Coises! Foiled again!!! Usually things go smoothly here in Hanoi. The restaurants are never booked and all events have plenty of empty seats. Only once in our entire time here have we ever been turned away from a restaurant. Yesterday and today we experienced a disappointment as we were unable to secure tickets for the world famous Water Puppet Theatre. Since that was a large part of our day's agenda, we had to think fast and change our plans.
Lea had a guidebook and a list of places she hoped to visit. she and Ralph wanted Carol to have the opportunity to join them, especially to go somewhere Carol and I had not yet seen. We decided that the lacquer village looked particularly interesting so we packed ourselves up, called for a taxi tơ(large size taxi) and set out with a map and high hopes. We were so happy to find that our driver was Ms Nghia, with whom we have ridden many times before. She looked at the map and decided that we knew where we were going and off we went.
We were only a little worried that Duyen Truong, which was featured prominently in the guidebook and which did appear on our map, was unknown to everyone in the hotel, from concierges to bellmen. Ms Nhgia required only a bit of assistance from some mysterious person she called on her mobile to get us on the road out of town and towards this place where we would corner the market in lacquerware. Ralph and Lea had seen much of this material in a new store in Boulder and they were hoping to find treasures for presents and to keep in their home.
Before we arrived, our driver seemed very excited by something she saw on the side of the road. "Rát ngon" she kept exclaiming. Ira knew this meant "very delicious" so we figured that a road food treat was about to be visited upon us. It turned out to be banh day, a sort of squishy round rice pancake with a powdery filling. It is only a little greasy and fortunately we opted for only two to share among the five occupants of the taxi.
The lacquer village turned out to be a bit difficult to find. Nghia asked several times along the way and at one point we made so many U-turns that we thought there must be some sort of secret passage that would magically open up once we found the combination.
Finally, we were told to disembark from the vehicle and to proceed on foot. While the way did not look promising, we had little choice and walked on the narrow dirt pathway into the village. We were ushered into the courtyard of a small house where several young people of both genders were
washing pots in an oily black liquid. They greeted us warmly and kept on working as a young pregnant woman beckoned us inside where we mounted the stairway into not exactly a showroom, but more like a storeroom filled with a variety of lacquer objects.
We all found the situation hilarious as it appeared that this house was the sum total of the village and that the guidebook was inaccurate when it advises readers to "stroll through the village from shop to shop, seeing the unfinished pieces and then going into the many shops to purchse finished goods." Like Rick in the classic film "Casablanca" it appears that we had been "misinformed."
Lea and Carol in particular could not stop laughing as they read and reread the passages about the little village and its charms. Ira asked our driver and the girl from the shop over and over if we
were really in Duyen Trung. They assured him that we were indeed. After a lot of looking, touching and questioning, we finally made our selections. The price, which should likely have been negotiable, turned out to be rather fixed. Of course, since lea had already priced similar objects in Colorado and in central Hanoi, we were not overly distressed as the prices were more than reasonable.
When we left the shop, we were met by a young man, who directed us to another house, where two children were washing some lacquerware and where other items were for sale. After Carol and Lea made a few more purchases, we were led to yet
another more elegant house. We were served very hot, musty tea and then shown into the shop where we found even more treasures. There were many young workers all of whom were said to be family,
some fierce dogs and a tiny kitten that was on a chain that would have held an elephant. It of course turns out that we were truly in the lacquer village described in the guidebook, although to this day no one has ever heard of it. Perhaps it is like "Brigadoon" and our purchases will soon evanesce.
Since we still had some time left, we had Nghia take us to Hadong, the silk village, which everybody
knows about. It is less "villagey" than Duyen Truong and more like a strip mall, but the merchandise is good and the prices reasonable. Lea and Carol bought some items and Ralph looked longingly at some mandarin silk robes, but was unable to find the proper size so left empty-handed.
The evening's activity was dinner at Wild Lotus, arguably the most beautiful room in Hanoi. This
restaurant is a must for visitors. The food is not the best in the city and it is a bit pricey, but the decor and service are first rate.
We may be blogging more while Ralph and Lea are here as we will be doing more than we might on our own. Further tales and adventures will follow soon.


















