This being primarily a trip to meet and spend time with my fiance's family in Do Luong, we had to sacrifice some aspects of traveling and sight seeing, so we decided to spend a bit more extra time in Sa Pa and in total we only spent about 24 hours in Hanoi. Having lived in Seoul for two years, I can say that Hanoi has a frenetic pace and sense of transportation chaos that makes South Korea feel like the countryside of rural Indiana, so maybe 24 hours in Hanoi was enough for my nervous system. However, from what I was told, the French Quarter or Old Quarter, as it's called, is really the craziest part of the city. It's where foreigners go to party. I have no doubt that this is true after going there.
But in the center of the city, there's a big lake which is popular with locals and tourists alike to grab an ice cream and stroll around. It was equally busy during day and night. The weather was quite hot these days, so we generally kept our time outside exposed in the streets limited. I must say though in the blueish hued picture below, which was taken around 5AM at sun rise, being in Hanoi before the street traffic really starts and it's still quiet is quite nice and peaceful.
Having very limited time to spend in Hanoi before we needed to head back to Vinh and Do Luong, we decided to prioritize seeing my fiance's childhood friend who moved there and was running a shop and of course - eating!
First up, my fiance and I insisted that going to "Bun Cha Obama" or officially known as Bun Cha Huong Lien was a must while we were in Hanoi. It just so happened U.S. President Obama made a historical diplomatic visit to Vietnam weeks before our trip and food blogger and tv celebrity figure Anthony Bourdain brought him to what he believes is the best bun cha in Hanoi. We both happen to be a fan of all of the above, so we hopped in a cab and headed over.
We went around 11:00AM and the place was already packed wall to wall for 4 full floors of seating. Even though it was technically still morning, we saddled up and ordered beer and the regular dish of bun cha, which is a pile of steamed rice noodles, fresh herbs and veggies, spring rolls and a bowl full of a sweetened fish sauce concoction with chunks of veggies and charred meat inside. It was unreal delicious and the perfect atmosphere. It was fun to see so many locals there enjoying the food and foreigners and locals alike posing in front of the pictures of President Obama. It was also a good thing we got there early because at lunch time when we left the line was literally around the corner of the block.
My fiance's friends clothes shop called Tiem Con Cong was really cool to visit. Everything there was handmade and uniquely Vietnamese and colorful. She surprised my use with custom and handmade shirts for us to wear which we dawned last weekend. Couples shirts are big in Asia from what I understand, so I go along with it in good fun.
And in the interest of including a couple other random photos I liked, up above is a cool and really old Russian motorcycle I saw by the lake below is one of me crushing a banh mi sandwich for a snack.
I have to say, I really want to go back to Hanoi again for at least a few more days and explore it more. I'm really interested in the Vietnam War history and of the French Colonial Era in Vietnam, so I feel like there's so much for me to see that I missed. However, I'm pretty happy with the 24 hours I was able to cram in while it lasted!
Vietnam was a great trip. I can't wait to go back. I can't wait to plan my next trip together with my fiance as well! Where should we go next?