Simone Samuels Swans about Hanoi's West Lake

To Vietnam With Love

View Photos (1) Image © 2008 To Vietnam With Love

Excerpted from To Vietnam With Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur, available from ThingsAsian Press. 

What better way to spend a hot, clear, sunny day than in a swan boat with a picnic and my lover? He had wanted to take me out on a romantic date for a long time, so we headed for West Lake and set sail.

We filled our pack with snacks and treats: cute petits fours, croissants, and pastries bought from a bakery on the lake, as well as cheese and crackers and some freshly cut green mango. And we just had to top it off with a bottle of Vietnam’s finest red wine—Vang Dalat. We then made a beeline for the ticket booth where we were a little confused until we figured out that the literally translated “trample boat” referred to the paddle boats shaped like giant swans. In our small avian vessel, we each had a set of pedals, and there was a little steering wheel to turn with. It was really quite simple and not at all laborious. Once we had sailed out far enough that the men fishing on the banks of the lake resembled ants, we enjoyed our little picnic in solitude; there was not a sound and only calm reflections all around us.

It was quite hilarious and fun, and especially great was that we could experience complete seclusion in the middle of the city. Nobody seemed to care how far we went or how long we were gone. As a result, we got sunburned, and then we somehow broke the pedal on one side of the boat. We grew hot and sweaty from the exertion of pedaling with just one pedal, and our convertible roof kept folding down, leaving us in the glaring sun. Despite all this, it was a treat to be out on the lake, to enjoy the sunshine and each other’s company, to get a little tipsy, and to have the opportunity to make out like teenagers where we could not be seen!

After we eventually made it back safely to shore and out of the swan, a three-scoop ice cream sundae completed the experience. My idea of a perfect date.

FACT FILE:

Swanning about
Paddle swan boats can be hired during the day and also in the early evening from a little booth on West Lake’s (Ho Tay’s) busy Thanh Nien Street. The cost is 40,000 VND for an hour. We paid for one hour initially, then paid the difference for the extra hour and a half when we got back to shore. We bought the delicious pastries and cakes from the Nguyen Son Bakery across from the boat ticket booth at 9A Thanh Nien Street, and sat on the roof of the bakery’s café to enjoy an ice cream sundae afterwards.

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Published on 4/11/08