Irasshaimase!

We left the heat and chaos of dear Bharat to land in the orderly, quiet environs of Narita in Japan. Flying in, you can tell it's Japan you're landing in - green, clean, and with cute, dense trees that remind you of bonsai gardens. Pretty immediately you see signs of a society that has sensible rules, which it actually follows. Loved the 'no carts beyond this line' marker by the baggage carousels.

We spent some time reconfiguring luggage, storing bags, and otherwise orienting ourselves for our Japanese adventure. A $35 ticket gets you a 2-hr ride on a 'limousine' bus to the Sheraton Miyako, which was on the southern side of Tokyo city. Note to self - Narita is nowhere near Tokyo. Try Haneda next time.

The Sheraton Miyako is a fantastic property to stay at. Great-looking rooms with Western layouts and thoughtful Japanese touches; helpful hotel staff; and excellent happy hour and breakfast service. Thanks to Miss Cara's standing with the fine people at Starwood we were able to drop in to the lobby lounge for some Japanese draft beer on tap, in a very lovely setting. They used an earthen, glazed glass for beer which was so cool. And the propensity for doing things in an orderly fashion extends to the way they laid out toiletries in the bathroom. Just so civilized. 

The taxis in Tokyo are fantastic, by the way. They're most old Corollas (think early 1990s), but shiny and unblemished - driven by polite, well dressed cabbies. Not uncommon to see the occasional white glove either. For dinner that night, despite our overly tired state, we ventured out to the Shibuya district. We bumbled our way into a izakaya of sorts, and mimed our way into ordering a couple of Okinawa staples - bitter gourd noodles and some Orion beer. 

Good Morning Vietnaaaaam!

International Travel Lesson #23: If you're choosing the take the $3 shared ride 'shuttle' from the airport instead of the $15 taxi, at least try to get on a bus that's almost full - or you'll have to wait for what - an hour before they leave? Yeah. Don't do what we did.

Vietnam is cheap indeed. In Hanoi, $22 a night got us the largest, and possibly nicest hotel room we've had on this trip (granted, we haven't exactly been living it up accommodations-wise either). Jacuzzi tub, excellent anything-you-want breakfast, fresh fruit juices aplenty, and located close to the Old Quarter, just East of the Hoan Kiem Lake. Best of all, the hotel's called Splendid Star 2. Not Splendid Star The Second - the second in a long line of royal hotels, but second as in, #2 of 4 different but related Splendid Star hotels in a single small lane in the backpacker area of Hanoi. Don't let the name fool you, Martin the manager will see to it that you have a great time staying there.

I'd heard a lot about the games of leapfrog tourists have to play with the motorcycles and scooters in Vietnam, and while I'm sure Ho Chi Minh City is worse, Hanoi was pretty.. exciting itself. Walking along the path beside the Hoan Kiem lake at night it seemed as is the 6.5 million Hanioi-ans had about twice as many motorized, meep-meeping two wheelers amongst them. I still maintain that traffic in Bombay is easily worse, but it is true that cars are easier to dodge than multiple motorbikes coming at you like disorganized, buzzing hornets. I enjoyed it. It's like a real life video game - every boy's dream.

It became very clear rather quickly that the Vietnamese like to eat out. Out on the street. The footpath to be more accurate. Seated on tiny little blue or red footstools. Barely a foot off the ground. Huddled together. Hundreds of them. At night. It's quite a sight. They have these little mom-and-pop stoves going in the name of a restaurant, and people sitting in this fashion in the 30+ degree heat of the night. Street food in India isn't exactly a posh or hygienic scene (which, arguably is what makes things taste so good), but I wouldn't want to sit right down in the middle of that pavement would I.

First night's dinner was at an Anthony Bourdain-recommended local place called Xoi Yen. Three floors of frenetic eating, while seated a foot of the ground, in 35 degree heat, at night. A foot from our little steel table was a dog - snoozing blissfully amongst waiters and babies gaggling alike. The food was excellent of course. Tony knows his stuff. The specialty is 'xoi' or glutinous rice, the xoi xeo - or glutinous rice with soft yellow mung bean cake was delicious. Boiled chicken and deep friend onion/garlic on top add the perfect crunch. Damn, I'd like some right now.

One of the best meals on this entire trip was courtesy Quon An Ngon As soon as you enter, the sight of the yellow canopy, the enclosed trees, and the cool mist from the fans makes you forget the heat and chaos of the street you just walked off of. The server girls are very friendly, and unafraid to make recommendations (thank the lord). Fresh guava juice, green papaya salad, fresh vegetable rolls, and an order of the Vietnamese white fish cha ca basically made my day. On of the waiters cooked up the fresh fish with greens right at our table. I realize how sycophantic I sound about this place so I'll just stop. If you're in the neighbourhood, go there. It's solid.