ロン丼牛ドン / London Gyudon 01: Lingo

Episode 1 was to take place near Piccadilly Circus where there seems to be quite a few Japanese establishments and a bit of a media set around Golden Square. I would guess that this first time will not be the last time to this area. 

Lingo is a fairly well established restaurant and I had been there before a few years ago and had different food. I'd also had gyudon there but as a take away on a (well priced) lunch deal. 01, however, was not my choice so that past experience was irrelevant. 

A Wednesday evening may not be the best time to judge how busy a restaurant gets but we were seated promptly at the ground floor as we went in without a reservation. The floor was almost full but there is space downstairs that I didn't see. The atmosphere was fine with enough of a background noise to make it comfortable. As it happens, most diners seemed to be in pairs or small groups and the upstairs does lend itself to that ambience. It also had a sort of honesty and enthusiasm that feels common at these kinds of Japanese restaurants, which I think was highlighted with a wonderful sign about wasted food.

Paul and I decided^[1] to have gyudon accompanied by a few sides/starters. We discussed the rules - we do both have to order gyudon but extras can be whatever is decided and so we got some kimchi pancake and gyōza. The orders did not all come together to my disappointment and we were served miso soup followed by pancake, gyōza and then gyudon  as separate courses. 

The Korean influenced pancake was nice with a good bit of crispness that set off the strange mellow and pickled flavour of kimchi. Handily, it was cut up for sharing. The gyōza were sort of a mixture between the fried and steamed variants with the jacket being rather softer than the gyōza that I am used to. They also did not have the flat, crispy bottom that I like but the taste of the dumplings was definitely acceptable. 

The gyudon came out together and it was clear from first sight that this would not be scratching the relevant gyudon itch. Oh, it was definitely a beef bowl but it was also a restaurant and so it looked quite a different beast. To assess the meal is quite difficult in some ways as the gyōza were probably a good indication of the restaurant as a whole - nice for what it was but not quite what I was after. As you'd expect, the beef was placed on a bowl of white rice with a sweet sauce but there were some other elements. A spot of yellow was placed in the form of some pickles but, and this is sort of key to the experience, there was nothing else at the table. Red pickled ginger is usually available at gyudon bars and it is up to the diner to add it and I would usually add quite a bit for both the taste and the texture. The other major difference was the look of the beef itself which was rich looking and fairly chunky. It looked really good and covered the rice as you'd expect so the portion was also fairly decent, if not exactly overflowing. The meal as a whole was the right size. We didn't have dessert because, well, you don't have to have Asian dessert - not always the best way of finishing a meal. We left as seemingly the last people in the restaurant and it was only about 9pm^[2] which was a surprise.

As I have said, gyudon, as I know it, is a cheap meal and so this made the serving just not quite feel right which might be a tad unfair. We both enjoyed the beef bowl as the meat was tender, tasty and had been marinated with onion in a good sweet sauce. It reminded me of what you would do if you didn't have the right ingredients - in this case the restaurant does not have the type of stringier meat available. In many ways, I would recommend the meal as a meal (so do go) but not for the gyudon. Paul mentioned that it was not a restaurant that he would order gyudon at - the menu is extensive and it makes more sense to get a few items (like the pancake) to share rather than a bowl to yourself. 

I wonder whether this will be a common comment.
We shall but see. 

Cost of gyudon: £11.50

http://www.lingocuisine.com/

1 Lower John Street, London W1F 9DT

<sup>1. This decision is sort of out of our hands in all honesty, with the project as it is.↩
2. We went on to discuss and converse to another place. We have, for mundane, convenience reasons, ended up at Caffè Nero in Soho a few times of late. It is opposite the relatively well known Bar Italia but is not as pressured. I'm sure the coffee is not as cool either but I rarely have coffee “out” and had tea anyway. This particular one is open very late - until 2am on a school night. This is pretty handy to know when there is a need for a place to sit of a night sans alcohol. When we got there, there was quite a commotion with the staff swearing at some customers. And the customers, unsurprisingly responding in kind. On the face of it, the shop staff seemed overly aggressive and the customers sat down and continued flinging abuse. I thought it quite odd that they stayed in the cafe for quite some time and offered insults and conversations to the staff. Eventually, the police were called to eject them. A few moments later, another group came in and a similar thing happened - it was all pretty exciting. It then made conversation flourish across the tables and we got chatting to a guy on his own on the table next to us. He was drinking nothing. His tip, as a “poor artist” was to pick up a take away cup and sit at a table. He said the coffee was terrible there anyway. He actually ran a project to make art more accessible and he asked what we did. I answered “I'm an accountant for…” and I could sense his disappointment. It is a fairly common thing after starting a conversation. Luckily Paul had a more interesting answer so the conversation as a whole continued.↩</sup>

Gyudon in London: ロン丼牛ドン

Japanese food, like so much of Japanese culture, is a fairly simple proposition made complicated by the complexities of the Japanese people. The most well known Japanese food is probably sushi which is a bit of raw fish with a little bit of white rice. This sounds pretty simple, but in order to be a sushi chef requires years of training in order to get those basics to a high enough standard. Rice is very much the staple of the nation and is consumed daily by most people and often multiple times in a day. Japanese food is actually quite varied in terms of ingredients but it is often accompanied by a bowl of white rice and soup. 

One form of having that rice is to not have the rice separately but with a topping on top of a bowl of rice and these are “don”^[1]. Popular dons are with eel (unadon), pork cutlets (katsudon), tempura (tendon) etc^[2]. but I think the most popular is the beef bowl, or gyudon. There are three major chains Sukiya, Yoshinoya and my personal favourite Matsuya. I have a soft spot for Matsuya as there was one which was very close to where I lived in Japan and it always felt so welcoming. It is also one of the places that I have previously mentioned in a blog post from 2003^[3] (link) and it links in with that particular friend of mine and how succinctly it seemed to represent some of the basic differences between the UK and Japan in a few transactions. 

Gyudon is a very cheap meal, I think the basic form at Matsuya, with a serving of miso soup, was 390 yen which was about £2 at the time. In all honesty, I would have a “set”^[4] which had salad and some extras too if I had gyudon but this added maybe 200 yen to the cost. Obviously, with such a cheap meal, the quality of the components was not stellar, though Japan has quite a high “low” so it was far from terrible. It is made, not with “good” chunks of meat, but a stringy, saucy meat. This is quite difficult to get outside of Japan as with a niche food, you will have to charge a bit more. And this is the challenge, an appropriate level of gyudon is really hard to find. 

And this is the challenge… 

We’ll see how far this goes but the “Gyudon in London” project I am starting here is very simple, it involves going to different places in London that serve gyudon and eating gyudon. From that place which is in London. 

As I rather like circularity, my partner for this will be the aforementioned Paul and our reference point will be the starting point for all of it: Matsuya in Koshigaya. In many ways, this is all just about the warmth we have for Matsuya in Koshigaya.

See all of the Gyudon posts here:
http://walletsandswords.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/ロン丼牛ドン

<sup>1. Don refers to the bowl itself that the food is served in rather than the food. This is similar to the “balti” which is a curry that was first concocted in the UK and means “bucket” in Bengali.↩
2. My favourite named don is the “oyakodon” which is made up of the words “oya” and “ko” which mean parent and child respectively. What does that mean? It is a mixture of chicken and egg. This is a great name!↩
3. A number of years ago, I worked as a teacher of English in Japan. I was based in the southern Saitama region and was there for approximately three years. When I mentioned to a few people about moving to Japan, food was mentioned frequently: “how are you going to have raw fish every day?”. Of course, there are loads of types of food in Japan and sushi is not particularly commonly eaten - it is often for special occasions.↩
4. I liked Matsuya as it was simple, quick and tasty which is a pretty killer combination. I enjoyed having a raw egg with gyudon and salad. Pickled ginger came in a pot which I sprinkled liberally over the raw egg with a little barbecue sauce. These kinds of places didn't invite disapproval and felt like anything goes kinds of places. The other thing i liked there was The “Hamburg set” which was a beefburger (hamburg steak) with a sauce accompanied with rice and soup.↩</sup>

Vietnam photo selection

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Ho Chi Minh City, in and out of Saigon

An early start from Danang airport gave me some time in the morning to think about what to do and eat Pho which is a pretty killer combination. I didn't really have a sense of what Ho Chi Minh City would be like before I got there and didn't even know what it should be called when talking about it. Saigon is the old name for the city and was renamed as Ho Chi Minh City after the American War which ended in a draw.

Landing in Saigon relatively early, I got on an Airport Bus which would take me to the centre and near enough to my hotel to be convenient. Or so I thought, as it happened the heat meant nothing was convenient so I traipse from the bus stop to the hotel.

Walking around the backpacker District, I headed into a tour agency (TNK Travel, which seemed to be Japanese) to try and organise a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels for that afternoon and also a tour of some kind for the next day somewhere^[1]. I managed to get on one that day so after a spot of lunch, I returned and joined the group. It started off quite weird and ended up quite weirdly but what about the middle?

Cu Chi Tunnels

Well, TNK run a lot of tours starting from outside their shop so at the allotted time, many people congregated and I listened out for relevant information. My tour was late to start so I went inside to avail myself of the joys of air-conditioning and waited. The guide introduced himself to the group and took everyone's name. He came to a white man with a beard and laughed

"I hope you're not a Muslim! Ha ha ha!".

What an odd introduction, and one that presumably works as an opener seeing as he was an experienced guide here. I wrote it off as a second language thing - because I felt generous at the time.

As, maybe, HCMC's most well-known "attraction" there are plenty of tour groups making their way to "the tunnels" which were used by the Vietnamese during the American War as a defensive position very close to Saigon (as was).

On the way there, there was quite a mixed crowd and, although I was seated near the front, I was affected by some people at the back. A group of about 6-8 English speaking guys and girls (later found out that they were all living in Australia, but some were British) were sitting at the back being a bit annoying. This involved being loud, asking for toilet and beer breaks every so often and playing music. It wasn't so bad for me as I had headphones so I tried to lock them out.

The tunnels were basically a military encampment that the Vietnamese used to hide within and plot from. The camps were heavily attacked by the US troops but once they needed to enter, it was a confusing environment and they could not finish the job. The reason was the cleverness of the Viet Cong that allowed them to bring the US troops in areas they did not understand. The tourist trap that these tunnels had become was an explanation of these tunnels and a chance to see the area and also go into the tunnels. It was a guided tour so it was explained but my group had quite a lot of twats in it, as mentioned on the bus, so it wasn't quite as informative as I would want. We were shown actual traps, rather than just the tourist kind which looked pretty nasty. Lots of spikes on trapdoors etc to catch people out which must have generated a lot of screaming, which would also work as a psychological terror for other attackers. There was also an opportunity to go through one of the tunnels which was a tight squeeze and not possible walking. Crouched through, it was quite an experience but there were plenty of people so it would not generate the fear.

The last part of the tour was an opportunity, not one that I personally took, to fire machine guns for a fee per bullet. There was a selection of guns but I had only heard of the AK-47 and the M16. They were loud and we all waited near the shop while those that wanted to shoot, shot. They were very loud.

On the way back, we had a few fewer people in the group and we did drop-offs on the way back to TNK for people that wanted to get off on the way. The journey back took ages and we got caught in a lot of traffic as we got closer to HCMC. We were a bit slow getting nearby as we stopped a few times for cigarettes and the toilet for the aforementioned group. I found it infuriating but I was obviously in the minority - it was all "cool kids" and me. They continued to be loud, overbearing yet seemingly popular with the tour guide who happily joined them at the back for a drink. It felt pathetic to me to watch adults craving alcohol as they did and jumping out in traffic to buy more beer, more cider etc. But then, here I was, the only one not having fun so the pathos was with me really. Anyway, the tour guide was easily persuaded to join them on a night out^[2] The bus stopped where it started which was in the "backpacker district" which was writhing with people from all over the city. The roads were closed and full of people enjoying themselves in a sort of street party. It also had the edge of what I imagine, from the film version of The Beach, Bangkok in the nightlife district is like. There were plenty of Vietnamese but more than a smattering of foreigners and they all seemed to be travelling in groups, almost like stag or hen groups, looking for meat. Once I found somewhere to eat, I could see the attraction of Saigon with cheap alcohol and a feeling of anything goes. It wasn't necessarily the thing I look for but it was still sort of intoxicating in its own way. I may be being unfair, but it had a sense of US army "frat party" and reminded me a little, also, of Roppongi and Gas Panic! the first time I went.

The Mekong Delta

The next day, I headed early to the front of TNK Travel to start another tour, this time to the Mekong Delta. The Mekong river was one that I'd heard of but did not really know much about. The Mekong Delta is known as the agricultural backbone of the nation as the fertile land around the river is great for growing rice. I guess the reason I've heard the name a few times is probably due to references in TV and film around the Vietnam War (as it would be for those programmes). Anyway, it was an evocative name even if I didn't know what it was evoking from me.

This full day tour was far better for me as it was made up of various groups of people from around the world that were interested in the tour itself. It was not particularly notable for anything except the itinerary which involved initially stopping by the Mekong river for watching some traditional singing whilst having tea; a punt down a tributary; a riverboat trip to a small island where we had our "traditional lunch" of Vietnamese food; watching some coconut candies^[3] being freshly made. We then went to see a huge Buddha and Pagoda at My Tho.

Although I do not have a great deal to say, there was plenty to see and I rather enjoyed it - photos are better here than explanations.

We returned to the city on time in the early evening which enabled me to choose somewhere to eat and have a bit of a walk within the dull hum of the city. It was Christmas Eve and there was plenty to remind you of that fact both visually and aurally. There were lots and lots of people dressed in Christmas attire and, before this, I am not sure I knew what Christmas attire was. Christmas attire is to look like Santa Claus as he is now shown - red with fluffy white trim. That meant lots of people wearing jolly smiles and santa hats. It was quite fun to see, actually, and was not gender split.

I went back to the hotel relatively early^[4] in order to pack and also because I was limping after being struck by a moped travelling on the pavement. Ineeded to be ready for a tourist and travel day as I was returning to London via Hanoi the next day but I still wanted some output from the day.

Rains take you indoors

The next morning, I awoke to an ensuing downpour. I was going to be wet, and potentially cold, so I made my way to have a breakfast pho near Ben Thanh Market. My real target was the Independence Palace so I went through the market fairly swiftly but I knew I'd be back for some last-ditch souvenir^[5] shopping. The Independence Palace looked rather like a hotel complex from the 1960's, especially with the open grounds in front of it which had some tanks. I enjoyed the innards of the building too as it felt important and luxurious yet stuck in the era that it was from.

After visiting the Independence Palace, what better way to understand the independence than by going to the War Remnants Museum (previously known by the slightly more inflammatory name of the "Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes" which I assume may not have helped bring certain tourists in), which wasn't too far away. I found the museum itself very good although a little harrowing. It shows with quite blunt language and imagery, some of the atrocities that occurred within Vietnam over the years of colonial powers with quite a bit on the chemical warfare perpetrated by the US forces. I have always wondered about how this is received by visitors from the countries shown (as I have seen when going to ex-British Empire places) in these kinds of museums. I wonder how many Americans, for example, think "are we the bad guys here?" at some point within the trip (like a Mitchell and Webb sketch). To be fair, I guess not many of the ones that visit^[6] Vietnam and presumably have some a nuanced view of the Vietnam war. There were some more bits outside about the harsh prison conditions too as well as a guillotine preserved to show the French system.

The visit left me feeling a little odd, in all honesty, as the images and thoughts were pretty dark and it was not a good thing to leave on but I had left enough time for a meandering walk back via the Catholic church and a pedestrianised area in front of the Town Hall. I returned via Ben Thanh Market to pick up some gifts and got some food very close to my hotel I order to have some time control.

I then picked up my stuff from the hotel as the bus (back) to the airport was due to leave from near my hotel but the terrible website and the lack of clear signing meant that I was confused as to where to wait. I asked a few people and found a spot to wait at which seemed right. Once the bus came, I flagged it down and got on – it was pretty empty so it was a comfortable journey. I have to say, I have noticed airport transport to be quite empty in a lot of cities actually. It was Christmas Day but the streets were as busy as seemingly most days – I don't think that explained it. The airport itself was very busy.

The Return

I was catching a flight to Hanoi rather than London although there was a direct flight to London at about the same time – and this was a conscious decision that was not about price. With the time difference, a direct flight to London from HCMC would arrive in London on the same day which would normally be ideal but travelling around on Christmas Day in London is rubbish. There is no public transport at all so I made my way to Hanoi and flew on a later flight from there so I could get back home in the morning.

Domestic departures have a different feel to International ones and it feels a little bit smoother so it worked out quite well for me with luggage and seats so thumbs up from me. The flight itself started off quite unremarkably but I was very fortunate to find myself seated next to a genuinely delightful single serving friend. After being served refreshments, my neighbour commented as I tried to work out what food I had just been served, that whatever it was, "it was quite good". This lead to quite a pleasant discussion and the reason that she knew that it was "quite good" is because she was actually a flight attendant for Vietnam Airlines flying to HCMC in order to get the flight she was working on. This^[7] was much better than listening to whatever nonsense I was listening to so it was a bit of a shame the flight was short. But she did at least give me some tips for the flight and also for Hanoi airport.

The tips for Hanoi Airport were sort of useful, but I did still get lost. Even so, once I got to Terminal 2, I was quite impressed at how bright and open it felt – reminding me of Jakarta and Hong Kong airports. I wasn't in Hanoi airport for very long as the wait wasn't onerous and I was soon boarding the 787 to London. It was pretty comfortable as it was also pretty empty on Christmas Day. As I settled in, and I had a whole row to myself from window to window, I thought "this must be a happy bonus for the flight attendants" which is not something that I had ever really thought about before. And with that, Saif had learned the concept of empathy – he would be forever a changed person.

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<sup>1. The second tour ended up being the Mekong one below↩
2. As was I, dutifully, to be fair. The one who asked me did say something about not "someone like me" when he thought I couldn't hear.↩
3. I bought these as gifts to take back home and to the office and, although I liked the complex tasting notes of the sweets, nobody else did. A colleague told me to never bring anything back from holiday again.↩
4. I also ended up watching a film that had been recommended to me, which is a rare occurrence. It was an enjoyable French film called Intouchables which was wildly popular in France starring Omar Sy.↩
5. I generally try to leave any souvenir shopping to the last day, or at least the last destination, if I can help it to lessen my travelling load and also so I can get something relevant for the whole trip rather than a stop off. I don't buy many things and rarely anything for myself - that souvenir is usually what you are reading right now or photos.↩
6. When I used to work in Japan, one of the school managers was incredulous that the teacher she had worked with the previous day had not been aware that Japan had suffered two nuclear attacks. Even more so when the teacher was American.↩
7. It was a genuinely enjoyable chat which I really cannot say very often – but happened relatively often on this trip. I learned quite a bit about how the world of flight attendants (she did look like one, in a positive way, if you know what I mean) worked and she was pretty engaging which is a bit surprising for people that are on their way to work. Often, those that work on the service side of a job can have an element of the "morose clown" about them meaning that they need to present such a positive, smiley version of themselves in public that they cannot keep that level going outside of the periods when they need to. I remembered some of the most child-friendly teachers I worked with being mere husks of humanity outside of those child classes – with no positivity left within them having used all of it up for the lessons. As it turned out, she actually worked the London – Hanoi route every so often interspersed with flights to/from Osaka but was making her way to HCMC for her first time to Fukuoka. These were all places that I had been fairly recently so it was quite a nice thing to talk about. Fukuoka, especially, is pretty compact and enjoyable if you know where to go. Obviously, it would have been even better if I had had tips about Hanoi before I went rather than after but it was still good to hear about life there and being able to latch it onto my relatively fresh memories. The life of travelling workers can often be one of hotels rather than the cities they travel to and that seemed to be the case when I asked her about what she thought of London. Cue my spiel about all kinds of places in the city with my normal evangelical zeal – I even marked up a map for her with different sights/shops that she may like. I even got a compliment out of it which was "You're not like a normal British person are you?"… This was in reference to my relatively chatty nature (again, I think this would be barely believable for many that know me)on this flight but also from her experiences of being a flight attendant on a London route. Obviously, attendants share their route information in an informal manner so she had also not necessarily heard great things about the people on those routes. Anyway, she did also say that I had changed her conception of British people so I was pretty pleased – now that is someone that works in the service industry to leave someone feeling pleased! I also ended up with a new friend, to reference back to a previous footnote.↩</sup>

Hoi An

Once out of the homestay, I looked for some food and made my way, kind of slowly, to a market that was located in the old town area where I saw a sign for the "best sandwich in the world" - this, I thought, was a pretty bold claim^[1] and I wondered whether to test it as I continued to walk around. I didn't wonder very hard and I didn't wander very far before I returned. As it was late afternoon, this market stall did not have the full menu but they had the chicken needed to make what I wanted.

The shop, Banh Mi Phuong, sold the Vietnamese sandwiches called banh mi. Essentially, these draw on the colonial period as they are simply French-style baguettes with fillings that have usually a Vietnamese twist. One of the more basic ones is with pate, and so seems pretty French to me, but the extra salad and condiments have a Vietnamese taste. And what made these the best? A famous chef, Anthony Bourdain, had apparently come here for a TV programme on street food and loved it so much that he stated this which was obviously a great bit of marketing that would stick. Maybe more famously, the same chef took Barack Obama, then the serving US president, to a street food place for some beer and food in Hanoi (?) which caused something of a tourist boom for that shop. Anyway, as it was a market stall, these sandwiches were not expensive and ran to about £2 with a drink so well worth a go. I'm not sure I can agree with the hyperbole but it was still a very pleasant taste and one I could recommend. I do rather like banh mi so I would have looked for something similar in any case.
I met A&E in the very busiest part of the town (the bridge) which is not the wisest way of setting up a meeting. As it happens I saw them before they saw me (something that always gives me a sense of achievement) and approached. They had some souvenir shopping to do still so I joined them as they went back to some shops to buy some fancy tea and a kids mobile. I asked them if they had seen any of the others from Halong Bay as the tourist trail is a long and narrow one here. They hadn't but as we sampled some tea, a trio of fellow Halong Bayers did walk past. It felt a bit awkward as I didn't feel like either group necessarily wanted to go as a six but it was still nice to say hello, and then bye. As in Hanoi, I felt a pang of anxiety about how I could extricate myself but, as in Hanoi, it was not necessary in the end. Never back yourself into a corner, always know your exit routes.

It was really nice to see A&E again and I felt comfortable with them both in a way that usually takes some time - it was probably the brexit question that did that. After that, I know I am not needing to hold back quite as much. We went to a restaurant (Morning Glory) of their choosing^[2] that they had actually been to the night before. I'm not generally a fan of going to places twice but I was only going the once so it makes no odds. And the food was great, so definitely a nice shared moment or two. After dinner, we had a bit of a walk around the city which was lit up in a beguiling way - Hoi An being known for its lanterns. We then made our way to the other side of the bridge to a night market where both A&E decided that they wanted lamps, presumably giddy with the joy of lanterns in the night. They were quite large lamps and would probably not fit in their luggage but what use is logic on holiday? As they flitted between a number of very similar (to my untrained eye) looking lampshades as the closing time neared, the owner tried what he could. He looked exasperated and I found this hilarious. The bartering started as the owner went through the fact that the plugs needed to be changed for France. Eventually, a sale was made and I asked, innocently, how the lampshade would actually be transported home. This, was not necessarily the kind of thing you think about when on a "bartering on holiday "high… A similar situation happened for some bags at the market and, I have to say, it was rather fun. After a few drinks at a local bar, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a pretty fun night for me, not what I was expecting, but I'd found myself in the uncommon situation of enjoying^[3] being in the company of others.

The next day, I had a full day in Hoi An but a pretty early start the day after so I thought that I should get out there to see the city. The old town is not huge but feels completely different during daytime hours. I have to say that I didn't find a huge amount to do in Hoi An but did enjoy a little sightseeing before a boat ride. The boat ride was quite short and slow but killed a bit of time. I also indulged in a massage before a meal at Streets. This is a social enterprise restaurant where staff are trained in hospitality after being given opportunity from the streets. The food was good and the story made no difference to the taste but was a nice feeling nonetheless. It was a fairly "empty" but relaxed day.

I'd looked into travelling to Ho Chi Minh City via train or bus but it wasn't particularly effective in the use of time so I decided, and I definitely saw this as a failure of my part, to take a flight to Saigon. To bring some element of efficiency to that, I went for a very early flight so I decided to get an early night and wake up to watch the football^[4] and get my stuff sorted then.
The bus to the airport was booked like a cab and there was nobody else on there so it was quite comfortable - the only issue being waiting for it in the pitch black with no indication that it would come as advertised. All part of the fun… And so I found myself on the first plane to Saigon^[5].

CLICK FOR HOI AN PHOTO ALBUM



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<sup>1. There used to be, maybe still are, a couple of kebab shops near Archway station that I thought quite funny. One was called the best kebab in the world and the other was the best in the universe. To be fair, when drunk, I bet loads of people agreed.↩
2. I am fairly unfussy and am happy to let others choose which is, thinking about it, quite an odd point from someone that travels alone. It might be a break from choice, absolving myself of responsibility for a moment.↩
3. My ever-wise manager at work had told me, after suggesting Vietnam as a destination, that sometimes the location isn't as important as it is often the people that you meet along the way that make the trip. I remember at the time thinking that spending time with people that I did not know (or that I did know…) was not exactly what I had in mind.↩
4. This ended up being a very good choice as I watched a highly entertaining draw between Liverpool and Arsenal that finished up 3 all. And even that scoreline doesn't do justice to the fun of the game.↩
5. Always nice to be a little obtuse. The "last chopper out of Saigon" is an oft-used phrase to describe highly packed, tense groups of people.↩</sup>

Into Hoi An

Hoi An is a traditional trading port that has long had links with Japan and China and is very much on the tourist trail. It is not, however, on the Reunification Line so many visitors travel to Hoi An via a stop at Danang which is a far larger city and, in many ways as a trading port, a more modern interpretation of what Hoi An was. That does not necessarily make it a particularly visitable city and so I had not planned to spend much time there.

In actual fact, my original plan to use the train was altered in Hue and I found myself on the back of a motorbike with my luggage getting wet in the rain.

The journey on the train was said to be particularly scenic along parts of the track which I was disappointed to be missing but the motorbike rider had told me that he would take me along the route that allowed me to see it anyway. I believed him.

The watery nature of the air was to be combated by the waterproof nature of the coat I had wisely purchased the previous day and this cleverness made me feel smug for about 3 minutes. Then, I got wet. The jacket obviously did not cover my whole body and the water was no longer travelling vertically in relation to me so my bottom half, and especially the front, was getting a bit damp. This would be a bit uncomfortable and as we built up speed, also rather cold. Luckily, and cleverly, my guide had got us both new, solid, "riding" ponchos that were thicker and covered my legs making the journey much more comfortable.

Leaving Hue, the ride across the city was simple as roads were wide and had little early morning traffic but once we were out, the roads became much thinner and we had to be more careful about overtaking - and being overtaken.

We stopped a few times along the way for the sights and also just for a break, sitting on a motorbike is a particular type of seating.

Stopping for an early lunch, we went to a dodgy looking place that my "guide" knew along the road. I doubt there was any form of kickback and I didn't pay separately for it anyway but it was "authentic" in the way that so many people seem to love. It was quite nice to eat from metal plates a choose dishes from the front and have it slopped on the plate. That type of food is also quite quick and it was much better there than some kind of service station.

The other places we stopped on the way to Danang were fairly short breaks at a fishing village area, a beach and an area called Elephant Springs. The weather made this all a little bit less impressive but it was still a fun trip on the back of a moped. There was a longer break at the Marble Mountain temple area around Danang. This a true tourist spot so there was quite a bit to see. I went in alone as my guide just said that I could spend time there after getting the ticket. Inside, the greyness of the day was matched by the caves within which there were shrines. I was quite impressed by this but it is hard to get it captured well without a tripod. The "mountain" part of the name was due to the elevated nature of the complex which gave some views over Danang.

We arrived in Hoi An in good time but we found it a bit hard to actually locate my accommodation. I say "we", but I had found it online and knew where it was but my guide decided to look for himself rather than listen to me. Not too bad an option though as I got a bit more of an inadvertent tour of the area.

Hoi An's links to China and Japan lent it a cosmopolitan air that was different to other places (in the past) and the architecture of the town was heavily influenced by these other cultures,with the most famous landmark being the Japanese Bridge. A small covered bridge that was seen by many as the symbol of the city. The city has a central core near the river which was so integral to the growth as a merchant trading town. Hoi An took trading seriously but it is not so prevalent now and so it takes its tourism very seriously now. This central core is a world heritage site with all the relevant protections that go with it and recent changes have rendered this as more of a tourist-focused site than before. In order to enter the old town area, you pass a ticket office where you buy a ticket to enter and visit 5 sites from a list of 20 or 30. If you want to visit more, you buy more but it is not clear whether you are supposed to get tickets in order to just walk around. This ensures that the regional government will actually benefit in some way from the town's popularity and that they have the funds to keep it visitable. It does, however, make the town less of a town and more of a tourist attraction which is easily consumed. It is not a large amount of money but it gives the town a different air. The other main thing that Hoi An seems to be known for is tailoring, with many places to have dresses and suits made for very reasonable prices. This also extends to other leather accessories such as belts, bags and even shoes. This was not a particular draw for me but, even so, I heard about this from many people in Vietnam before visiting and was told it was best to get the clothing sorted as soon as possible so as to have time to enjoy the town. Walking around, these places were all over the place.

My accommodation, as a lot of it seemed to be in the area, was labelled as a "homestay" which made it a bit like a guesthouse rather than a hotel. Homestay suggests a different type of homeliness that is not really evident here although they do cook you breakfast. Although my guide had difficulty finding it, this was a well-located homestay near the night market and pretty close to the waterway and Japanese Bridge that give so much of the town's atmosphere.

Hoi An is a popular spot and had heard it mentioned a few times as on the itinerary of the people I'd spoken to, I wondered who I'd bump into but I had also semi-organised to meet up with my new friends^[1] A&E for a saunter around the town. They had arrived the day before me and so had a bit of a handle on the place and had already communicated to me that they really liked it. It would be nice to share a moment again.

^{1. They were friends on Facebook, that's friends, right?↩}

Hue

From Hanoi, the night train isn't the same as the night tube although the level, and quality of conversation can often be similar. My berth was in a 4-bed carriage and the four beds in my "room" were full, meaning that I had some lovely strangers to converse with. I didn't speak Vietnamese so we shared a few words and smiles as I discovered that the elderly couple were travelling the length of the line, for two days, to Ho Chi Minh City. They hadn't settled in just for the night. In the corridor, I struck up a conversation with a man who was also going to Hue and he gave me a few tips as he had been many times before to visit family, as he was doing now. In the evening (and in the morning), food (soup, rice etc) was offered by a trolley service but I was actually still a little full from my previous pho so I didn't eat anything at all, which I regretted afterwards. I did spend a bit of time out in the corridor to watch the rural scenery pass by as I could not do that from my bed as I was on the top bunk but I did that in the morning as the rural scenery is not particularly interesting at night. The bunk was pretty good although it is not ideal for the top bunks due to the difficulty of getting up there^[1] and then feeling a bit separate from the action.

Pulling into Hue, there were quite a few people getting off and plenty of non-Vietnamese so I was confident it was the right place and the station looked a bit bigger than the others we had passed. The journey time was pretty good for a night train and I felt relaxed rather than knackered as I left the station where there was a cab, arranged for free by the hotel, to take me to the hotel which was a couple of kilometres away. Hue isn't so big but the station is on the other side of the city from the touristic hub of hotels and eateries.

Why Hue?

So, why was I in Hue? Speaking to travelling companions previously, it seemed there was a fairly standard set of places to visit in Vietnam and it stretched, much like the reunification line, from North to South. Generally, there is a pull to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the real decision is about what to see between them (as I had planned) and the well-known stops in between seemed to be Hue, Danang, Hoi An. Near Hanoi, there was Sapa, Halong Bay and Nin Binh while south of Ho Chi Minh City was a popular tropical island called Phu Coc was. So what was Hue?

Hue is in central Vietnam making it a pretty good place to administer a country from - and it was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors for almost 150 years until 1945. What that means is that there is plenty of history there, with Hue being seen as the cultural centre of Vietnam in many ways. The emperors were holed away in the Imperial City, which is a large, walled area on the bank of the wonderfully named Perfume River. This citadel represents the most obvious sight in the city although it is not the only thing to be found on the Perfume River. The French colonial period is also represented by a number of buildings throughout the city and the central nature of the city meant that it was also quite an important part of the Vietnam/US war with a number of battles around the city and also within the city - known as the Battle of Hue. It felt like there would be enough to see.

Along the perfume river

I ended up at the hotel, which was Hotel La Perle, at around 10 am and was expecting to drop my bags off and then head out but they sat me down and pretty much gave me breakfast (I was offered the menu and it wasn't charged), a WiFi password and a coffee while they did some paperwork and then told me my room was ready. This was a pretty good bit of service and it didn't really stop there as, throughout the trip, the staff at the hotel were consistently helpful and personable. After dropping my bags off at my room (where they had also folded my towels in the shape of an elephant), I popped downstairs to book an afternoon tour and then headed out for a walk, knowing I needed to be back for 1 pm.

As I came onto the main road, I heard someone ask where I was from. This is a pretty standard thing - or just hearing the word "India" every so often as I walk past. I said "London" and then "England" and he pointed to his jacket. He was wearing an England (national football team) jacket and tried to ingratiate himself. I was just walking about so I was happy to talk, knowing full well that he was trying to make a sale. To be fair, he did make a sale. He offered to ride me around a bit and take me to the outside of the citadel and the pagoda which was probably a rip-off but I didn't really mind so I took him up on it. All I did was make sure that he was aware that I needed to be back for 1 pm for my afternoon trip. He was a nice enough guy and did explain where we were as we travelled around. We biked over to the west of the city to see the famous Pagoda which was actually worth the time. This is the Thiên Mụ Pagoda which sits on the Perfume river and seems to be the symbol of the city. Beyond the Pagoda, which is visible from the river, there is also a temple inside which I found to be quite intimate but also quite beautiful. More so than other temple grounds that I saw I was quite taken by this one as it felt well planted and simple.

The boat ride was pretty weird actually as it was just me on a fairly empty boat and a fairly empty stretch of river. It was a nice little trip and I would have regretted not boating but it wasn't exactly spectacular. Reaching the end, I got on the motorbike and we went around the citadel for a ride and slight tour. It wasn't exactly full of information but it was fun to be on the bike and told facts which I did not always believe. We went back to the hotel and the upsell began. I'd said that I was going to Hoi An via Danang on the train and had lied that I had tickets bought in order to get him to shut up. Even so, he told me to listen to him and I really didn't see what I had to lose so I did. He offered to bike me to Hoi An with a few visits on the way via Danang and also along a scenic route for a reasonable price. It was pretty tempting but I wasn't sure. I went for it and persuaded him to take a lower deposit as I really wasn't sure - it was something that I would consider for a few days.

Out of towners

The afternoon brought a second tour which took us out of the city for visits to the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh.

The tour bus came to the hotel and I got onto the minibus to join a few people that had already been doing the morning section. The guide tried hard to explain it all but the group was pretty quiet and there wasn't many questions or much chat. I had booked the tour through the hotel and so it felt like an efficient way of packing this in.

The Tomb of Minh Mang (Lăng Minh Mạng) has a great location with lots of greenery and also water to separate the sections of the tomb - which would show the traversal from one side to the next life. The first courtyard had some nice statues of people and elephants but the highlight, for me, was the bridge over the crescent-shaped pond. This was near the end and so was not designed to be seen by many people but it felt graceful and important after what had been seen before. The Tomb of Khai Dinh (Lăng Khải Định) was set in smaller grounds but was arguably more dazzling inside. It, too, was split into sections to signify traversal but had significantly more verticality with the tomb itself being on higher ground. The initial courtyard had the feel of a board game with its statues of militia but as we ascended the stairs, the views across the surroundings, outside the tomb, were spectacular. The interior of the tomb was incredibly luxurious with handcrafted marbles and jewels used t decorate the walls wherever there was space. It was astonishingly lavish and well worth the visit. After the tombs, we were driven back to the city via a little stopover to see incense being made. These stops on tours seem to be pretty standard souvenir stops and they are quite frustrating. The shop was making incense but also had plenty of other tourist-friendly wares to buy. I did not buy anything there and was glad to return to the hotel. The tour was fairly decent but the guide was a bit needy with the TripAdvisor requests which is a bit sad, to be honest. I think these ways of spreading the word on particular guides, via online reputation engines, is a mixed blessing and in the past, guides wanted you to feel happy rather than say you were. You can't improve without measuring, apparently.

In the evening, I wasn't sure what there was to do so I went to a restaurant for some dinner and then ended up finding a cinema in the area to watch the latest (and just released) Star Wars film: The Last Jedi. It was odd going to the cinema in another country and it is always an interesting experience to see the differences. This was a multiplex (Lotte Hue) and I usually avoid them in the UK so it is not necessarily comparing like with like but I was struck by how the lights went on at the start of the credits. I usually like to sit and watch the credits but I felt really uncomfortable with the staff cleaning up around me so I left too. You can make your own minds up about the film, I believe that this particular film was widely distributed.

Rainy Citadel

The next day, the weather was awful which really didn't help, was to be a fairly standard tourist day. I knew it was the day I had to explore the citadel so, in spite of the rain, bought the relevant ticket and wandered around to have a look. It was quite empty in the wet but still more than a smattering of humanity. In the cold rain, it was quite atmospheric but probably not quite as stunning with that rainfall and 2-3 hours was more than enough time.

I came out of the citadel and the rain continued and I just thought I could just buy another jacket. I didn't think to look very hard but there were plenty of shops and they all seemed to sell north face jackets. I got one for about £20 and whether it was a fake one or not, it still did the job and would do the job later if needed.
There was still much of the day and I'd seen the major showstoppers of the city so I went in search of some more minor attractions - the show delayers.

The Hue War Museum was not massive but did have a selection of vehicles outside so I was automatically drawn to it. There were some small exhibits of life at the time and it was an interesting 20mins but not much more. It was also dry. Nearby was the Museum of Fine Arts and, again, it was a pleasing diversion but nothing to really remember although the trinkets were displayed with a lot of reverence. I would eventually have to leave the dry…

I went to the market in order to have a late lunch and walked through the warren of stalls selling food and tat. There seemed to be a fair few food stalls which were for being seated at rather than to take away. I sat down at one of them after being implored by the owner with, what felt like, angry words. I was sufficiently understood to have some cheap broth and dumplings. It tasted pretty good and, more importantly at the time, rather warming. The market itself was pretty standard and there wasn't so much history to see so I made my way in the terrible weather back to the hotel for a break and a coffee.

I felt like the next day would be quite an effort so I decided to stay close by and ate at a restaurant almost opposite. The weather was still poor so I didn't feel like going too far and thought it better to be ready for the journey to Hoi An the next day.

An early departure

The next morning, I was a little wary of what I had let myself in for. I had this idea that I would make sure my guide was very visible so that I would be protecting myself a little bit, there would be some reputational risk. It seemed a little weak but it did mean that he would be wary if everyone saw him. But, as it happened, he was waiting downstairs for me in the reception area and chatting with the hotel staff which put me at ease. He had told me that I needed to be ready due to the time needed and we had to go early but he, and the hotel staff, insisted that I have breakfast which was definitely a good idea as it was pretty tasty.I have to say that the hotel really was excellent for what it was and I would highly recommend the Hotel La Perle.

The rain was a bit weak but still existent so I got a little wet, exposed as I was. And so, I began on the way to Hoi An.

CLICK FOR HUE PHOTO ALBUM


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^{1. I also, rather annoyingly, managed to drop my camera from the top bunk which is quite far... No damage done which is quite the advert for my camera and lens (Sony A77ii)!↩}