The Wheels on the Bus

For the past few days, my friend J and her sister have been visiting me before J leaves Southeast Asia for school back in the US. We have done a lot of new things, like discovering a super cool rooftop coffee shop with an amazing view of Hoan Kiem Lake and trying yogurt coffee, egg coffee, and coconut coffee, as well as coconut candy and ginger candy. Yum! The most exciting new thing was riding the bus for the first time in Hanoi! I don't usually need to ride the bus in Hanoi because I take a motorbike to and from work every day, and otherwise I am either walking, taking a taxi, or catching a ride on a motorbike somewhere. At J's insistence, we decided to be adventurous and get down with the locals by taking the bus to Bat Trang, the ceramic village about 13 km southeast of Hanoi. The bus ride was supposed to take about 40 minutes and cost 3,000 VND. Of course we were running really late after lounging for too long at brunch, so we hopped in a cab to try to speed up our journey since a friend was waiting on us at the village. We took the bus back to Hanoi to meet up for some bia hoi (homemade beer) and dinner. In hindsight, the cab wasn't really faster because the road isn't big enough to pass anybody, so the cars can't pass the slower vehicles. The big plus of the bus is the cost. A taxi to Bat Trang cost 200,000 VND whereas the bus is a measly 3,000 VND. That's $10 versus $0.15!!

We had an amazing time wandering around Bat Trang, exploring all of the areas off-the-beaten track. We found ourselves wandering into people's yards and homes (after being invited, of course) to watch them make pottery or see the pottery casts and equipment they use. We ran into an old Vietnamese man who spoke no English, but was able to "tell" us what all of the black circles were on the concrete walls--they were the material for making coal burners (highly combustible) and were drying on the walls. We walked a long way and found ourselves parched from the sticky day. We stopped for some sugarcane juice and then headed to the bus stop to wait for our bus adventure.

Despite the 40-minute ride, the bus seemd really fast and very efficient. As opposed to some public bus systems in the US, you don't have to buy a ticket before getting on the bus or pay the driver as you're getting on. In Vietnam, you just hop on the bus and a guy comes to you to collect your fare. I can imagine this system being very difficult on crowded buses with people being able to get on unseen, particularly because it all happens so fast. As the bus was pulling up, people started running toward the bus, which was my first clue that this was not going to be a long stop. Long stop is a total exaggeration. The bus didn't even come to a complete stop. It was still rolling as I hopped through the back door. Very efficient, but it sucks if you've got a bad hip, bum leg, or are just generally slow. Only the agile need apply.

Bus riding is great for people watching, as is the case in any country I'm sure. My seat mate had the longest set of fingernails I've ever seen on a man, and let me tell you, I've seen some long ones on men in Vietnam. Long nails are part status symbol and part practical use for men here. If you have long nails, then you must not be a laborer, so you probably make more money. On the practical use side of things, I've seen way too much picking of various body parts with those things--ears, eyes, noses, faces, etc. I mostly see them on cab and motorbike taxi drivers, but my seat mate didn't appear to be either. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

I'll post some pictures of the village and our adventures soon!