Hanoi Day One

Flight form Taipei to Hanoi on the Airbus 322 was uneventful. Clearing customs was another matter. I had my visa, which I had obtained online but when I got to the customs official he rejected it and sent me to another office. Oh, crap, I'm thinking. But they just needed to verify some info and another official stamped the paper and it was all fine. My biggest problem was my right ear was someplace up at 30,000 feet and I could barely hear a thing. Found the Intrepid Travel contact and shared a cab to the Ann Hotel with a fellow photog by the name of Lisa, a lovely young gal from California. She has worked for HP and Apple in the past and now has her own business which has her traveling all over the world consulting. Cool!

After what seems like a long ride we arrive at the hotel. Hanoi is a busy, typical SE Asian city. Dirty, noisy with masses of motor scooters zipping all about. It kind of makes me think of a beehive, activity all over. Some large industry but mostly little mom and pop operations all over. Everyone is selling, making, cooking, eating something! The hotel is very nice. here is a shot of my room.

Could not wait to take a shower! It's been nearly 24 hours since I departed JFK. Dare I lay down for a minute? It's now 2:00 PM and we are to meet downstairs in lobby at 3:30. No! not a good idea. So I set the alarm on my iPhone and crash. Damn, alarm already?
Downstairs I meet the 9 other "students", our 2 instructors and 2 others who will be guiding us along.
After introductions, etc. we grab our cameras and head down town for our "Hanoi Street Food Adventure". Well, from my perspective, I'd just as soon not have my culinary experiences classified as an "adventure"!
Wandering around the central market we take some photos and then stop to sample some typical Vietnamese street food, take some more pics and sample something else and so on. The first place we sampled was a sort of appetizer I suppose. A small roll with  some filling of cucumber, spices, mushrooms and I don't know what else in a spicy sauce. Delicious! Bread was crunchy but very light and the spicy filling was great. Here's the lady making this.

The streets are crazy busy, with motor bikes and taxis zipping all over. Thanh, our Vietnamese guide tells us that a lot of folks with motors scooters now provide Uber-like services. Yeah, after a night of drinking you get on a motor bike and Uber your way home. Well, at least if you barf you don't have to roll down the window of a car!

Our next foodie stop was a place where they make fresh rice paper for spring rolls. The process is similar to making a crepe. Here's a photo of them being made. We were served some really delicious
spring rolls with the fresh rice paper. Very different than the ones I've had at home. I guess premade ones get tough and are more more transparent.

Dinner was a hot pot affair where we sat around wood fired, flat containers with various goodies cooking in them and dipping sauces. Oh, and did I mention they have beer?