Hanoi, Vietnam
The capital of Vietnam was a culture shock I didn’t expect. It is busy! Coming out of the airport, we were hit by a heat wave, and here I thought South Korea had been hot. I was wrong. Hanoi is hot! At least another level! We found ourselves, first settling for some Pho (noodle soup). It was cool enough in the airport to enjoy, and it’s one of the dishes I’ve heard not to miss. It was subtle in its mild flavored broth and the steaming rice noodles. Then, on a bus and off, we go, with a full stomach and ready for what this city might bring.
Hectic Hanoi
Coming into the city, it got increasingly crowded with scooters and motorcycles dodging cars and each other, sometimes driving with loads more oversized than the bike, or their whole family, mom, dad, and two kids—furthermore, regular bikes driving along the road with the classical pointy straw hat. I’m amazed at how everything went smoothly, even though there were many honks. Everyone seemed to drive in a sort of dance. In the city, it was just as organized chaos as the highway. And the sidewalks were filled with restaurants with chairs and tables in the streets, and scooters parked everywhere, so to get on, you had to walk with the cars. We also quickly learned that you don’t often wait for the light in Vietnam. You just put one foot in front of the other and walk, and then magically, the traffic swirls on around you, and you will arrive at the other side, maybe feeling ready to breathe again. You have survived.
Train street
After lodging, we went out again to see the famous train street. We arrived at a closed area … unfortunately. Dreadfully just two weeks prior, some tourists had been hit by the train. So, the government decided it was time to close it down. While standing and pondering what to do, a guy from one of the terraces started waving at us. We waved back and saw two heads and some cold beers peering out just by his side. Can we be one of the lucky ones to still come in? Walking around the building, we met our friend greeting us; with another wave, he led us through his home, up the stairs to a small terrace overlooking the street, hallelujah. We found a spot! At the deck, we were greeted by two other travelers, a couple coming from the Netherlands. We ended up having a golden view of the train! It was a fantastic evening. With our new friends, we ended up sitting and chatting and could see the train pass three times before emptying our lodger’s fridge. With him cheering us on every time a train arrived, we noticed that some would go to the tracks to make an offering by burning money on the trails. It was a wonderful evening.
Breakfast
We woke up with a smile on our lips after a memorable evening. It is the best way to start your day. And then breakfast. Out in the hectic Hanoi, we fastly went to one of the first cafes that looked promising. Here we had some egg croissants, frozen coffee, and a smoothie. It was not the greatest, but a Vietnamese boy came and sat next to us after a while. Unwrapping his breakfast, some banana leaves only held together with a bit of grass. I tried not to be rude, but my curiosity just grew. It was some green flakes that he sat and muffled up with his hands. I couldn’t help but interrupt him politely, asking what he was eating; he gave a short introduction and handed us a package saying we could have it! After eating a little, we found a new dish with sticky rice and macadamia nuts. The boy turned to us and apologized for not giving us his full attention but finishing his game first (I’m amazed at the politeness and kindness of the Vietnamese). He then told us about who he was, a student living nearby, and even shared some of the green flakes with us, explaining it was called Com Ha Noi (sweet chewy rice flakes). I tried to see his favorite restaurant; he answered his mother’s cooking. But after a little more talk, there were two other restaurants he did like but not as good as the home-cooked meal.
Water puppets and a bit of history
After we went on to the prison museum, it was interesting to learn a bit about the history of Vietnam. I thought I would walk in only to hear about the American war; we knew about the occupation of France and how they had been occupying Vietnam for many years before Vietnam won it back for only 1o year and then had to fight again for their freedom, for a war that would last around 30 years more. It was a short history but enlightening to see. We met up afterward with our friends from the day before to have dinner and see a water puppet show. The food was delicious: sauteed beef and mushrooms in a rice milk skin and fresh spring rolls. After the show, it was terrific, even though none of us had a translation. We heard the traditional music and saw how they would move the puppets and scenes with bamboo and string underneath the water. It was a fabulous show! After, we went for some beer in the old beer district, it was vibrant with all the people, but we managed to find a spot.
Drip drip drop
And so it rained. The next day was primarily spent trying the restaurants our Vietnamese friend had recommended, so for breakfast; we went out for Bun Bo Nam Bo, and it was a great meal consisting of rice noodles, a bit of broth salad topped with fried onion, peanuts, lime, and cilantro. So well put together and the only dish you could order. Then you know it’s good! We walked around, seeing a temple and just taking in all caps. For dinner, we had another Pho made with braised brisket. It was a very chill day, and even though it was rainy, it felt perfect.
Then on we go! We had decided to join our friends from the Netherlands to venture on to Sapa, a city up in the far north, a bit calmer and rainy. But with beautiful nature and old cultures.
Second visit, A bump in the road
Back Thinking we were ready to go off to the following country. Yay, here we come, Laos… But alas. We spent 24 hours trapped on a bus with not much food. The reason for this is that after seeing Sapa and Cat Ba in Halong Bay (Blogs on their way), we took the bus to the border to discover that even though they wrote on the internet that you could get a visa at the border control, it was restricted to only a few border controls, not ours. We then got sent back to Hanoi. To top it a little, the bus got stuck in a hole on the road to the border control. For about one and a half hours, in the middle of the night, we were standing in the rain, waiting, and praying that we would make it. On the way back, we had a queen-sized area where we could rest, so that part felt okay. Even though they also snapped my Ukulele in half (later to get fixed by David). Honestly, it was Quite a ride…
Not that bad
Back to the city we go to! I don’t know if it was because we hit rock bottom during our bus ride, but this second visit was fantastic. First thing when we got off, they had a Yamaha festival going. Down at the lake, there were several stages and a ton of street food. We spent some time walking around trying some exciting snacks. We also found an alley with a giant ice cream stand. One thing they served was mochi filled with ice cream. We had a strawberry one. After enjoying the festiveness, we lodged in the old quarter. The next day we took another stroll on the train street, finding bubble tea with dark caramel flavor and milk tea. Yummy. Here we met some other tourists, who led us on to try Bun Cha Dac Kim (cold noodles with a meat soup for dipping your noodles in, and some salad you could add in any way you pleased). We also visited some areas we had missed, with different temples and parks. It was a fantastic day! And showed us some of the more relaxed parts of Hanoi out from the old quarter, which is more hectic.
We decided to go to Tokyo instead. The adventure continues in Japan!
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