Year: 2015

Intersection by Hoan Keim lake

Welome to the fifth and final edition of this American‘s impressions of Vietnam’s second largest city. In no particular order, here are yet more observations of my adopted city for the past two and a half months.

• Bills are paid in person
  Every now and then a random person will ring the doorbell and ask for money for the water, electricity, or Internet. Apparently this is how bills are paid in Hanoi.
• There is little separation between indoors and outdoors, public and private
  This was especially noticeable over the Tet holiday (Chinese New Year) when a lot of families were at home. Walking around the streets you could hear the sounds from inside peoples’ homes (TVs, music, people talking) and even look into their living rooms and kitchens from the street as it is common to leave the doors open.
• It helps to be able-bodied
  This is probably true for travelling and life in general, but having good overall fitness and flexibility makes life here much more enjoyable. Being able to negotiate traffic and roadside obstacles as well as make do with tight spaces is quite useful. Motorbiking can also be physically demanding. Hanoi would be a difficult city for a handicapped person.
• Lack of religion
  As an officially atheist nation, there is not much open display of religious belief. Since religion is a non-factor in my life, I find his charming.
• Public urination
  It is an infrequent, yet not uncommon sight to see men standing by a wall to relieve themselves. If this were any more prevalent it would probably be off-putting, but it’s not a rampant occurrence and usually quite discreet.
• No beggars
  Even though Vietnam is not a rich country, I have yet to encounter a classic “beggar” here. I’m not sure if this is because of the communist system taking care of everyone or if Vietnamese people have too much pride to ask for handouts directly. Or if it’s culturally taboo in some other way. The closest thing to “beggars” are the occasional people offering to shine your shoes for a small fee.
• It’s easy to get lost
  Google Maps exists here and I use it on my smartphone to get around the city, but often I end up turned around. My sense of direction has improved over time, but navigating the streets can be confusing.
• Motorbike taxis
  It took me a while to realize that the people waving at me shouting “moto-bike” were not offering to sell me a motorbike. Rather, they were offering me a ride. As far as I can tell, motorbike “taxis” are just regular people offering to drive you from point A to point B on their bike. Kind of like an informal Uber. I have never taken one but I hear they are much cheaper than regular taxis.

My temporary workstation at a Starbucks in Hanoi

With the Internet and modern-day communications technology, I can work virtually anywhere. This means I have no set work space. My office is wherever there is an Internet connection and preferably coffee. For me, this means coffee shops.

Here are twenty things I look for in an ideal coffee shop “office”.

1. Reliable, high speed Internet
   The faster the Wi-Fi, the better. I have found that Internet speed has a big effect on my productivity. There is nothing worse than being ready to work and having to wait minutes for a page to load. Or finding out that the wireless connection is not working. A slow or unreliable connection can add up to hours of wasted time over the course or a day or week.
2. Good coffee
   Americanos and brewed or Vietnamese coffee are my go-to beverages. I usually stay away from lattes and other “fancier” drinks, except to spice things up on occasion.
3. Standing desk
   Having the option to place my laptop on a bench and work upright is ideal for me. Since I stare at a screen for an inordinate amount of time during the day, I prefer not to be sitting 100% of the time while I do so. Sitting too much tends to make me feel like a hunched over mess. Ideally I would stand for at least an hour or so and then alternate between sitting and standing as needed.
4. Good tables
   If I am going to be working at a place for an extended period of time, having access to good table is key. This means an appropriate height, ample surface area and plenty of leg room.
5. Quiet
   I prefer quietter settings without loud music or hordes of conversations. I pretty much always use earplugs or noise cancelling headphones to block out external noise as there is almost always some background noise in Hanoi.
6. Friendly staff
   Friendly employees can make a big, positive difference in the overall experience.
7. Smoke-free
   A little smoke in the air is fine, just as long as it’s not too close by or heavy.
8. A pleasant atmosphere/concept
   I really like Cong Caphe for this. It is a “Viet Cong” themed coffee chain, with various locations in Hanoi. The one in my neighborhood has four floors with lot of plants and old communist literature and posters decorating the walls. The staff also dresses in green fatigues. Very cool place to hang out.
9. Not too crowded
   Having some people around creates a pleasant atmosphere. Too many people, however, create noisy distractions and a lack of good seating availability.
10. Ample outlets
    Access to an electrical outlet for my laptop is essential for stays lasting longer than my battery life.
11. Close by
    Anywhere within 15 minutes is preferred. It can be fun to explore and try new, more far flung places. But as a rule, the closer, the better.
12. Plenty of room
    My ideal coffee shop would be spacious and roomy, not cramped.
13. Comfortable chairs
    Some chairs feel designed for a species other than Homo sapiens. I try to avoid these chairs.
14. Good lighting
    This is especially true for me because my laptop’s screen reflects a lot in bright, sunny conditions.
15. Good floor layout
    A place that arranges its furniture sensibly and has good overall interior design is a plus.
16. Good bathroom
    The cleaner, the better. Good sinks and hand drying options are a plus.
17. Food
    I don’t usually eat much at coffee shops, but I will at places like Joma that have a decent food selection.
18. Comfortable temperature
    Not too hot or too cold. Just right.
19. Clean
    I have found that the level of cleanliness usually reflects on the overall quality and service of a coffee shop. The Starbucks by the Opera House is an example of a very clean and pleasant cafe.
20. Not too expensive
    This is not much of an issue in Vietnam as most everything here, including coffee, is relatively cheap. But due to the relatively high volume of coffee I drink, it’s nice to have an affordable coffee.

Plane at the Vietnam Military History Museum

Continuing my “Impressions” series, here are eight more general observations of Hanoi, Vietnam.

• Mostly cash based society
  Some places allow you to pay with credit card, but cash is the dominant form of exchange.
• You have to ask for things
  Sometimes shopkeepers and restaurant servers fail to “adequately” acknowledge your presence. Or even anticipate such obvious needs as ordering food. This means that you have to be proactive in asking for things like the check. I have gotten used to this, but at first it felt like I was being ignored. In a restaurant setting, I’d say that I usually prefer the Vietnamese way of “benign neglect” compared to the American standard of servers asking you every 10 minutes how your meal is.
• Not a lot of garbage cans
  There are noticeably less trash receptacles compared to the states, both in public areas and private shops. Still not really sure where to put that receipt the cashier just handed me.
• No tipping
  Pretty much wherever you go, tipping is unnecessary or even expressly forbidden forbidden. (I saw signs warning against tipping masseuses at the Yakushi Center.) I have, however, noticed some tip jars at coffee shops.
• Smells
  To quote Rudyard Kipling, “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” A few times I have smelled something completely new here. It’s usually mildly unpleasant or just unique.
• No resentment of Americans detected
  Although there was a war here less than 40 years ago, I haven’t sensed any negative sentiments directed towards me as an American. Maybe the Vietnamese are just good at masking their animosity toward their former enemy, but I strongly doubt it. Or maybe they are just trying not to gloat about their victory. But I also doubt that. I guess that whole military conflict is water under the bridge at this point.
• Really good coffee
  The longer I stay here, the more I appreciate the coffee culture. There are so many delicious coffee concoctions to try including egg coffee, yogurt coffee (with and without sticky rice), frozen yogurt coffee, coconut milk coffee, and coconut coffee smoothies. Those are all in addition to Vietnamese coffee (which is strong and a little sweet) as well as espresso drinks like lattes, Americanos, etc.
• Relaxed city
  According to this article, Hanoi is a city best suited for taking it easy. This rings true to me as the pace of life here sometimes feels busy but never rushed.

Coconut coffee smoothie at Cong Caphe

Over the past week I made a list of all the coffee shops I visited in Hanoi.

I was pretty focused on work things, so I prioritized places that I knew had reliable Internet and a good working environment. For this, Cong Caphe in Tay Ho (specifically the rooftop) is probably my favorite.

Fishermen by the lake

Before coming to Hanoi, I had heard cautionary tales of foreigners getting ripped off or even worse. After all, Vietnam is a “third world” country. So it’s supposed to be scary and dangerous here, right?

I admit that when I stepped off the plane at Noi Bai International Airport, my guard was up. I was keeping an eye out for scammers and thieves. And, beaven forbid, I did not intend to become the victim of an overpriced taxi ride.

In short time, however, these vague suspicions were replaced by the realities of my surroundings.

One of the first things that struck me upon arriving in Vietnam was the laid back demeanor of the people. The fact that I arrived at the tail end of New Year’s holiday probably had something to do with this, but people just seemed really easy going. This first impression has held true until now.

I can’t think of a time where I’ve seen someone overly stressed or in a rush. I also can’t recall anyone getting really angry. People here smile in a natural, not forced, way. Nobody appears to have an agenda or exhibit any passive-aggressive behavior. (Perhaps this would be different if I worked in an office?)

Even the security guards don’t take themselves too seriously. There were a couple of times were I thought I was in “trouble” for parking my motorbike in the wrong place, but the parking attendants showed no sign of irritation. They just pointed to where I should park and resumed their standing around.

The lack of uptightness here has been quite refreshing, particularly because it tends to rub off on you. It has the effect of lowering your overall stress level, which otherwise could easily be higher due to navigating a foreign city, culture, and language.