Vietnam, Part 2. Hanoi & The Oriental Jade
Both Jeff and I only experienced moments of brief twilight sleep during our long flight from Qatar to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. I opened my eyes and pulled the shade up from the window to see the first streaks of dawn color the sky. Silently watching the light slowly increase. Below the plane, as far as the eye could see spread a sea of white clouds, so thick and fluffy, you felt for sure they would sustain your body weight as you played within their soft folds. I was reminded of my childhood days in Ohio, the heavy snowfalls of several feet that turned the town of Bay Village and the city of Berea into winter wonderlands.
My reminiscence was interrupted as the plane turned to the right, and gentle broke through the surface of clouds into a canyon of cloud formations, with deep inclines and high peaks. Above us spread a carpet of white; below the same, only gray scaled. The plane pressed downward, and Hanoi appeared, a gray blur, and I knew the forecast for rain was true. Scattered below us were individual clusters of homes nestled together in neighborhoods. They were surrounded and separated by farmland. The entire land was cast in a mist, brownish in hue with tones of green.
Unlike Britian and France, where the streets have designated areas for vehicles and bicycles, the streets of Vietnam flow in courteous chaos. There are no designated lanes, everyone drives beside each other, slow and fearless, but somehow this policy works. Later we learned that a 30-minute walk to a restaurant could be accessed in 10 minutes on a motorbike; the same distance taking 1 hour by taxi because of the traffic.
Early into our drive to our hotel, my allergies started flaring up, and I realized that, as I suspected, the film in the air was smog, or soot, some kind of pollution and it covered everything. We passed groves of banana and coconut trees. Every inch of usable ground serves as a garden. The homes, instead of spreading wide, are built with many ascending floors, with garden space on the roof and open areas for hanging laundry. They are sandwiched tightly in-between apartment buildings, and businesses.
There is an equal mix of dilapidated structures mixed with the new. We are driving through the old side of Hanoi, which to my eye looks poverty stricken. But during our time in Hanoi, we would come to see the city and its people differently.
We learned about their great pride and patriotism, their self-sufficient methods of providing for themselves (thus the gardens) and their strong desire to help Hanoi and Vietnam in general, continue to grow for the future. They are hardworking people, kind and eager to please.
Throughout our travels in Vietnam, I am struck by the impact Covid 19 continues to have on the population. They are still working their way back to a new normalcy. For many this has been an upward climb. One of the key factors to their economy is bringing back tourism! And throughout my limited travels, I have never seen people so eager to please.
The downtown city closed in on us unexpectedly and was unlike anything I have ever seen. You are struck with wonder watching the flurry of activity surrounding you at all angles. The streets are busy with heavy traffic, that miraculously flows with ease. Merchants are crammed next to each other yet marked as individuals. We pass spas, restaurants, clothing and other stores jam packed with merchandise. At one point we entered streets where all of the merchants sell Christmas decorations. The deeper into the city we travel, the buildings take on a new life, big, more recent structures. Many of them are beautifully decorated for Christmas.
I’m taken with the large variation of architecture around me, primarily the Asian influences, which to my eye are foreign and exotic. I watch passengers sitting sidesaddle on motorbikes, texting on their phones as they travel. They are relaxed; most likely grew up being transported on these vehicles. I’ve seen many parents with infants and small children in tow. And just as our long journey begins to fatigue Jeff and I, our taxi stops in front of the sweetest hotel, The Oriental Jade.
From the moment we stepped out of our taxi we were greeted by several men and women, all beautifully dressed, who scurred to rescue us from our luggage and help us into the hotel. All of them spoke excellent English. Walking into the Oriental Jade, I immediately felt the stress of our long journey begin to melt away. The men and women who work in this hotel treated us as if their sole purpose to was make us comfortable and they succeeded.
After Jeff checked us in, we settled in a pleasant area, where we were served cool, wet clothes to refresh our hands and brows, for the temperature outside was very humid and warm. Next, we were given a welcoming drink, which I believe was pineapple and orange juice blend.
They also gave us a handout that gave brief but appreciated details about the amenities in the hotel as well as advice on how to travel the streets of Hanoi safely.
Here are some of their helpful suggestions:
1. When crossing the road: stay relaxed and self-confident, move slowly, paying attention to the drivers and never step backwards.
2. How to ward off pushy vendors: don’t touch anything unless you want to buy it; avoid smiling or make eye contact with vendors; keep moving forward passing their store quickly
3. How to bargain: start with 20% to 50% off of what the vendor first states, then negotiate for the best rate
4. How to avoid street risks: do not walk alone; don’t wear valuable jewelry; keep your bags, backpacks, and all personal items in front of you. (Vy (our venue’s bride) also recommended that instead of a purse wear a bag that fastens over your shoulders with the zipper compartment carried in front. In addition, she told me to add a cover-all over that. Pickpockets are everywhere! You even need to take precautions when using your cell phone.
The woman who gave us our orientation, expresses the importance of having the hotel, not only book your dinner reservations, but to also assist you with finding a safe and honest taxi driver. Apparently, there are a great many drivers who make a substantial living on unsuspecting tourists who don’t know where they are.
Jeff had the front desk make reservations for us at a restaurant they recommend, and we retired to our room, to freshen up. Our room, like the rest of the hotel, was clean and comfortable. Even the instant coffee they supplied us with was delicious and quite honestly, we enjoyed it so much Jeff bought some to take home. The long hours of traveling had rapidly caught up with me and I slept for about 4 hours, while my nomadic husband checked out the stores close to our hotel.
Later that evening, Jeff and I stepped into the city. The sun had set yet the city flourished with new activity. Both sides of the street were absolutely jam packed with vendors. Every store is brilliantly lit and advertised with neon signs. As Jeff and I maneuvered our way along the sidewalks, walking “relaxed and self-confidently,” we quickly learned that the sidewalks are really parking areas for the motorbikes. They are also blocked by store vendors who most likely live above their store fronts and have expanded their living spaces to include the front area of their stores up to the street and occasionally small alleys between stores.
Families are eating dinner on small plastic tables and chairs. Other people use crates and boxes to sit on. You find yourself very cramped and end up walking along the curb of the street or into the street itself. There are also very large tree roots that have broken through the cement making walkways difficult. You are submerged in a flurry of activity, surrounded by colored lights, noise and smells, particularly the mixture of different foods cooking in the open air, along with the occasional smell of urine, which flashed me back to my younger days walking the streets of New York City with Jeff.
It took Jeff and I a little longer to find our restaurant, Duong’s, than we expected, but we wouldn’t have traded the experience of walking the streets to absorb the essence of Hanoi. After finding our name on the reservation list, the receptionist led us to our table and proceeded to go over our specific food allergies.
Unbeknown to us, the Oriental Jade had notified the restaurant of our specific dietary needs. This gratuity has never happened to us before! It was lovely going into a dining experience to discover that your hotel was watching out for you even when you left their doors. We enjoyed a lovely, several course meal, but instead of walking back to the hotel we had the restaurant call us a taxi.
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After a good night’s rest, Jeff and I ventured downstairs for breakfast. I have to say that the Oriental Jade’s breakfast spread was one of my favorite eating experiences in Vietnam. The buffet included multiple egg options, waffles and pancakes, sushi, exotic passion and dragon fruits along with melons, olives, nuts, yogurts, and much more. The coffee is worth mentioning too. It is served a bit differently than in the states. There is a large variety of different coffee’s too, such as egg and my personal favorite, coconut. The coffee itself is thick and dark, like an expresso. For those like me who enjoy their coffee sweet, sweeten condensed milk is served along with cream and sugar and even chocolate shavings.
After breakfast, Jeff and I left the Oriental Jade to join a one day/night cruise trip through Hanoi Bay, but we would return to spend one more night at The Oriental Jade.
To date, the Jade is one of the nicest hotels I’ve had the pleasure to stay with. It is five stars, luxury hotel, with affordable prices, and an amazing staff. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to stay longer and enjoy their pool and take advantage of the spa, which offers a good variety of treatments. Their customer care service is outstanding. When you are traveling so far away from home, you need to stay at a hotel that goes above and beyond with their service. Please consider staying at this jewel in Hanoi.
THE ORIENTAL JADE – Hotel & Spa
92-94 Hang Trong Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam
www.theorientaljadehotel.com
sales@theorientaljadehotel.com