so long hanoi. the beef was worth it.

we have wrapped up our one day in hanoi, and have discovered a definite fondness for the place. what else can explain the fact that we are still up at 9:30pm? it may seem like i am exaggerating about th early-to-bed routine, but two nights ago i actually went to sleep - as in fell asleep, for the night - at 7:45. being up and alert at 9:30pm indicates an unprecedented infatuation with our surroundings. so yes, hanoi is lovely. it is chaotic and loud and makes my pulse shoot through the roof, but we have enjoyed it much more than ho chi minh city. we are staying in the heart of the old quarter, and spent the evening having vietnamese coffees and strolling around the neighborhood. tons of people are out and about - meaning careening into one another on mopeds - so we soaked it all up for awhile and eventually started to seek out a spot for dinner.

our hotel had provided some recommendations, including a vegetarian option in the vicinity. we checked out their menu, with all of its mentions of foods that have not been in the realm of possibility for the past 10 days (grilled cheese sandwich!) - and then decided to go in a different direction for our only dinner in hanoi. totally raw red meat. yum. we plopped down at what appeared to be a very popular sidewalk spot, where they give you a cast-iron hot plate heated by a candle flame and bring you a plate of raw cow flesh (i wasn't thinking of it in such terms when ingesting it) and veggies to cook up at your table. i have been tiptoeing around the whole meat-eating thing, but for this meal i was totally on board. it was hands-down the best meal we have had here (i was considering holding out on the praise until we are safely out of getting-violently-ill territory, but here's hoping).

we gobbled up our heaping serving of beef, onions, garlic, tomatoes and pineapple and felt very happy with our bold new eating-as-the-locals-eat move. i had perked up my ears when the one other yank who was nearby was paying to see what the damage was going to be -- as far as i could hear, it cost him 18,000 - just over $1 - for his meal for one. it seemed totally reasonable given that we have been paying under $5 at some restaurants for the two of us. we checked in with one of the servers to see what we owed -- all the while i am convinced we will be talking about the deal we got by pulling up a 10-inch stool among hanoi's discerning populace for months -- and are told that it would be 140,000 dong. nine dollars. our sails immediately deflated. we paid up and learned yet another lesson of the road. ask the price beforehand. it seemed that once we had blistered our tongues licking the cast iron plate, we had limited leverage for haggling.