Vietnam, 11 Jan 2007 --

So my official position on the eating of dog is that dogs are about as smart as pigs, and people eat pigs all the time (though I try not to) so it should be just about as terrible as that. They are just animals, after all, right? Also, as proof of the dumbness of animals, the animals around here are not locked up and farms aren’t even fenced in, yet they don’t run away. They just sleep, mate, and look for food with no apparent concern for their future.

That said, I find the eating of dogs to be disturbing. This isn’t just an urban legend, either. Hanoi has a 1km strip of nothing but dog meat restaurants. One girl we met said she threw up when she saw a poodle being butchered. Another saw two dog heads on a market table, so Andris has promised me that if he sees any dog parts in the market to warn me so I can avert my eyes. These are the same dogs who used to bring me so much joy in previous locations, and now I am just worried about the sad fate that faces them. And they don’t even know! 

Other than that, I’m enjoying Hanoi. It’s like Bangkok but a little classier, or Vientiene, but a lot bigger. It’s got so much energy, a lot of great shopping, and lots of good food. Crossing the street is a bit hazardous, but people actually obey the traffic lights, which means that there are actually working traffic lights! A lot of the ladies here are very well dressed and drive suitably cute Vespas, which appear to be the BMW of motor bikes, and motor bikes outnumber cars about 50-to-1.

We’d heard a lot of bad things about Vietnam from other travellers. As a result, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that it isn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected. The cyclo and moto drivers and sales people can be really pushy, but we’re pretty used to that by now. Also, our border crossing from Laos was remarkably smooth and scam-free. In fact, it was a border guard who arranged our mini-bus to Hanoi for a price even lower than the Laos tourist people had told us to expect.

And for those who don’t know, this is my last country on this trip. I’m heading back to the States on January 24th to (finally) finish a graduate degree at Johns Hopkins. I briefly panicked this morning when I realized that I only have two weeks to cover an entire country. On the other hand, I am looking forward to hot water, clean clothes, and graduating before my credits are no longer valid. Andris is lucky in that he gets an additional two weeks in Vietnam, and then another four months in China and Nepal before I graduate in May.

So now I’m left trying to decide what I should do in Vietnam. These next two weeks are very precious. I realize that now.   

Categories Vietnam