Hanoi, September 24 2009
Our first night inHanoi Ho Chi Minh City
Our first night in
However,
I became more excited about Old Street Hotel, because I read in the hotel
details that there were bicycles rent for free. Wow! If you are to offer me
something, tell me that you have a bicycle that I can use, you will gain 80% of
my interest. And if you say it’s for free, you will add another 15%.
Our
driver stopped in front of a small inn (I don’t think this should be called
“hotel”.). I read “Old Street
The
front office said that our room is still being prepared and asked our choice of
welcome drink. I can’t recall what I had required for. Green tea, I think. What
I remember for sure is that I immediately ask about the bicycle rent. That was
the time when I understood that Vietnamese can’t pronounce “R”. Since he wasn’t
speaking English in a grammatical order, I had a hard time to get what he
meant. Does he mean “fRee”? Does he mean “fee”? Meaning, “charged”?
“It
is free, isn’t it? I asked.
“Yes,
yes. Free.” That was I thought I heard. But then he continued, “Two dollars.”
What?
Free, but two dollars?? “You mean I have to pay two dollars for renting a
bicycle?”
“Yes,
yes. Free.”
I
was simply too anxious to experience cycling in a new country. Okay, deal. 2
USD is it. The young man at the front desk reached for his cell phone and made
a call. Actually I planned to cycle to Hoan Kiem Lake
The
other young man mocked at me, “You Philippine!”
“No!
I’m not a Filipino,” I said.
“Oh
you, where from?” He opened a book on the desk. “Oh, Indosia,” he said again.
Another
new thing I learnt. Many Vietnamese turned out not to be able to pronounce “Indonesia
In
this hotel another thing disappointed me. It was the wi-fi which was said to be
available in the room. While waiting for my bicycle to come, I mentioned about
the wi-fi. The front desk man said that wi-fi isn’t accessible upstairs when it
is raining. I looked outside. It wasn’t raining at all. I felt cheated. About
the bicycle and about the wi-fi that’s accessible in the room.
The
other young man frowned and said, “You talk, talk. You sit.” He pointed at a
chair next to him.
“I’m
coming here not to sit!” I was getting mad. The way his friend said, “You
Philippine!” made more upset. Is that how you treat a customer? Do you judge
people by their nationality? Suppose I am a Filipino, so what?! Do you think Vietnam
Old
Street Hotel which claimed to be a 2 star hotel was far from City Star Hotel in
Saigon which also claimed to be a 2 star
hotel. After being in City Star Hotel, entering Old Street Hotel wasn’t what I
had expected to be like. And… those 2 young men made matters worse for me.
A
man came riding a bicycle with another bicycle in his hand. I paid him $2, he
took my passport, and off I went. It wasn’t a comfortable bicycle, but enough
for an adventure wandering the narrow hectic streets of Old Quarter. At times I
felt something was wrong and then realized that I was cycling on the wrong
direction! While watching out for the swarming motorbikes, I had to always keep
it in mind to stay at the right. Whenever I were going to cross a crossroad, I
had to tell myself repeatedly that if I want to avoid crossing the street, I
should turn right instead of left. In the end I had fun. Instead of enjoying a
quite evening strolling along the street, I felt like driving a boom boom car. Every
crossroad, every motorbike, was a challenge that stirred up my adrenaline. The
conclusion: $2 was worth for such an exciting bicycle game – in real life :P
Shuni, it's really fun reading your story, as if I were there with you ..hehehe.. thanks..
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