There’s lot to do in Hanoi and so we chose what we wanted to do for the day. Visiting the Old Quarter sounded interesting, and so we set off in the mid-morning.
Google said it well: Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is known for its centuries-old architecture and a rich culture with Southeast Asian, Chinese and French influences. At its heart is the chaotic Old Quarter, where the narrow streets are roughly arranged by trade.
But first, we crossed the street to visiting the pagoda on the little island just in front of Dieter’s apartment, with Chris also looking for a GeoCache.
Coffee was next! Every second shop in this area seems to be a coffee shop, with many kinds of coffee available. We crossed the busy road (see video of how that works!) and then settled in to a coffee shop for our first 2 types of coffee: coffee with milk and yogurt coffee.
Yogurt coffee is a shot of very strong espresso poured over Greek yogurt. Chris ordered that and it was really good. And coffee with milk is just that…very strong and good but not as interesting as yogurt coffee. In addition, this coffee shop had a resident cat, which is always a bonus.
After fortifying ourselves with caffeine, we crossed another busy street and found the bus #31 heading to the Old Quarter. Google Maps does an amazing job of bus schedules around the world, and Hanoi is no exception. The bus cost about $0.30 (7,000d) and there were few people on board, but pretty much everyone had a mask, so we made a note to bring some with us the next time.
We explored around the Old Quarter, buying some shorts and 2 SIM cards at one place, haggling somewhat since it’s expected. Then we walked to find the massage place that Chris had found and wanted to schedule a massage. The massage place offers massages by blind and other visually impaired people, and it had good ratings. A 90-minute massage was about $19 USD (450,000d) which is amazing. They could take her right then, so Chris had a massage while I had pho for lunch and explored some more. The pho was good, and I shared my table with a Singaporean couple who live in Sydney and had just returned from Bangkok. They told me to expect the pho to evolve as we headed south towards Ho Chi Minh City, with more bean sprouts on top and other changes. Most pho in the US is similar to the pho from the south of Vietnam, since many Vietnamese came from Saigon after the end of the war and the fall of Saigon.
Next up after the massage was the Water Puppet Theatre. Dieter had recommended it and Chris also had found it in our guidebook. We walked over to the theatre and had crossed yet another crazy busy street. Chris got help from a local who noticed her fear and kindly stopped traffic and walked her across the street. It’s intimidating for sure.
We bought tickets to the show and then had 40 minutes to have coffee. This time: egg coffee and coconut coffee. Egg coffee is like custard mixed with coffee and coconut coffee is frozen coconut milk with strong espresso poured over. Chris had the egg coffee warm, but it can be ordered cold which might be better since it would set that way, maybe like crème brûlée with coffee? The coconut coffee was delicious. I’ll get that again.
After coffee, we went back to the theatre and took our seats. Live musicians play traditional music to a performance of marionettes controlled underwater…quite amazing. The plot revolves around traditional themes, played with great energy and humor. At the end of the performance the people who control the marionettes all came forward for much deserved applause. A definite must see if in Hanoi.
And then, we found our way back on the now quite crowded bus, (crossed the road) and found a bar just a couple doors down from Dieter’s place to enjoy a beer and the quiet. Hanoi takes a lot of energy to visit and it’s not for the faint of heart! We could have taken cabs to get places, but both Chris and I like to figure out public transport as part of the experience.
Back home now, Dieter took us on a 5-minute walk to one of his favorite restaurants, where he ordered different foods for us to try. It seems like almost item starts with the word pho, so we need to get in the habit of taking pictures of the names of the food we like so we can order them next time. We liked the rolls to the left on the below picture the best of anything that evening.
On the stroll home after dinner, we detoured a few blocks so Dieter could introduce us to the owners of another restaurant where we will go the next night while Dieter is away. The night was warm and lovely. I had eaten more than I needed but had no regrets.
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