Our first guide walked us to the meeting point. There we met the evening guide.
Problems
It is hard to understand a guide whose first language is Vietnamese. Our guide explained the Vietnamese learn grammar in school but have little practice in conversation, like the Brits in the old days learning French at school but unable to speak a word.
Pleasures - wearing white walking guide
Our two walking guides led us safely across the mad motorbike roads. They held out both arms horizontally. I noticed one of our guides was wearing a long white jacket. When a shop tried to sell me the traditional robe of a long white tunic with mandarin collar and matching white trousers, I rejected it on the grounds that it was hard to keep clean, especially as many of them say dry clean only or wash in cold water by hand.
However, from the point of view of road safety, where white at night used to be the slogan in the UK. That white dress could be a life saver. At least it sets you up conspicuously like a lollipop lady when marshalling a group across the zebra crossing.
Our first stop was rice paper rolled around vegetables. We'd seen something smiilar before on the ship to Halong Bay.
Our guide solved one mystery. I asked: Why do restaurants and cafes have the tiny chairs?' (I didn't say, like footstools for toddlers in toilets or toddler seats.)
She explained, 'The rental for buildings in old Hanoi is so high that the narrow-fronted, long back buildings extend upwards, as far as five or six storeys high. The restaurants use tiny seats to cram in as many diners as possible. They spill illegally across the pavements. Every now and then the police come around and make the restaurant retreat behind the front doors.'
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