Ride-out!!

Tonight we went for a scooter ride out!  We had booked a trip with XO Tours, who specialise in scooter tours of the city. You just ride as a pillion passenger, so at least don't have to try to navigate the thousands of scooters yourself.  The quirky thing about XO Tours is that they only use pretty young Vietnamese girls as the guides and they all dress in traditional costumes.  They do, however, have male bodyguards who ride as part of the group.  I guess this is not only to protect the girls, but to keep the tourists safe as we were certainly getting away from the normal tourist areas.
They met us outside our hotel and helped us get ready for the ride!

All of the girls were exceptionally pretty and surprisingly feisty!  They had great personalities and were such a good laugh.  Paul's girlie in the forefront of this picture was absolutely hilarious and her and Paul got on like a house on fire!

Setting off was a bit nerve-wracking, especially for Lou and I, but we soon settled into it.  It was great to be part of the mayhem!  It is really amazing how close the scooters get to each other, especially at traffic lights - although, not everyone seems to bother stopping when the lights are red anyway.

Apparently, there are laws of the road, it's just that nobody bothers about them!  You are only supposed to have two people on a scooter, but you regularly see at least four people on them.  It's a bit unnerving to be travelling four or five abreast and suddenly there is someone coming towards you on the wrong side of the road.  But the girls were very capable drivers and we felt very safe.

We were on an evening tour of the city called "The Foodie Tour".  We would be visiting three different venues for food.  None of them were typical tourist places, but all were popular with the local Vietnamese.  Our first stop was for the traditional beef noodle soup.
The venue was just an open kitchen area with little plastic tables and chairs down an alleyway.  Hygiene didn't seem to be particularly high on the agenda, but there were plenty of local people there too and the soup tasted good!  Weirdly, it was easier to eat with the chopsticks than a spoon.

Then we were back on the road to head for the next venue.  We were getting well away from the centre now and it was rush-hour too, there were scooters everywhere! But my guide said that they had never had an accident that she was aware of and she had been in the job for 18 months - till tonight with me on the back!
We were in a queue of slow moving traffic and she was half turning round to talk to me when the guy in front of us stopped suddenly.  She took evasive action, but the scooters hit each other with my foot between them!  No blood or broken bones though, just a very apologetic young girl who was a bit worried about what her boss would say! 

The next place was just like a big plaza with loads of little plastic tables and chairs all over the place.  It probably catered for about 500 people at least!  They put a clay pot on the table with burning embers in and a grill on the top.  Our girls then cooked us some goat (a bit tough) and king prawns (delicious), which had different dips to accompany them.  Some of the dips really have a kick!

Paul Halder's guide then did a traditional dance for a bit of entertainment.  She was incredibly graceful and all the locals stopped to watch her too.

Here's a video of her dancing.

We were soon back on the road and riding through a couple of the poorer districts.  We rode right through the middle of the most amazing shopping area we have ever seen.  Either side of the street was covered with people selling fish, poultry, meat, fruit and vegetables.  But the produce was just spread on sheets on the pavement and all of the fish etc, was still alive!  The fish were flapping, the ducks sat there quacking and the frogs were jumping!  It was an absolute eye-opener.  This is where all the local people buy their food and they only like to buy food which is still alive so that they know it is fresh.  

We then went from one extreme to the other - one of the poorest districts through one of the most affluent.  On the way, we passed an area on the riverside which is a renowned "lover's lane" area.  There are lots of benches for couples to get some "privacy".  As most of the Vietnamese live with three to five generations in the same house, it is difficult for couples to find time to be alone. So this area is where people go together to get time on their own - well, surrounded by other like-minded people and the continuous traffic.
We then stopped in a really affluent area.  Lots of people invest in property as the safest option and there are lots of luxurious flats standing empty.  Inflation is high - 18% - and the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Our last venue was again just one a plaza on the side of the busy street, and was even busier with local people.  

This time, the food was a little bit more diverse - frog, quail, squid, clams and scallops.  All of which were really tasty, even if there was more bones than meat on the frog and quail!

Then they brought out the fermented egg - exactly like what you see them attempt to eat on I'm a Celebrity!  It is duck egg, in which the chick has already started to form, so there will be some bones and feathers inside.
Louise and I refused point blank to try any, but both of the Paul's gave it a go.  

My Paul's guide cracked open the top of the egg and drank the fluid from the top.  She then took a small piece of the solid egg, put a couple of leaves on and fed it to Paul.  He said it tasted just like ordinary boiled egg, so Paul Halder had a try too.  Because it hadn't been as repulsive as expected, she got a bigger spoonful for Paul to try.  Just as she was about to feed it to him, I said "Paul, there are feathers this time!".  He quickly changed his mind, so the young girl ate it all instead.  It is considered a delicacy there, but my guide said she would eat it at least once a month.  It is supposed to be especially beneficial to pregnant women.
The beer was free-flowing by then and we were having a great time. The girls got some party games going and showed us how they raised a toast in Vietnam.  We had an absolute ball with these lovely young girls!  All too soon, it was time to head off back to the hotel.  We knew we had to be up at about 6.30am the next day and the intention was to go straight for a shower and bed (you always feel so grubby when you've been out in the city), but we were absolutely buzzing from the great evening we'd had, so it was a few nightcaps in the hotel rooftop bar instead.  I'm sure we'll regret it when the alarm goes off in the morning!