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Part 64: Snake Village.....
Hanoi was my first experience of Vietnam, so I came without any preconceptions at all - but so far, other than the rain, and occasional blocked toilet, all was good. And for the first time since I began travelling, it was actually a struggle to spend money here.
Its a bustling, noisy slice of South East Asia that I didn’t find as in your face as other Asian capitals.
Bursting with tonnes of local character, maze's of alleyways, lanes, bars and local vendors selling counterfeit DVDs, souvenirs, trinkets, communist propaganda posters, plus fake sports wear.
At first all the streets looked almost exactly the same but you soon get your bearings, then it's easy to get around with everything you need in close proximity.
Hoam Kiem Lake was really the focal point of Hanoi. Meaning 'Lake of the Returned Sword' in English.
We ate several times in eateries over looking this wonderful lake with the brightly coloured Ngoc Son Temple on a tiny island right in the middle of the water.
But after a couple of great days dodging scooters, eating delicious food and drinking cheap beer, it was time to venture further out and see what else Hanoi had to offer.
Jack had spoken to an American traveller who just come from the famous snake village in nearby Le Mat, around 15km away from Hanoi - famous for its tradition of catching snakes, breeding and specialising in serving cobra dishes. He bragged to Jack about eating freshly slaughtered serpent, whilst sinking snake bile and warm blood rice wine as well as swallowing the still beating heart of the snake as it squirted congealed blood!!!
Locals say that drinking these concoctions eases pain, keeps organs healthy, boosts virility and sexual libido. At this point I wasn't really sure how I felt about that, but admittedly it was making me curious.
After a brief discussion me, Jack and the two German lads agreed to head there and try it for our selves.
Well time would tell if any of us were actually serious about going through with it or not.
Jack called dibs on the heart which was completely fine by me and the Germans - then we bundled in a taxi driven by what appeared to be a young girl cabby in her early 20's who spoke no English at all, nor did she have any idea where this particular snake restaurant was but still took us anyway.
We drove out of the city and over a large bridge towards the suburban area of Long Bien, before we inevitably got lost, driving up and down various roads as this young Vietnamese taxi driver didn't appear to have a clue where we were.
Jack held a crumpled up business card with the snake restaurants address up to her and tried his best to help. All I kept thinking was the meter kept ticking and how much it was going to cost us, or if this American guy made the whole thing up, especially when she stopped the cab shouting for directions at a farmer on the side of the road who looked just as puzzled as us - we didn't seem to be getting anywhere.
Eventually she called the number on the business card as we pulled over on the main road waiting for a young guy on a scooter to turn up jesting for us to following him. Why we didn't do this at the beginning i'll never know.
Anyway, not long after, we reached the restaurant, hidden away down a very narrow road near the center of the village. Looking around, it appeared quaint, traditional with no tourists or foreigners anywhere in site. All four of us seemed to be getting plenty of looks from the locals - but more in a curious happy way, than an uncomfortable way.
We were met by a couple of young chefs and a serious looking snake keeper with bite scars all over his hands. Over to my left were insanely small cages with ducks and dogs inside. It was quite shocking. Then to my right were glass tanks where the snakes lay.
The american guy mentioned to Jack that it was around $40 for a snake and would have worked out quite reasonable between four of us.
Again no one spoke much English, making negotiating difficult, but the young chef was adamant on $75.
The snake keeper lifted one of the Cobras up by the tail, giving us a demonstration of his expert handling skills, that according to elders here, is a secret handed down from father to son
In years gone by villagers of Le Mat were trained snake experts called in to remove those poisonous serpents from all around the region. Nowadays they use those skills in the restaurants instead.
Jack scurried backwards displaying his fear of snakes, which seemed odd since he was negotiating to eat its beating heart. However the chef would not budge on his price - and since I was not overly enthusiastic about drinking the blood, nor eat any one of the 7 courses he was about to serve us if we gave him the green light to skin the snake alive - we decided to leave.
None of us wanted to admit defeat and go back to Hanoi with out at least looking around the village to see if we could find a cheaper restaurant instead, plus it was another opportunity to explore.
This was essentially just an agricultural village surrounded by nearby rice terraces, obviously made famous for its snakes.
There was no traffic or busy congested streets full of backpackers like the center of Hanoi, just local people getting on with everyday communal life.
We stopped at a bar for a quick beer which was just an old garage converted with a few stools and sticky tables randomly scattered around. The two men running it were the only people there but seemed more than happy to welcome us in, serving the ice cold beers with salted green nuts, all for less than a pound!
After sitting here for a while our enthusiasm to find another snake restaurant dwindled - none of us seemed that disappointed about it either.
We later passed more smiling families making fresh tofu on the side of the narrow walkways and cooking food - they were so genuinely welcoming and friendly to us - it was very endearing. Some invited us closer to see what they were preparing - like two young girls and their father snipping off the heads of live frogs with scissors for a local delicacy right on the kerb in-front of their house. We watched the headless amphibians hop around for a good few seconds before the girls scooped them into a bowl - it was pretty fascinating, if not a little squeamish to see.
Jack knelt down and filmed the whole thing and the family seemed to love the attention, even posing for the camera with the headless frogs before moving on, passing through an alleyway, and accidentally stumbling across ceramic handicraft workshops busy with scores of people working away, despite our interruption, pausing momentarily only to smile.
The afternoon of exploring the village quickly passed, and even if none of us actually went through with eating the snake or drank its blood, we all felt satisfied to have had a unique opportunity to see a different side of Le Mat other than the obvious tourist trap snake restaurants. Not at any stage were any of us made to feel unwelcome wandering right amongst the locals, and getting as up close and personal as we could have done. They were all so charming and peaceful.
It was far easier to get a cab back to Hanoi this time once we walked back onto the main road, conveniently dropping us off right back in the old town near our accommodation.
Once back, I began contemplating my next move and after a discussion with Mikey the hostel owner, I decided my next stop would be Halong Bay. Admittedly it was a tour but this was the only way to see the famous tranquil bay. Martin the cool easy going Dutch guy would accompany me on the over night boat the following day, so we both booked our tour through the hostel with everything included from food, guide, accommodation and transport. It would be an early start for us so after popping out for a few casual beers and obligatory cheap street food we headed straight back to the hostel for an early night.
Next stop Halong Bay....
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