Firsts

Friday night I got out of work around 9pm and a few of the teachers wanted to go out for dinner and drinks afterwards. I hopped onto Mikka's motorbike and headed to Chim Sao restaurant across town. Mikka is another American teacher that I work with and we've really hit it off. Unfortunately she may only be staying only for the Summer, but she's not sure. We met up with another teacher that we work with, Ben, his roommate Ryan, and eventually Mat, Amalia and her boyfriend Benz joined us. I love how life here is beginning to feel more normal. When we finished dinner Amalia and her boyfriend headed off while Ben, Ryan, Mikka, Mat and I moved onto the Pleasant Bar near the Old Quarter for some beers. Once we closed the place down Ryan, Mikka, Mat and I headed to Maos, a popular bar hangout for foreigners. I don't know why, but I kept feeling hesitant about going on to another bar. It's not like I had to get up early in the morning or anything. I think something that I have to learn while I am in Vietnam is to allow myself to relax. I just need to chill out. I find myself being really uptight sometimes and there really isn't a reason to be that way. Anyway, the police raided Maos and Mao didn't pay them off which would have allowed us to stay longer, so we left and finally landed at the bar Hair of the Dog. They were serving $4 buy one get one free Mojitos so our group loaded up! Around 4am I said to Mat, "I can't believe you've kept me out till 4am!" and, in his very Mat fashion, he responded, "It's not like you're going to turn into a pumpkin are ya!?" During that evening I told Ryan that I wanted to finally rent a motorbike of my own because I am tired of depending on xe oms or others to drive me around. He said that'd take me to his rental place and teach me how to ride. Mikka, Ryan and I also decided that on Saturday we would go to a Japanese Ramen shop for lunch! Around 4:45am Mikka and I decided that it was time to leave. When we stumbled outside of the bar the sun was coming up. We hopped on our separate xe oms and went home. I love Hanoi at sunrise. The streets are just about empty, the air is cool and something about it feels almost magical.

Later that day, on Saturday, Mikka, Ryan and I met up at Vincom towers and walked over to this little Ramen shop. While we were walking a man ran up to me and tried to put his helmet on my head and screamed something indecipherable. My only response was to run away and yell, "Ah! Go away!" It was really funny actually. We enjoyed some yummy bowls of ramen and ate pieces of dragon fruit for dessert. I've never had ramen that didn't come out of a little baggie and was seasoned with a spice packet.
Afterwards we took a taxi to the Old Quarter and Mikka went to do some errands while Ryan and I went to sort out my motorbike business. He was getting his fixed and I had to wait awhile before the rental place had a bike ready for me. In the meantime we just wandered around Hoan Kiem Lake, some of the Old Quarter and stopped for some fruit juice. I think when I leave Vietnam I'm really going to miss the fact that I can get delicious fresh fruit juice almost anywhere for a little over a dollar. Eventually we made it back to the rental place and Ryan picked up his bike; mine wasn't quite ready yet. He took me out to a parking lot, taught me about the important parts of the bike and set me off to ride around. My hands kept shaking! I couldn't imagine riding this thing in the streets with other people! I was so nervous. Once I felt comfortable enough we made it back to the rental place to pick up my bike.
When we arrived my heart started beating rapidly. Not only did I have to begin riding this thing on an actual street, but I had to start learning in the Old Quarter. It's a maze of little streets, people walking every which way with other motorists and cars all thrown in. On top of that my bike kept stalling. I just made sure to keep my eyes on Ryan's blue t-shirt the whole time so I wouldn't get lost. Sometimes I would panic and accidentally accelerate instead of hitting the brake. Nothing is intuitive like driving a car. When I drove my car I felt like I was a part of it - we moved together so well. I know the more I drive the bike the easier it will become. We rode around the city for about an hour and ended up in West Lake - the snazzy part of the city with high rise 5 star hotels and expensive restaurants. We stopped at my favorite Indian restaurant, Foodshop 45, for dinner. When I stopped to hand my motorbike to the parking guy I obviously had no idea what the hell I was doing with this machine and he asked, "Is this your first time on the motorbike?" Doh. All throughout dinner I could feel that my nerves were absolutely shot. I was physically and mentally exhausted and still a little off from the night before. Afterwards Ryan showed me the way back to my street and then he went home. I am taking a little break from the bike today, but tomorrow I'm going to attempt a ride to work on my own.