We arrived very early in the morning in Hanoi, and so after dropping our bags at the hotel we went out on an orientation walk. It was so cold, we could see all the locals also struggling with the cold. They were all gathering around the street food vendors trying to get their hot Pho to heat them up. I got some eggy bread from one of them, and was greeted with much intrigue. I don't think the street vendor or her other clients could believe a westerner was actually buying something from her. You can't go wrong with fried egg bread, and it was a great start to my day.
We would have visited Ho Chi Minh but it was always closed or never the right time of day when we went. Instead we gathered outside to learn some information about Hanoi from Ha. He is from Hanoi, and so was very happy to be back there and seeing his family again.
We visited the places Ho Chi Minh used to live and work from. We also had an impromptu exercise class on Mango Road, which is where HCM used to exercise.
We then walked around the whole complex. Below is the One Pillar Pagoda, which is usually full of tourists. I had to go back to get a quick snap with no one on it!
After a quick coffee, myself and Julia took ourselves off on a walking tour in Julia's guidebook. One thing I noticed in Vietnam is a lot of tourist places have entrance fees, and they all do add up in the end. We were dissuaded from visiting another pagoda because of it.
Vietnam and Hanoi as a whole has so many wires everywhere. I love the fact all the houses along the streets are different and unique.
Hanoi seems to be obsessed with flowers, and there were lots of flower vendors cycling everywhere.
I got a bit carried away walking around, and had to rush back to the hotel for a cycling tour. Naturally the easiest way to get around this busy city is by cyclo. The shot below was taken from my cyclo, which was very swift in getting me to my location.
On the bike tour we cycled over a bridge designed by the same architect at the Eiffel Tower, but it didn't feel so safe going over it. We then went down into the banana plantations and visited a Bonsai tree place. People tend to these trees for years, in the hopes someone will buy it from them for lots of money.
The bridge is in the background.
It was quite slippy on the sand, and I wasn't very good with the changing of gears. Miraculously no one was hurt, although I nearly caused a big collision. Trying to cycle through rush hour traffic was an experience I will never forget, mopeds everywhere!
That night we headed to Madam Hien, a posh Vietnamese restaurant with french influence. It was absolutely devine, as Cheryl would say. I had Cha Ca Thang Long, which was a fish dish with dill and tumeric. The restaurant was in an old colonial building too, and really made an impression on me. When I have more money to spend I want to go back there and try their set menu and their delicious desserts!
We spent one night in Halong Bay, and then the next day was the last day the group was together, as most people were departing onto their next adventures. Some of us decided to go and see the Water Puppets show, which was very clever and creative. It was an experience I am glad I saw, but I am not sure I would go back.
The last supper was a very sad affair. Even though I had ordered delicious Bun Cha, I was very overcome with emotion when we had to say bye to our fellow travellers. It was a strange feeling, because in the beginning when you looked at us on paper we should never have got on as well as we did. We bonded really well as a group, and having travelled for just under a month together it was very sad to say goodbye. I feel like I have lots of new adoptive families from all around the globe, and I hope we can all stay in touch and meet again.
My last day in Hanoi was spent with one of those adoptive families, Cheryl and Catherine from NZ. We shopped till we dropped in the morning and had done so much bargaining we had to eat something. Our fellow travellers had recommended Little Hanoi to us, and I am so thankful they did. We ordered pumpkin soup, spring rolls and make your own rolls. So yummy!
Our hotel was next to the Temple of Literature, and so we had to make sure we popped in for a look. The lady collecting our tickets at the door had made this piece below. She sells her creations, but when we went back later she was gone.
Inside the complex, it was quite confusing and not a lot of English to explain what everything was. There seemed to be some kind of festival on, and it was nice to watch the young Vietnamese having fun together and dancing.
Some more shopping was had, and we made our way back to the hotel as I had to pack for my flight to Singapore the next day. We stopped by this little cafe and were enticed by the girl making the special rice rolls in front of us.
Walking back to the hotel we decided we wanted something sweet, and Catherine remembered a place which sold popcorn. Upon arriving there we noticed lots of the locals eating some strange kind of bean curd dessert. Of course, we had to try, and it was actually not too bad. Cheryl also managed to buy some socks, so in total, it was a winner of a day.
