Hanoi- Day 1 and 2
We arrived in Hanoi around 1 pm and felt much better as the temperature was a cool 65 degrees! We needed our jackets- which was fine with me as I was kind of tired of the hot weather… it is just not very conducive to walking around…The plane ride, btw, was very pleasant. I am not sure why in the US, our planes and service suck!! Here, we had a 2 hour plane ride, the aircraft was new and big, the seats reclined like magic and they gave us a snack that was actually worth eating!! What is it with United and all the other American carriers?
Anyway, we made our way to the old quarters in Hanoi and it was crowded with tiny little streets with loads of people. It totally reminded me of Delhi, even more than Ho Chi Minh City. I grew up in Delhi and moved to the US when I was almost 13, so for me to come to a place that reminds me of home, is not necessarily very exotic. For my daughter on the other hand, it is very different, especially since she is not used to very crowded places and since we haven’t really visited that many third world countries, this is a very new experience for her. It is hard for me to disconnect and enjoy the place for what it is…although I am trying…
We walked into our hotel which seemed like an oasis in the middle of a very very busy area- all the senses were being assaulted!!! We unpacked and went for a walk, making our way around the crowd and the traffic- did I mention loads of traffic?? Wow, it was quite stressful, weaving our way around the side walks. We walked to the lake which is in the middle of the city and decided to sit at a roof top cafe overlooking the city- very beautiful. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle. We rested for a bit and walked aroud the lake, admiring the corners of all the different neighborhoods, some more upscale than the others. Lots of markets with silk, etc and lots of street food- these people love to eat! My kind of place!
We walked back to the hotel- again, battling the crowd.. and decided to get a drink at the hotel bar. We ventured out again briefly as it was getting dark… We noticed all the bars and restaurants had outdoor seating- tiny little stools were all over the street corners where people were sitting and drinking local beer and eating snacks and people watching. People in Vietnam love their coffee and beer! The streets were beautifully lined with Christmas lights. I found myself relaxing and feeling good about being in this beautiful city.
We were eating at a restaurant called Red Bean which happened to be at our hotel- perfect! No fighting any traffic to go anywhere. The restaurant was very highly rated for it’s tasting menu. We decided to do the Vietnamese set menu and ate delicious food, including some rice dumplings, fried pork dumplings, pho, bbq pork in a delicious broth and finished off with a sweet, filled with spice syrup and rice balls. It was a great experience…
So, I am really looking forward to tomorrow- why you ask? Well, I just booked a 9 am massage for myself- yay!!! The hotel we are in happens to have an extremely high rated spa as well- lucky me!!
So, the next morning I walked over to the sister hotel as the spa in our hotel was booked for the morning and the other one was as good as this. I walked out before 9 and it was already very crowded but I was already used to the hustle and bustle… I almost enjoyed it, looking around at the now familiar sights. The Vietnamese people love to eat, especially on the streets and majority of the vendors are women preparing the tasty dishes. My massage was fantastic and I came out super relaxed and ready for the day. We explored different parts of the city including the French quarters- very different to the area we are staying in- this area looks more normal, meaning, it is not as crowded and busy. It resembled a European city. We had breakfast in our hotel so we weren’t very hungry for lunch and decided to stop at a cafe over looking the lake where food was nothing special but the view was spectacular- sometimes one needs to give up on the food!
We sat there for a while and headed back to our area to rest up before dinner.
After a lot of contemplation, we chose a restaurant called Essence, as it had very high ratings. So… We made our way there after a rest and a visit to the area called Bia Hoi corner where they serve freshly brewed beer and everyone sits on tiny stools and drinks this beverage.
Dinner was sumptuous…. It included a mango and shrimp salad, a bamboo cooked beef and a passion fruit ice cream. We washed it down with a bottle of Chilean Rose bubbly- it was really, really good.
All in all it was a great day. We have one more day in Hanoi and then one day in Hong Kong- I will have my closing thoughts tomorrow…
