Yesterday morning I was in the French embassy for some paperwork. In the hall I was glad to see there are shows, culture is alive here. Also when exchanging emails, the civil servants at the embassy reply swiftly, I was impressed. Reason given is, there are almost no travelers nowadays hence they are no longer… Continue reading Art and Cultural Activities
Month: April 2021
Cash is King
There is something from childhood that stills fascinates me: checking out the bank notes wherever I travel. Traveling might not be the right term because I now plan to stay in Vietnam long-term. Anyhow, here is an overview of all bank notes used in Vietnam. No coins are being circulated nowadays as far as I… Continue reading Cash is King
Hà Nội Football Club Supporters
I was walking near the French embassy this morning (some paperwork needed) as I heard them across the street! I missed a detail because I stopped filming too early. In addition to the music with the loudspeaker, there was a man beating a big drum sitting behind on the van. I took money out of… Continue reading Hà Nội Football Club Supporters
A Crowded Mall
The 21st April is a bank holiday in Vietnam, celebrating Vietnam’s Hung kings. We went – again – to Big C Long Biên that day and it was indeed crowded: The sound systems here do not need to cope with stringent dB limits as it is the case in Switzerland. This was really loud. But… Continue reading A Crowded Mall
Rooftop Bar
One of the most exciting aspects of a big city is to have plenty of choice for eating out. I realized that after being unable to invite my wife for Valentine day in Switzerland, I thought we could go to a nice place for dinner. By the way, even if Valentine is not that important… Continue reading Rooftop Bar
Cầu Giấy District
Yesterday evening we left the Long Biên district to visit my sister-in-law in Cầu Giấy district. That’s crossing the whole city from East to West. We did not think about the rush hour and ended in traffic jams all the way, around 1h15min by taxi. Hopefully the way back was faster, around 40min only. Coming… Continue reading Cầu Giấy District
Junk
That post is literally (about) junk. I’ve seen it in Vietnam with people of my parents’ generation. Keeping everything. Never throwing anything even though it has not been used for ages, and possibly never will anymore. Pieces of wood, cables, plastic bottles, you name it. Maybe this affects people who endured challenging times. I have… Continue reading Junk
Vietnamese Hotpot
The Vietnamese hotpot takes many hours of preparation. The stock itself around 2h, and you just cannot let it simmer and walk away to mind another business. The reason is that the cook must delicately, regularly scoop the scum for roughly one hour. The result? a clear and savory broth. The other peculiarity of the… Continue reading Vietnamese Hotpot
Dining at Aeon Mall
This is a huge, recent, top-of-the-shelf mall in Hải Phòng. Had I been teleported inside, apart from the ads in Vietnamese, I would have thought I was in Singapore. Very clean. The mask is mandatory everywhere inside and the hawkish private security will remind you as soon as you get up after your drink. Parking… Continue reading Dining at Aeon Mall
Apéritif au Canard
This was three days ago. Not much was planned that evening, but my brother-in-law surely saw a bit of cute disappointment in my eyes when he told me that the evening out with his friends was just for the next day. He has a generous heart and found a solution, without me even asking for… Continue reading Apéritif au Canard