Day 5

We have to tune ourselves to suit the slower Vietnamese pace. The hotel lift is slow and the cars can't travel fast. Slowly, we travelled to HaiPhong, the 3rd biggest city in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. We visited the Hang Kenh commune and pagoda.

We came to know that the Vietnamese use chinese as their written language until the 19th century. They only switched to using the Roman characters after French occupation.

As days gone by, we lost our appetite. We can predict what's the menu before food is served.

On the way back to Hanoi from HaiPhong, we stopped by a shop selling local sweets and biscuits, just like Tan Kim Hock in Malacca and shops selling Tau Sar Pneah in Penang. What caught our attention was the signboard, indicating what's "genuine" brand and what's "fake" brand.
After dunno how many hours of car ride, we reached Hanoi. We checked into Thang Long Hotel, which is just a stone's throw away from the Old Quarters. The Old Quarters are teemed with shops selling shoes, bags, clothes, fruits, cooked food, raw food, herbs... you name it, you have it. I was suffocated by the crowds and choked by the motorbikes exhaust gas. Thus, I fled the Old Quarters as fast as I could to get back to the hotel and wait for dinner time.

We had dinner in a fancy restaurant. The waiters speak no English. We wanted to have rice but were given bowls. We ordered a pot of Vietnamese tea. I think the person in-charge has no experience in brewing tea. 1/2 of the pot was filled with tea leaves. Consequently, it's too bitter and I had to dig out the tea leaves before asking for a refill of hot water.

It's a must to watch the water puppet show in Hanoi. Many people fall asleep watching the show. First of all, everything is in Vietnamese. Secondly, adults are not interested in watching puppet shows.

The making of water puppet show is very difficult. Those puppets are controlled by long bamboo sticks. Skillful masters hid behind the scene to manipulate the puppets.