MOLI VIEW™

Perhaps my last blog painted a harsh picture of Hanoi — actually, it's hardly third world squalor or a city marked by spare, judgmental communist minimal architecture. Though tall, impossibly skinny buildings lined up along busy streets with nary an alleyway between them are the norm, there is also the picturesque Old Quarter with French colonial-style buildings, promenades along the lake and swan-shaped peddle boats for lovers.

As I mentioned before, over 50% of the population is under 25 and the city buzzes with the vitality of its "electric youth". Outdoor bars called "Bia Hoi" where people sit in what we would regard as kid-sized plastic chairs and tables on the street, are popular after work for their 10 cent beers and platters of fried corn (literally kernels deep fried and scattered on a plate to eat with your hands). And the city runs on coffee (ever since the French got them hooked), though they have a specialty I had never heard of before Vietnam — weasel coffee or "ca phe chon." Rest assured, no weasels are harmed in the making of it, but rather play an important role in creating it. Weasels or actually, a creature called a civet cat, eat coffee beans from coffee plantations and excrete the digested, fermented seeds into the jungle. These wild coffee plants provide beans for an unusually smooth brew, twice naturally selected for superior flavor.

Fashion is important in Hanoi, though the small sizes and homemade, crafty quality of the clothing make its appeal pretty limited. A stop into Khai Silk, a chain owned by one of Vietnam's only openly gay men, is worth a stop. A Missoni-style marbled cashmere and silk blend scarf will set up back about $65. Song, a clothing store geared towards Westerners is great for a white cotton dress that looks like something Catherine Denueve wore in the 1992 movie Indochine: cool, practical and cheap at about $35. And of course, there is the copycat tailoring. I brought over my favorite dress of all time: A red and white flower print linen dress that fits me like a glove, and had it copied perfectly at To Thang Nga for $40 (including cost of fabric, labor and delivery to my hotel). But apparently, the thing to do is bring in pictures from your favorite fashion magazines and have the tailor take your measurements and make an exact replica.

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