I am reeling from the effect of food poisoning most likely from Hanoi's supposedly best French restaurant. Well, my husband's Accor membership allows a 1-for-1 treat in any of the Sofitel restaurats worldwide. So when we could go for this well loved French restaurant's Sunday buffet lunch at just 50% of the usual US$100 per head, we jumped on the opportunity. I must say the only upside this buffet has over any good buffet in Singapore restaurants is its heavenly cakes and pan seared foie gra. The source of my sufferings is likely to be either this foie gra or the oysters.
Yesterday when I was all weak and wobbly from the relentless purging, the very image of oysters, foie gra, red meat or any food at all makes me ready to throw out. Listless and weak I could not even read the backlogged newspapers. Surfing the net wore me out. In between naps and toilet visits I just plonked myself staring blankly at the moving TV screen. Images of my trip to Hanoi rolled in my mind.
With only 3 nights in Hanoi and 2 free nites at Sofitel Metropole (again complimentary from the Accor thingy) we booked a day trip to Tam Coc about 2 hours away from Hanoi. Tam Coc is like Hanoi Bay except the cliffs are along a meandering river and rice fields. Instead of returning to Hanoi with the tour group we requested to be dropped off at a town called Ninh Binh where we had booked a room in a family run inn. The owner chatted with us at length and recommended that we pay a visit to Mua Cave the following day.
It was a misty morning when the car bumped over dirt tracks to our destination. Perhaps it was early or perhaps of the downcast sky we had practically the whole attraction to ourselves other than a lone foreigner and a Vietnamese family of 5. The cave at ground level was not the main attraction but the climb up the 500 steps that meandered up the cliff will reward us with magnificent views of the river lined with limestone cliffs, we were told. The steps were a bit damp that morning. The Vietnamese family of 5, a mother with 2 teenagers, a young boy of about 6 and a toddler maybe about 3 years was behind us when we started off. The mother held the toddler's hand supporting him slowly whilst the other family members raced ahead. Of course I was just slightly ahead of mother and child. A quarter way through my husband spotted 3 billy goats staring at us from an opening above. I clapped my hands to draw the mother/child's attention to quicken their steps. The mother hurried the child along muttering the Vietnamese word for goat several times. We all smiled with delight and made faces at the goats. On another stretch the older boy squeaked repeatedly enjoying the resounding echo. When he disappeared round the corner, I sang a short song to test it out.
It was not an easy climb for me at least because the steps were not even and rather slippery, what more for the mother and child. At one stretch a small group of foreigner coming down applauded the little kid, who was by then fretting a bit, just to spur him on. It started to drizzle at the final stretch. What I didn't expect when we reached the top was a 2 metre statue of the Goddess of Mercy standing on a 6 ft square concrete platform under a tiled pagoda like roof. Just as the family and us reached the top it started to rain and we all sat on the platform, smiling at each other warmly, resting, taking in the magnificent view. feeling very thankful for the shelter and I really felt very peaceful. I didn't mind for the rain to last and did some 'Om Mani Padme Hum' chant.
Sofitel Metropole with its old colonial charm is like Raffles Hotel Singapore. The staff are trained to greet guests cheerfully and engage in light banter. The rooms are very well furnished and luxurious. Every time we pass through the doors, the bell boys greeted us in Japanese (sigh..) The home run inn at Ninh Binh is also superbly clean and comfortable and serves good home cooked breakfast. We feel very at home when the owner requested us to help him by switching off the heater after use.
As picture of the black and white marble flooring of Metropole with its fine dining rooms that serve the evil foie gra or oysters that make me sick, rolled alongside the comfortable room in the inn and the owner's superb recommendation that resulted in some very beautiful moments sitting with the Vietnamese family beside the statue of Kuan Yin, sheltered from the rain, I thought to myself that luxury often pales in comparison to many other experiences.
We really should have just enjoyed the delicious pho at the pho shops in the old quarters of Hanoi instead of the foie gra in the famous French buffet .
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