Adventures of A Black Nomad: Vietnam Pt. 2

The Monkey God Hanuman at the airport. I can see why the J'Bari tribe praises him

Before I even really start part 2 of this series, let me hit ya'll with the disclaimer *ahem*  "THE NEGRO JUSTICE LEAGUE AND JAY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FOOLISH ACTIVITIES OR THOUGHTS THAT CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE YOU HARM, IMPRISONMENT, OR ANY OTHER BAD STUFF BECAUSE YOU READ JAY'S POSTS AND FIGURED IF HE CAN DO IT SO CAN I. NAAAH BRUH." Seriously guys, for whatever reason my life is filled with random moments of chaos, and somehow... I survive lol. Like, this is what my close friends even say about me:

So please, please ya'll enjoy the posts, ask questions take some advice for if you go (with common sense), but uuuhh...if you end up in a ditch somewhere running from state police that's all you. So let's jump right into it:

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The Good

Top L: Tran Quoc Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square
Bottom L:  Hoan Kiem Lake, Ly Thai To Monument, Temple of Lit.

Vietnam is off rip like walking into a whole new world. Honestly, it is making me want to see not just more of North Vietnam, but also check out South Vietnam (if not move there for a while period, but that's another story). Between the pagodas, lakes, temples, and historical sites you can spend a few days checking out the history of this great country. From the French influence seen all over in buildings, to the Buddhist and Confucius designs with lotus blossoms seen throughout the city, the dichotomy of inspirations is dope. I mean the Temple of Literature is Vietnam's First University, and they have records showing their first doctorate's from like 1205! If you're a history buff like me, to see pride like that after all Vietnam has gone through it's mad humbling in a big picture sense. So take the chance to see it and get some culture in your life before you start the next known thing Hanoi is known for ...

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The Bad

The Vietnam Trinity of the best worst things to try that could kill you in one picture

I now completely understand why SE Asia is backpacker mecca. Why you have all these European and American folk traveling there annually. Why a damn good chunk of em end up just staying till they have to leave, or finally get kicked out.  IT'S LIKE LIVING AS DEVIANT ROYALTY THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE THERE. When you can eat, drink, party, entertain yourself, and live as lavish as you want on less than $20 USD a day...who the hell wanna leave that? Bruh, in the States $15 gets me maybe a nice Shake Shack meal, with a drink, I think. If you don't believe me, let's just go down the rabbit hole called "A Friday night in Hanoi with Jay"

Morning: Most hostels or hotels gonna hook ya up with the freeskie breakfast. You might have to prove your staying there with your room key, or a voucher, but small step for a free meal. Options are usually some fruit, spring rolls, fried rice, or some other localish dishes given. That's food. Now, I'm not saying I had a beer or 2 every morning as a drink...buuuut I am saying if your hostel is giving complimentary beers in the morning and water costs money, ya start day drinking a lot earlier than one usually expects lol.  Costs so far : $0

“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018

First off Rest In Peace Uncle Tony...

Afternoon: Before I continue, Rest in Peace to the late great Anthony Bourdain. We lost a real one ya'll. When I saw this picture floating around the social media streets that President Obama dropped, not gonna lie it hurt, since I definitely ate at this place in Hanoi because Uncle Tony ate there. It was a nice walk down the streets of Hanoi, and I went twice once by myself, and once with a friend to let them taste God Tier level Pho.  Which by the way between the Pho and a Hanoi Beer (or 3) for one person you spend 120,000 VND, or about $5 and change.  It probably cost less before getting well known, but even for that price I am not complaining. Costs so far: $5.29 

Night: So most hostels will start offering free beers from like 6 or 7pm for an hour. Why do I know this? Because I stayed at a few hostels for flavor reasons, and all tried to turn me into an alcoholic around this same time.  After those beers you'll probably start heading to beer alley which is infamous in Hanoi, especially on the weekends when the main roads are closed to allow maximum drunk people walking around space. It's blocks of restaurants, street vendors, and store front hustles offering cheap meals and even cheaper beer. Like I thought 25,000 VND for a beer is cheap ($1.10), and it is, till you find out Hanoi's famous kegger beer is 5,000 VND. That equals to about, oh...TWENTY TWO FREAKIN CENTS. Now this ain't the best tasting beer, but it ain't exactly PBR either (YEAH I SAID IT) so for .22 cents its #1 in my book. Query, when street vendors are cornering the market on alcohol, Vietnamese sandwiches called Bahn Mi are 25k on every corner, how do the real restaurants and bars keep up? Answer,  with 6  for 1 beers or 2 for 1 alcohol specials, or the Vietnamese craze of balloon huffing (I advise not to do, but hey ya'll grown so). So after 10 kegger beers, a Bahn Mi, A balloon or 2 at 50k a pop, what's your grand total for the day? A whopping 12.99 USD. I said $20 a day right? Yeah so if you try your hardest I am sure you can find a way to get to a solid Andrew Jackson (can't wait for when we can call it a Harriet). You might end up in a nameless bar, with people who don't speak English at all and passing around Absinthe like it's water, but hey, it'll be a memorable night...if you can remember it.