with meat filling.

Pho Cuon at 40 Ngu Xa in Hanoi. This was a treat for me, as I’ve never had this in the US before. It’s basically a firm Banh Cuon or a big Pho noodle rolled over beef & herbs. Awesome stuff….thanks Linh for the introduction.

I’m sure that no matter how developed Vietnam gets, it’ll never lose the home-grown local flavor.

…dang just looking at these pictures makes me hungry.

I have to admit that Vietnamese kids are just great at starting a raucous. And when people say that half the Vietnamese population is under 25, I totally believe it. Recently, Vietnam’s been advancing through the Asia Cup playoffs and after each successive game it’s just been mayhem in the streets. We’re not even in the semi-finals yet and it’s just NUTS on the streets of Vietnam.

Soccor fans of Hanoi celebrate after advancing to the quarter finals of the Asia Cup 2007.

Despite the thousands of bodies packing the streets of late-night Hanoi, relatively few people have been injured so far. But from what I hear, the higher Vietnam advances through the Asia Cup, the more people will be injured and die. Seriously. It’s all in good fun, but this is just the beginning. We’ll see what happens.

I suppose despite all the mayhem, the ironic part is that Vietnam lost to Japan last night, but people were still celebrating like it was the new people’s revolution or something. The lucky part for Vietnam is that Qatar lost to UAE, which put Vietnam at the #2 point-standing of its group…allowing it to advance to the next round.

Before last night, I had never witnessed nationalism or pride of the Communist Vietnamese flag. But obviously, soccor has a way of unifying people. Next, Vietnam plays Iraq in the quarter finals. Perhaps a little national soccor pride can help solve problems in Iraq?

Right now I’m in Hanoi, bunking in at my brother’s apartment in the old-town sector of the city. God, this neighborhood is so unbelievably convenient. Actually, no. I’d say any urban place in Vietnam is damn convenient. The cheapest, tastiest food combined with prolific wifi. Somebody telling me what the hell is going on in Vietnam in 2007. …because I haven’t slightest idea. Hmm. Perhaps in moments like these it’s better not to travel…or else risk unloosening screws that shouldn’t be loosened. A predicament that befalls those of the introspective sort, I suppose.

My brother and I rarely travel together, although we each do our own fair share of traveling. My brother is of the power-traveling sort, one who enjoys squeezing the party out of just about any chance to get off regular American soil. Currently, my brother is on his summer internship with a private equity company (TPG), and he returns to Harvard in the fall to finish off his MBA program. As you have probably heard, Tony is quite a worker bee and is a sharp kid. But sometimes he’s like a machine to me. It’s amazing what can be produced by two parents.

WORK: what my brother does 99% of his life.

Mind you, this picture was taken on a Sunday. Following my brother around while I’m here, feels a little bit like being the shadow of a fish sauce jar in day’s series of power lunches and power-playing. Indeed, the routine is interesting, but it can be a little unsettling for a one who’s trying to understand the new regime of Red Capitalism — in some ways, the reason for why my brother is here. Let me just say right now that my brother is the capitalist cum laude…and that the only way to do business in Vietnam is to have lunch with red tea…if you know what I mean. Thus, we drink some red tea.

What my brother does the other 1% of his life: more WORK.

Actually my brother doesn’t work THAT much. We do have some random points on the timeline where you can catch him having some fun.

From left, Tony, Bao, Jay, Cary, myself. B, J, and C are visiting from out of town. They’re all graduates of Kellogg doing summer consulting for a microfinance non-profit in Hue.

Vietnamese culture is all about hospitality. When friends visit from out of town, eating, drinking, and other cheerful activities are the call to order.

Me and brother at Hoan Kiem Lake. A rare opportunity for us to be in the same place at the same time.

I’m having a good time…just relax for a minute now, will you Tony?

Vietnam. You have no choice but to love it.

A beautiful day along Hoan Kiem Lake.

Vietnam is a torrent full of life, and I don’t think anybody truly understands it…although I’ll continue to rationalize it as long as I’m here.

I’m always befuddled by people’s fishing spots. Ya think there’s any mercury in there?

There’s a chemistry going on in Vietnam. I gather it’s a combination of the people, the folks you’re with, the people you meet, the sultry weather, and the streets you walk on. Maybe it’s also the cheap food. Hell, everything here is cheap.

The whole meal (plus a bottle of water) for just about $2.20 USD. And this is splurging…

(that was Bun Cha Ha Noi at 1 Hang Manh in Old Town (Pho Co), Hanoi.)

But how can you not love this place? I suppose there are millions of people who have left Vietnam, but they’d probably be lying if they said they didn’t love this place either. But then I realize if you get the wrong chemistry here, the wrong ingredients cooked in the wrong order, then you can damn well hate it all.

But that’s not my story – I’ve only been here less than a week, and I’ve been having the time of my life. The hospitality of Vietnamese people is probably the most common thing here; but it’s probably also the most charming. From my moment landing at the airport… to meeting total strangers that took me to go drinking with their war-time hero uncle…to trying to hustle a deal against the 15-year old fruit girl downstairs…my interactions with the people of Vietnam have been both sloppy but enjoyable. Sloppy in the sense that most of the time I have no idea how the hell I get into the most random situations — and enjoyable because it just all is.

Vietnam is changing fast, and in doubt that contributes to the capricious nature of everyday encounters here. There’s much business to be done and money to be made, there’s lots of new things to try and lifestyle activities to adopt, and there’s all sorts of people appreciating each others’ company when under any other combination of conditions such would not be the case.

This summer’s been filled with lots of training for Hapkido. Hapkido is a Korean martial art, that synthesizes effective techniques from other styles, including Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Aikido. It also has its own signature moves.

You can see some of those moves in our demonstration video from last Saturday.

My “sit-down” kick is so fast you can’t even see me. Thats too bad for Scott however (in the air).

And here Master Lawrence kicks the shit out of me and Anthony…

Good stuff. I’ve been training Hapkido for years and years, and finally its my turn to get tossed around like a rag-doll on stage. Oh well, at least I wasn’t the only one gettin’ slammed. Anthony took a good beating too (if you take a close look, he even fell partially off the mat on the last technique).

One of the great things about returning to Southern California is getting to train with my home martial arts studio. It’s great times. Gets me in shape, all my vital measurements get into the “healthy” range, and I get to kick some ass every once in a while. But then again, one of these demonstrations comes around, and for the most part I have to do my part to get my own ass kicked. For example:

A modest Anna kicks me straight off the mat. Damn that hurt. Witnesses say they still remember the loud thud as I hit the stage.

People say Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) are all the rage these days, but whatevers. Hapkido’s still where it’s at.