Hanoi - Last Day

Our final full day in Hanoi was more jam-packed than our normal two-adventures-per-day schedule. First stop, after yet another amazing breakfast buffet at our hotel, was to find a sports bar to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals with my beloved Warriors facing the Cavaliers. Anne posted a query on a TripAdvisor forum, and the owner of the Puku bar responded that - yes indeed - they would have the game playing.  Due to the time change, we were watching the game in a room full of expats at 7 AM Monday morning.  More and more people showed up, and by game’s end there were maybe 200 people crammed into a viewing room.  Despite the unfortunate outcome of a Warriors loss, it was still fun to watch.

NBA Finals in Hanoi

Next adventure was a Hanoi Street Food Tour.  Eighteen of us went traipsing through Old Hanoi, led by a  charming 22 year old woman named Phoenix.  Over the next three hours, we sampled seven dishes at six different places.  We started with a pork ball soup with vermicelli rice noodles, followed by a green papaya salad with dried beef and mint (my favorite), then rice noodle crepes filled with beef, a sampler of fried things, a variety of desserts (including a tasty green sticky rice ice cream), some Banh Mi sandwiches, and a Vietnamese egg-drop coffee.  I’m not a coffee drinker, but the egg drop coffee was great. As a bonus, some of the Vietnamese words now make sense: Bo is beef, Bun is rice noodles, Che is “sweet things”.

Well stuffed from the afternoon tour, we visited a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show.  The stage is a shallow pool of water, and the puppeteers stand behind a wooden screen and use long use sticks to control the puppets.  This art form evolved from rice-patty culture, as the people were used to standing in knee deep water all day long anyway. They had a variety of scenes, including a dragon scene with real live waterproof sparklers, and a re-enactment of the Legend of the Recovered Sword, for which the neighboring lake in Hanoi is named.  Everyone enjoyed the show, even the kids.

After the show, we walked through the nicer part of Hanoi, and looked at a few shops, including a store that sold ukuleles and one that had traditional propaganda posters, and settled for a dinner near the “church”.  I didn’t eat, but Sue and the kids fueled up.  The drinks were particularly well presented.

I think we finally have Hanoi figured out.  We can cross the street and not get hit by a scooter, and between knowing a few landmarks and using Google Maps, we are able to return to our hotel from anywhere.  The one final discovery for me was that I was overpaying for taxis by 10x, as I didn’t see the decimal point on the meter.  At 20,000 dong per dollar, the meters read 20,000 as 20.0.  So a couple of $1 taxi rides cost $10, but since the average monthly income in Vietnam is $300, I think I’ve earned some good karma points by bonusing a few lucky drivers.

Tomorrow we head for a three day cruise on Halong Bay. Can’t wait!

Hanoi Part II

Today’s big adventure is a Vietnamese cooking class.  We called the Blue Butterfly restaurant at 9 AM, and they were able to accommodate us at 10.  Chef Tien met us at the hotel, and we tools a quick cab ride to his “Orchid restaurant” where we got to pick our menu to cook.  From there, we walked to the market, where we bought the ingredients for our meal, and got to try a few things on the way.  Bryce discovered some delicious lychee nuts, we al sampled some cinnamon pork, and I got to try a hard-boiled fertilized dick egg, made famous by Survivor.  Despite being able to see the duck’s beak, the egg was really good, as it was served in a mild sauce.  It was meatier than a normal hard-boiled egg. I’d eat it again.

Back at the restaurant, we proceeded to make our meal.  First up: deep fried spring rolls. We chopped pork, carrots, shallots, bean sprouts, and a few other things, and then formed the mixture into little rice paper burritos. We also used the chopped pork to make little pork sliders, which were combines with cut pork and barbecued.  We also had a chicken stir fry, and a black rice and coconut milk dessert.

After an hour or so of cooking, we sat down to enjoy our meal. It was delicious. and Chef Tien showed us how to present it as well.

This was a truly unforgettable way to enjoy Hanoi, and I’d recommend it to anybody.

Hanoi Part I

We arrived in Hanoi today for the start of our two week journey through Vietnam. After a slightly less-than-efficient immigration through customs, we embarked on our drive to the Sofitel Metropol, our hotel.  It was a good thing we had a driver, as traffic rules in Hanoi are quite unlike anything we've ever seen.  Hanoi seems to be the motor scooter capital of the world, and they outnumber all other vehicles by at least five to one.  The people here are all very skilled drivers, as some of the scooters came within inches of our van.  We even caught a few people texting and scootering.  More on traffic later...

We met up with some of our group at the hotel, and immediately ventured out into old town Hanoi for an authentic Vietnamese street dinner.  We are near the "lake of the recovered sword", so named for a legend about a turtle who brought back a sword to help fight off the Chinese invaders 1000 years ago. Walking next to the lake was quite pretty, as there is a lit pagoda illuminating the waters with some of the other lights of the city.

Lake of the recovered sword at night

Crossing the street here for the first time feels sketchy.  As there are few traffic lights, tons of scooters, and a few cars, the normal rules don't apply.  And travelling in a group of 15 or so - including kids - adds an extra layer of complexity.  We settled on a strategy of avoiding cars, letting motorbikes avoid us, and walking in a slow predictable manner to let the traffic react to us.  So far - no casualties.


Old town Hanoi is equally crazy. The streets are narrower, and even though some areas are dominated by pedestrians, a few determined motorbikers insist upon making passage.  Given the lack of space, many of the restaurants use kindergarten-sized plastic stools for seats, and slightly taller ones for the tables.  Our first meal had wooden seats and tables, but sized for small people still.

hanoi Street food feast

We ordered a variety of things - sometimes randomly.  "Ink balls" and stir-fried frog came out, along with more familiar things like sweet potato fries, and deep fried cheese.  And of course beers aplenty.  Many in our group are in the "try everything once" camp, and I'm no exception.  All in all, the food was tasty, even if a bit unfamiliar.