this is gonna be quick. i've got a few minutes before i have to catch a bus to Halong Bay for a couple nights. we've book an organized tour with one night on a boat, one night in a hut on one of the smaller islands, and some kayaking in between.
so far i've had two full days in hanoi. it's HOT. 90 F with 100% humidity. i've got what ronda says is a heat rash on my chest where my shirt has been rubbing me...
aside from that it's been pretty good. we managed to see some water puppets and walk all around town. yesterday we went to the temple of literature, the one pillar pagado, the womens museum, and the Hao Lo Prison Museum. we saw the madness that is all of hanois youth going on their motor bikes to get ice cream and night.
i got a local cell phone account here. $10 USD for a vidaphone sim chip. my local number here is 091.278.4964. (to call you need to prefix with the viet nam country code, 84.) i tried sending txt messages to a few people back home but i'm not sure if they got through.
so far meals have been a debate about how much risk i'm willing to take. stick to guide book recommended places (been to a few.) or try the local joints. i haven't eaten from any of the street vendors yet. i did try a couple random joints that turned out to be pretty good. the bai tuoi (a stronger type of beer that bai hoi) place we went to yesterday was really good. cold beers in this weather are essential to survival.
when we first arrived into town, late and night, we took a cab on from the airport along a highway that ronda said was the best maintained road in the country. it was raining and we passed two accidents. the second one was particularly bad. there was a cab that looked like an accordian, and a cab driver that looked like a ghost. our cabbie pulled over to talk to him. so there were at least three cars involved. (since the cab was smashed from both front and back.) also there were a couple bikes and a couple dead people on the road. (at least i'm assuming they were dead, because i don't think live people can be in positions like that.) the cabbie got back in the car and told us 3 something. i never found out if he said three cars or three people dead.
Documenting (occasionally) the ramblings and ravings of Edward Pilatowicz since May 2004
June 10, 2005
June 7, 2005
middle of nowhere
well, i'm not at home and i'm not in hanoi yet. i'm half way, so i guess i'm in the middle of nowhere. right now i just got off a 11.5 hour flight from sfo to seoul. turns out they have free internet terminals here so i though i'd abuse one. i also have three hours to kill here before my next flight to hanoi. (i don't know how long that will be but i'm guessing about 4 hours.)
even though i'm feeling pretty bloated from the flight, i'm still interested in seeing what kind of food i can find in this airport. i've been reading my vietnam food book on the flight over as a sort of self torture. (reading about good food and then eating airline food.) ronda has been studying the language, which is what i probably really should be doing, so i'll get started with that on the next flight.
we should be getting into hanoi around midnight and then making our way to the hilton. ronda used a bunch of hilton honor points to book us in there for two nights so we can start the trip with style. :)
well, that's it for now, i'm off for more cramped seating.
even though i'm feeling pretty bloated from the flight, i'm still interested in seeing what kind of food i can find in this airport. i've been reading my vietnam food book on the flight over as a sort of self torture. (reading about good food and then eating airline food.) ronda has been studying the language, which is what i probably really should be doing, so i'll get started with that on the next flight.
we should be getting into hanoi around midnight and then making our way to the hilton. ronda used a bunch of hilton honor points to book us in there for two nights so we can start the trip with style. :)
well, that's it for now, i'm off for more cramped seating.
June 5, 2005
getting anxious
so today i picked up ronda from the airport and then spent the day preparing for my trip. i've called all the credit cards, banks, and insurance companies. i started setting aside the things i'm going to pack, organized documents, started collecting phone numbers, started writing a lists of things left todo, and started making a list of stuff i still need to buy.
"need" might actually be too strong a word. i'm probably over thinking and over preparing and it'll turn out a lot of crap that i "need" will never be used. hell, i've practically got an entire pharmacy that i'm planning to bring.
while staring at the growing pile of crap i'm planning to take, i'm still dreaming that i'll fit it all into my kelty 2400 cu inch backpack that i use every day. (instead of taking my hiking back pack. i've used the kelty for three week trips and that has worked out just fine, but this is a bit longer.) this might be a little far fetched, but i think it would force me into a minimalist mode, which would be good because there would be less for me to worry about.
lastly, the past couple days i've actually been getting a little anxious. i'm starting to wonder what the hell i've actually gotten myself into. i'm sure everything will work out fine once i'm there, but saying that doesn't exactly relieve the anxiety that's setting in now. (i think i was also a bit anxious before leaving for china.) damn stupid uncontrollable anxiety. i hate my brain sometimes. i also checked the weather in hanoi, and it doesn't exactly look good. and to help with my anxiety i've been reading about the side effects of my malaria pills (malarone), reading about drug side effects really isn't a good thing for anxiety relief. (my favorite quote: "Take a repeat dose of atovaquone and proguanil if vomiting occurs within 1 hour of taking a dose.")
well, i'm off to bed. one more day to go.
"need" might actually be too strong a word. i'm probably over thinking and over preparing and it'll turn out a lot of crap that i "need" will never be used. hell, i've practically got an entire pharmacy that i'm planning to bring.
while staring at the growing pile of crap i'm planning to take, i'm still dreaming that i'll fit it all into my kelty 2400 cu inch backpack that i use every day. (instead of taking my hiking back pack. i've used the kelty for three week trips and that has worked out just fine, but this is a bit longer.) this might be a little far fetched, but i think it would force me into a minimalist mode, which would be good because there would be less for me to worry about.
lastly, the past couple days i've actually been getting a little anxious. i'm starting to wonder what the hell i've actually gotten myself into. i'm sure everything will work out fine once i'm there, but saying that doesn't exactly relieve the anxiety that's setting in now. (i think i was also a bit anxious before leaving for china.) damn stupid uncontrollable anxiety. i hate my brain sometimes. i also checked the weather in hanoi, and it doesn't exactly look good. and to help with my anxiety i've been reading about the side effects of my malaria pills (malarone), reading about drug side effects really isn't a good thing for anxiety relief. (my favorite quote: "Take a repeat dose of atovaquone and proguanil if vomiting occurs within 1 hour of taking a dose.")
well, i'm off to bed. one more day to go.
June 4, 2005
wrapping things up
well, this past week my work schedule has been a little off. it ended up shifted to late in the day as i attempted to wrap things up around town before leaving for vacation. tue i went to the second OpenSolaris User Group and i didn't get home till after midnight. wed and thur i got home around 2am. last night i did manage to get back to sf just in time to grab some chicken panini at chez maman (right before the kitchen closed.)
i also talked to a couple people at work this past week at work who had recently been to vietnam and cambodia. russ had just spent 10 days in vietnam touring around vietnam and strongly recommended a motor bike tour he had taken around the north west. steven had also just recently been to cambodia and told me about some of the things he saw and did there as well.
i'm leaving on tue so there's only a few more days to wrap things up. i need to leave the house i a decent state for blake, so today i have to drop off a bunch of old stuff i'm getting rid of at good will. i also want to start packing today so that i know what i'm bringing and what i'll still need. past that i've still got plenty of reading left to do in my vietnam book and i haven't even started reading my vietnam food book. instead i've been paying bills in advance and writing blog entries. well, i'm off to do some real work now.
i also talked to a couple people at work this past week at work who had recently been to vietnam and cambodia. russ had just spent 10 days in vietnam touring around vietnam and strongly recommended a motor bike tour he had taken around the north west. steven had also just recently been to cambodia and told me about some of the things he saw and did there as well.
i'm leaving on tue so there's only a few more days to wrap things up. i need to leave the house i a decent state for blake, so today i have to drop off a bunch of old stuff i'm getting rid of at good will. i also want to start packing today so that i know what i'm bringing and what i'll still need. past that i've still got plenty of reading left to do in my vietnam book and i haven't even started reading my vietnam food book. instead i've been paying bills in advance and writing blog entries. well, i'm off to do some real work now.
May 30, 2005
suppenkuche
me and ronda went to suppenkuche today for dinner. mmmmm. yummy german food.
i had the pickled herring to start followed by some beef goulash, ronda had a salad followed by some sauerbraten. my pickled herring was not quite what i expected since it was one large piece of herring served on top of the sour cream, onions, pickles and potatoes salad. (normally i would expect it to have been cup up and mixed in.) but it was still quite tasty. it actually could have been a meal in and of itself since it came with a boiled potato and some salad, shredded carrots, and beets on the side. the goulash was tasty as well. the meat was very tender, the carrots were still firm, and the spatzle... oh man, do i love spatzle. the goulash came with a small side salad which was drenched in too much strong dressing for my tastes.
ronda enjoyed half her salad, she immediately cleanup the beets and wished there were more of them. her sauerbraten tasted good as well, not quite as vinegary as she would have liked it, but the meat was tender and still quite tasty.
they also had quite a large selection of beers on tap and more in bottles. ronda enjoyed an butten alt followed by maredsous abbey. i had a weltenburger dunkle, followed by a bottle of smoke beer that was on special. (it's just like having smoked ham stuffed into a bottle, a unique and powerfully tasty experience that is quite enjoyable once in a while.)
overall, we ordered way too much food. an appetizer and entree per person is way too much. (i did manage to eat most my food, but i though i was going to burst.) this would be a great place to go to drink german beers and have an appetizer, or go for dinner and just order an entree. but hey, we were checking it out.
also we were comparing it to walzwerk. to our surprise we recognized one of the waiters here from walzwerk. i talk to him and found out he works at both places and that walzwerk was actually started up by former suppenkuche employees. in the end, we decided that aside from the beer collection we preferred walzwerk. it's just a few bucks cheaper and in our opinion the food is just as good if not better.
i had the pickled herring to start followed by some beef goulash, ronda had a salad followed by some sauerbraten. my pickled herring was not quite what i expected since it was one large piece of herring served on top of the sour cream, onions, pickles and potatoes salad. (normally i would expect it to have been cup up and mixed in.) but it was still quite tasty. it actually could have been a meal in and of itself since it came with a boiled potato and some salad, shredded carrots, and beets on the side. the goulash was tasty as well. the meat was very tender, the carrots were still firm, and the spatzle... oh man, do i love spatzle. the goulash came with a small side salad which was drenched in too much strong dressing for my tastes.
ronda enjoyed half her salad, she immediately cleanup the beets and wished there were more of them. her sauerbraten tasted good as well, not quite as vinegary as she would have liked it, but the meat was tender and still quite tasty.
they also had quite a large selection of beers on tap and more in bottles. ronda enjoyed an butten alt followed by maredsous abbey. i had a weltenburger dunkle, followed by a bottle of smoke beer that was on special. (it's just like having smoked ham stuffed into a bottle, a unique and powerfully tasty experience that is quite enjoyable once in a while.)
overall, we ordered way too much food. an appetizer and entree per person is way too much. (i did manage to eat most my food, but i though i was going to burst.) this would be a great place to go to drink german beers and have an appetizer, or go for dinner and just order an entree. but hey, we were checking it out.
also we were comparing it to walzwerk. to our surprise we recognized one of the waiters here from walzwerk. i talk to him and found out he works at both places and that walzwerk was actually started up by former suppenkuche employees. in the end, we decided that aside from the beer collection we preferred walzwerk. it's just a few bucks cheaper and in our opinion the food is just as good if not better.
random discoveries
so earlier today i was avoiding preparations for my vacation, and recovering from a just for you inflicted food coma, by trying to find a sichuan hot pot place in san francisco. in the process i managed to discover this web site. now i can look up all the information i never wanted to know about all the hole-in-the-wall restaurants that i love to frequent.
May 29, 2005
busy body
so i've been keeping busy schedule for the past few days. i actually spent three nights in a row out of the house.
me and ronda went to anup's for dinner on friday night. we met a couple of their friends, had tasty indian food, and sat around sipping drinks and chatting till after midnight. we talked a lot about food and as a result i have a few new restaurants i'm going to have to try. specifically new china delight, which supposedly has sichuan hot pot. (which i've been dearly missing since i left china. super spicy but also super tasty...) The other is a peruvian restaurant, estampas peruanas.
thur night i hopped on the 19 and headed into the loin. i first went the the old chelsea to get some of the best fish and chips i've ever had outside of ireland. after that i headed over to the night cap to visit an old high school friend, jenny, who was bar tending that night. she lives in sf but i usually only manage to see her a couple times a year. kinda sad... but regardless i had a good time hanging out and she seemed to be doing really well. i should have known better than to stay past midnight, but i didn't, and i finally got out of there some time after three in the morning.
wed night was also spent on a social tip. juju (who i recently went to coachella with) came over for dinner. ronda fixed up a nice spread of food and we sat around eating, drinking, and chatting.
three days in a row is an extraordinary amount of socializing for me, so to compensate for it i spent the entire day yesterday working. from about 11 am till 11 pm. then i watched tokyo fist. man those japanese got some wacky films. this one was pretty much all about self inflicted pain, lots of it, and would you like some mutilation with that pain?
today has been spent cleaning. i did laundry at the same place i always do it, the brain wash. then i cleaned up the computer room where we are continuing to stack up ronda's stuff. it's pretty darn packed in there. now i'm finally done with that and it's off to get some dinner.
me and ronda went to anup's for dinner on friday night. we met a couple of their friends, had tasty indian food, and sat around sipping drinks and chatting till after midnight. we talked a lot about food and as a result i have a few new restaurants i'm going to have to try. specifically new china delight, which supposedly has sichuan hot pot. (which i've been dearly missing since i left china. super spicy but also super tasty...) The other is a peruvian restaurant, estampas peruanas.
thur night i hopped on the 19 and headed into the loin. i first went the the old chelsea to get some of the best fish and chips i've ever had outside of ireland. after that i headed over to the night cap to visit an old high school friend, jenny, who was bar tending that night. she lives in sf but i usually only manage to see her a couple times a year. kinda sad... but regardless i had a good time hanging out and she seemed to be doing really well. i should have known better than to stay past midnight, but i didn't, and i finally got out of there some time after three in the morning.
wed night was also spent on a social tip. juju (who i recently went to coachella with) came over for dinner. ronda fixed up a nice spread of food and we sat around eating, drinking, and chatting.
three days in a row is an extraordinary amount of socializing for me, so to compensate for it i spent the entire day yesterday working. from about 11 am till 11 pm. then i watched tokyo fist. man those japanese got some wacky films. this one was pretty much all about self inflicted pain, lots of it, and would you like some mutilation with that pain?
today has been spent cleaning. i did laundry at the same place i always do it, the brain wash. then i cleaned up the computer room where we are continuing to stack up ronda's stuff. it's pretty darn packed in there. now i'm finally done with that and it's off to get some dinner.
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