Second Verse, Similar to the First

Though we had a late and eventful night, there was no sleep-in the next day.  The kids simply wouldn't allow it.  We got up and the whole family went to an incredible authentic northern Vietnamese lunch at a concept food market, where the owner had leased a large space and invited all the legendary street food vendors to come in and set up shop.  Until that point I didn't know that the Vietnamese food I'm used to is mostly of the southern variety.  Though similar, the northern cuisine has its own distinct tastes, and instead of the meal consisting solely of a XXL bowl of pho, the portions are smaller allowing the tasting of more dishes.  Though I'm a tea man, one can't be in Vietnam and not have their coffee with sweet milk every single day.

Afterwards Kang drove the family and I past the monument within which rests the body of Ho Chi Minh (or 'Uncle Ho' as he's affectionately known in these parts) and other bright orange colonial-looking state buildings to Hoan Kiem Lake, where we took a relaxing stroll under the sunny blue sky.


Mike has been having a spate of bad luck recently, beginning with a vespa accident that damaged his knee and left him crippled for 6 weeks.  Things worsened with a rare attack from a poisonous ant that had crawled into his room, onto his bed and stung his left eye, leaving his face looking like he'd been brutalized in a fistfight.  He'd mostly healed from these unfortunate afflictions by the time I arrived, but still in need some more good karma. Thus when we visited Ngoc Son temple near the lake's northern shore, Mike bought some incense to pay respects to the deities there in hopes of changing his luck.

I'm used to the Chinese way of only holding three incenses, so when Mike made his offering with a pack of about fifty it was rather comical.  Hopefully more incense works more in his favor, though somehow I think my being in Vietnam helps both our karma.

After heading home so the kids could nap, Mike and I took the vespa out to the nearby park to catch some sun and chill.  As luck would not have it, he left the key in and the battery had fully drained by the time he realized his mistake.  So I stayed and watched the bike while Mike went to go get help, coming back a half hour later and bringing the whole family.

While a local mechanic recharged the battery, Mike and I took the time to play with Didi and Krichy, climbing trees with them and throwing an Angry Bird toy around.  To say we played catch would be a stretch, because they were to young to.  It was half fetch, except the boys would fight to grab up the loose toy then run back to throwing or kicking distance and then return it with gusto.  The genius of this game was soon clear: it took minimal effort on our part and the kids had an outlet to expend their frenzy.  I soon realized that if you didn't tire them out, they would tire you out.  

Mike later said that this was the most fun he's had with his kids in a while, so it seems like an initially bad situation turned into a great one.

Leaving the kids at home with Tinh's sister Thom, we went for a tapas dinner with some friends of Mike's, followed by a second trip to Rooftop.  We got a table, and were halfway into our bottle of vodka when a fight broke out right next to us, this time involving the fairer gender.  A psychotically drunk Vietnamese girl decided to have a fit, and ran across the room to bumrush another girl near the bar.  When a bystanding waitress tried to intervene, Drunk Girl switched targets and slapped the poor waitress around pulling her hair viciously.  Two other waitresses had to pull them apart while the waiters stood at the fringes, uninvolved and amused.

5 minutes later, there was hair on the floor

As they escorted Drunk Girl away I decided to follow to see what would ensue, and I needed the washroom anyway.  Not only did they not kick her out, but I later saw her in the ladies room, waving her shoes around jumping and screaming along to the music, oblivious to her prior actions and wilding out.

Given two fights occurred consecutive days at the same place, I was under the impression that it was just another weekend in Hanoi.  Mike later told me that this certainly isn't the case, and he's convinced that I'm apparently the magnet for drama.

Somehow we ended up back at Solas after making new friends an ex-Wall Street banker.  The hustler's pool table was now covered and people danced on top of it, adding to the menagerie.  However, the bottle of vodka we'd chugged was only enough to fuel twenty minutes of dancing to the mishmash of electronic sounds, after which we headed to Chicken Street to eat some of the best post-partying food I've ever had in my life.

Though the chairs we sat in were evidently designed for medium-sized midgets, the food soon had us ignoring all other senses and each other.  Roasted chicken wings, chicken feet and ribs were aplenty, with a tantalizing Vietnamese boss barbecue sauce for dipping.  To top it all off, they had this toasted bread dripping with honey that was ridiculously delicious.  If you're ever in Hanoi, do yourself a huge favor, visit Chicken Street and order that bread.