Today, my wife had her old scooter repaired so we rode it tonight. Riding a scooter or a motorbike is the best way to discover Vietnam. There is definitely something more than being driven around in a taxi. You can feel the atmosphere.
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I’m on a boat!!!!
Hải Phòng is the biggest port in the North of Vietnam. My brother-in-law has a few connections with the maritime university there. He brought me to the port in order to visit a training ship. This one was given by Korea to the Vietnam Maritime University. 20 min Car Drive Here are a few videos… Continue reading I’m on a boat!!!!
Eating at our Aunt’s House
On Sunday at noon we were invited by my wife’s aunt in Hà Nội. She cooks really well and prepared a nice meal. See for yourself: salad, cucumber and herbs, green mango, chicken, squid with pineapple and vegetables, chayote, fried eggs “opla”, squids stuffed with minced pork meat, nems and soup. At home in Vietnam… Continue reading Eating at our Aunt’s House
How to Properly Serve a Bánh Chưng
Bánh Chưng is a sticky rice cake filled with beans and pork meat (just skip the meat for the veggie option). It’s traditionally eaten on the Vietnamese New Year (Tết). This is the same date as the Chinese New Year, which is not entirely lunar but also solar. The date is simply calculated each year… Continue reading How to Properly Serve a Bánh Chưng
Shopping
On Saturday my brother-in-law drove us to Big C Long Biên, a large shopping mall. The security guards at the entrance check the temperature of everybody, but masks are not mandatory. Since we are supposed to be careful for 14 more days, we wore them inside. We ended up buying a lot of plastic boxes.… Continue reading Shopping
Medical Checkup
Yesterday I went for a medical checkup which is mandatory for further paperwork. My wife booked a slot at the spacious and luxurious Vinmec Clinic in Hà Nội. The whole checkup cost 2’800’000.-VND (around 111.-CHF). The day before the appointment, an online questionnaire must be filled in with information about any risk of contact with… Continue reading Medical Checkup
Recycling
Obviously recycling is something we should do, but it’s not mandatory here. After 12 years in Switzerland it looks extraordinarily simple: just one garbage bin, that’s it. For those who want to recycle (we do) it’s rather simple : just leave the papers/cartons/plastic/glass/aluminium separate next to the garbage bins, and people pick it up during… Continue reading Recycling
Water Supply
First night in this new flat: there were no glasses. And the tap water in Vietnam is not safe to drink, you should boil it first (the kettle was already provided in the kitchen). You can just rinse your mouth. So how did we drink? Hopefully we had 2 mugs and a bowl in our… Continue reading Water Supply
Housewarming Barbecue
Upon arrival, the landlord greeted us and took a long time to walk us through the various appliances, hidden valves, circuit breakers and all the secrets of this brand new flat. He makes himself very available. My wife bought a papasan sofa and I do like it. So comfortable. I could only get to try… Continue reading Housewarming Barbecue
Freedom!
So many things happened on our first day out that I could just find time now to give an update. On Friday April 9 at 2PM local time in Hanoi we were allowed to leave the hotel. Hence they really count 14 days by the hour. Better to take it seriously, because in Singapore a… Continue reading Freedom!