Days Thirty One through Thirty Four — Hanoi, Vietnam (a.k.a., In Which We Eat More and Walk Around More)
Our love affair with Vietnam deepened during the past 4 days in Hanoi.
Hanoi is a city that lives on the streets. We thought Bangkok and Yangon were chaotic; this place outdoes them both in spectacular fashion, though it is fair to say that the chaos here feels more mature, in a way. The city is overrun by motorbikes that obey no traffic laws and barely observe the laws of physics. Red lights are routinely run and we saw bikes drive on the wrong side of the road and go the wrong way down one way streets on multiple occasions. Crossing the street is an adventure that must be experienced to be understood.
Check out Jill’s Instagram for a video that can give you a taste of it but it truly feels like a game of Frogger, whether at a “crosswalk” or not. And because, like in Hoi An, sidewalks are really just parking lots, restaurants, or storage areas, one often if not mostly has to walk in said street just to get from A to B.
And while we’ve posted a lot about food in general on this trip, Hanoi’s food scene is unique. Pretty much every place we’ve been (Bangkok in particular) has a street food culture, usually with cart vendors hawking a specialty dish or two. Hanoi’s brick-and-mortar establishments, for the most part, absorb this role — with tiny storefronts that spill out onto the sidewalks and streets, with little plastic tables and chairs that Addisu could barely fit in. As Adam, an expat who’s lived in Hanoi for 15 years, put it best, most food worth eating in Hanoi is eaten on plastic stools. And there is a LOT of food worth eating here.
The combination of the chaotic vehicle traffic and the ubiquitous restaurant overflow makes the streets of Hanoi seem alive every moment, in a way that only Bangkok has rivaled to date. We loved our four days here and, though we’re not sure we need to come back, we want to. It’s a place that should be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and experienced.
The highlight of Day Thirty One (Friday) was a guided tour through the city by a local university student, Mai, that had been set up by the aforementioned Adam. (We met Adam through Jackson — he heads up the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.) Mai is in her third year in college and was/is part of a program called Hanoikids, in which students offer free tours to tourists in order to help practice their English. Mai — whose nickname is Mam, the Vietnamese word for Fishsauce — didn’t really need the practice as her English was great, but could not have been nicer in introducing us to the city and helping us decide what we needed to see and not see during our time there. Although we can’t promise everyone will be as great as Mai (or have as awesome of a nickname), we recommend Hanoikids to anyone visiting the city.
In addition to giving us our first introduction to bun cha, the local famous dish (more on this later!), Fishsauce took us on a tour of the Temple of Literature, a large walled-in complex in the middle of Hanoi that served as university during much of the last millennium. While it was largely destroyed during the wars of the 20th century (much more on this later, too!), it has been beautifully restored and retains much of the character of an old parochial college campus. It also contains the Khue Van Cac, a pavilion statue that serves as the official symbol of Hanoi in the way that the Golden Gate Bridge is to San Francisco or the Empire State Building is to New York.
Fishsauce then took us on a little walking tour of downtown Hanoi and taught us how to cross the street (critical) before dropping us back off at our hotel. It was a great intro to the city, and most of the self-guided things we did over the next three days were at her recommendation. Thanks Mam! You’re the best!
On Saturday — Day Thirty Two — Adam had arranged for a group of expats, visitors, and locals to take a day trip from Hanoi to the Ninh Binh province and a place called Tam Coc, about an hour and a half drive south of the city. We knew nothing of the place, but piled into a van in the early morning.
It turns out, as always, trusting the locals is a good idea. We pulled up in Tam Coc as the sun came out, into a bustling little port area with a bunch of canoes lined along the shoreline of a river, reminiscent of Inle Lake. Adam, who brought his all-Vietnamese staff along for a day trip, had them negotiate the prices for a canoe ride and we piled into the canoes two-by-two. Hilariously, they have a 2 Tourist/4+ Vietnamese rule for the boats which is either a ploy to make more money off tourists or an acknowledgement of foreigners’ exceptional girth. Or both.
When we saw that our boat driver was a well-tanned Vietnamese lady who had to be pushing 70, we thought we understood a little better. But that woman was in better shape than we will ever be! She pushed away from the dock (which was literally just stairs down into the water) and then leaned back in her chair and took the two canoe oars in her feet. HER FEET! She proceeded to row us all the way down the river and back WITH HER LEGS for over an hour, switching to her arms only briefly along the way.
Like at Inle, this is apparently the rowing method of choice in Vietnam and it makes sense when you think about it. We saw men and (mostly) women along the river who were literally rowing with their legs while checking their cell phones, or fanning themselves, or holding a parasol, or eating fruit. It was insanely impressive, and the Lady (she gets caps status) who rowed us had swag too! Jill took video too on her Instagram if you want to check it out.
The scenery along the river was gorgeous as well, with rice paddies lining the route and enormous rock formations (karsts) jutting out on all sides. Where the water met the rocks it had carved out little caves for us to float through, the ceilings of which were only inches above our heads in places. The Lady rowed out for about a half hour to a small on-river market where we bought a beer from a river vendor, then turned around and cruised back to port as morning became afternoon. What a relaxing and just cool experience.
The expat group met up ashore and grabbed lunch at a restaurant in a town (we have no idea what or where, save the picture we took of the sign) before heading back to Hanoi. The meal was excellent — theme of the trip — including a dish we were trying for the first time called com chay, a beef porridge-like concoction that you pour over what we’re basically savory rice crispy cakes. If you can find a way to get a taste of the stuff, definitely do.
Back in town, we said goodbye to the fellow expats and went on our own walking tour of Hanoi as the sun was starting to set. We started across Westlake, the largest lake in the city, where the highlight was a strange/horrifying “monument” of the capture of John McCain that, well, you should just look at it:
We continued past the presidential palace grounds and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex (more on that later but the views were great at dusk), and through various small parks and courtyards with Lenin statues and playing children.
After a great walk, it was obviously time for more food. A street vendor must have realized we were “hungry” (i.e., no longer too stuffed to eat), and shoved donuts into our hands as samples. Upon tasting them, we of course bought a full tasting bag of deliciousness. Excellent sales tactic — capitalism is alive and well in Vietnam!
Once we got back to the Old Quarter, the section of town where our hotel was located and the heart of the tourist city, the streets had been blocked off to cars and bikes for the weekend and a full block party had erupted. There were families playing in the street, vendors galore, large cartoon mascots (because of course), and masses of locals and tourists alike enjoying a beautiful night. We joined them and strolled through the quarter for a couple hours. We stopped at the legendary Sofitel for a cocktail, Xoi Yen for its famous xoi xeo sticky rice concoction (sticky rice with saffron, mashed peas, and fried shallots), and ice cream from a food truck because Jill would eat ice cream all day if she could. (As an aside, ice cream, or Kem, is extremely popular and delicious in Hanoi, to Jill’s delight. Lactose-intolerant Addisu was less excited).
It was a long but awesome day and we crashed pretty hard after that.
Day Thirty Three, Sunday, was our most traditional tourist day of the four in Hanoi. We got up early to grab a Breakfast of Champions, a bowl of pho at a place called Pho 10 on Ly Quoc Su (Mam’s favorite!), a rather famous foodie street in the Old Quarter. The place was packed and we were seated after a minute next to a couple Vietnamese gentlemen who immediately took pity on us and pointed to what we should order, the Special Bowl. And what have we learned, class? Always trust the locals.
Two delicious Special Bowls of pho later, we headed to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Presidential Palace complex, where we stayed a good three hours. The first hour of three was spent standing in line, an EXTREMELY long line that wrapped for about a mile, waiting to enter the Mausoleum to see Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed and exceptionally well-preserved body. Ho Chi Minh is, to the Vietnamese, probably what George Washington or Abraham Lincoln is to America — he is the political figure most revered and looked to as representing the soul of the nation. Without getting too deep into history here, Ho Chi Minh was the communist leader who led the party (and the armed forces) during the push for independence from the French in the 1940's and 50's and the push for reunification of North and South Vietnam from 1955 until his death in 1969. His image is everywhere in Vietnam as is his famous quote — “Nothing is more precious than freedom and independence.” — which adorns several buildings across town, including the mausoleum that houses his body.
The line to view the body was full of both Vietnamese and tourists, though more of the former given that it was a weekend day, and moved pretty quickly. “Uncle Ho” as he is called is on the top floor and after the long wait, we spent a grand total of a minute in the room. It is a somber scene as any viewing is, the room dimly lit and the body is guarded by several silent military officers. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the Mausoleum but it is quite the experience and worth the wait. The body apparently goes to Russia every year for “maintenance,” which seems to be doing the trick.
We left the mausoleum to tour the rest of the ground, including the nearby presidential palace, the “house on stilts” where Ho is said to have lived, and the One-Pillar Pagoda which is a famous landmark and symbol of the country not unlike the Khue Van Cac. The premises are lovely, and the warm sunny day helped make it even better.
We also visited the Ho Chi Minh museum on site which gave us our first real taste of how history is written in Vietnam. It’s fair to say that it feels different than in the states, to put it mildly. The two major wars of the 20th century — the war for independence against the French and the war for reunification (the “American War” as they call it in neutral terms, or the “war against American imperialism” when describing their true feelings) — are huge points of pride for the Vietnamese history tellers. The museum, perhaps predictably, omits big chunks of what we learn of these wars in the US and tells only of major Vietnamese victories like at Dien Bien Phu and the fall of Saigon. Experiencing the Vietnamese take on what is still recent history — here and at Hoa Lo and the Women’s Museum, as you’ll see below — was the most fascinating part of visiting Hanoi. It was also an interesting look at Ho the politician, who appears to have adopted the “all politics is local” retail style that seems to have resonated with an adoring public.
From the palace complex we continued our history tour at Hoa Lo, the former prison most Americans know as the “Hanoi Hilton.” We did not know, however, that the place had first been a wartime prison for Vietnamese political prisoners to French colonialists before turning into an American POW camp during the Vietnam War. Both eras of its history are covered in the museum in starkly different ways, to say the least. The most interesting section for us was the 2-room portion of the museum dedicated to “the American pilots,” described as essentially hanging out at a posh summer camp for the duration of the war. John McCain seems to have remembered his time there a bit differently. In any event, it was fascinating to see. Jill captured the full 6-minute video of this exhibit because we were so spellbound by their depiction. It’s worth watching.
It was time to eat again, so we fully embraced the American tourist in ourselves and headed to get bun cha at the place where President Obama and Anthony Bourdain when they were here last year. The place is quite proud of the Obama visit (obvs) and even has a menu item called the Obama Special — which we couldn’t get because the spring rolls have shrimp. Jill’s allergy strikes again.
Now seems to be a good time to talk about bun cha, North Vietnam’s answer to Central Vietnam’s cao lau. The main difference between the two is the size of the noodles — the North Vietnamese tend to use thinner, vermicelli-like noodles whereas the cao lau noodles were shoelace-thick and heavy. Bun cha also comes disassembled — you are brought the sweet, vinegary broth in a bowl, and then the noodles and herbs separately. Inside the broth are two kinds of utterly delicious pre-grilled pork — one vaguely resembling fatty bacon, the other more like a ground pork meatball. From there, you assemble and eat. And eat we did! The Obama bun cha was not quite as good as the one we had the following day, but it was comforting to be in the shadow of 44.
The rest of the day was quite relaxing — we returned to the hotel for a little downtime and then spent the evening eating and drinking our way through the Old Quarter. Sense a theme here? Bring stretchy pants and gym clothes on your visit to Hanoi.
Our final day in Hanoi was an overcast Monday which we started with a muuuuuuuch needed 5k run-walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, the small lake that borders the Old Quarter and from which the neighborhood takes its name.
Adam then took us out for lunch at his favorite bun cha place and, as mentioned above, we were not disappointed. Bun Cha 34 is on the outskirts of the Old Quarter and patronized solely by Vietnamese while we were there (which is our shorthand for confirming a place is good). We can’t really articulate why this was better than the Mam or Obama bun cha places but we could taste it — and both of us devoured our bowls in no time flat. Adam then took us across the street for what he called his favorite single dish in Hanoi, a crème caramel at a place usefully called Kem Caramen. The place is so well known for its eponymous dish that other crème caramel places have begun to pop up on the street near and next to it to try and steal business, so they have recently repainted their sign with its address (29!) prominently displayed. The dessert was incredible, like something you would get in France, and we somehow resisted the urge to get several as we bid Adam goodbye and thanked him for the many good pieces of advice throughout our stay.
We spent the afternoon at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, a fantastic series of exhibits on Vietnamese culture and, most interesting to us, war and political history through a gender lens. We learned about several of Vietnam’s ethnic minority tribes (some of which are matrilineal), but we spent the bulk of our time poring over a fascinating collection of stories, photographs, and artifacts collected about women who were guerillas, intelligence officers, warriors, farmers, and just about every other role imaginable in both the French resistance and American war. We were particularly interested in the way Vietnamese propaganda depicted women as both stereotypically mothers AND as soldiers, and the extent of women’s integration into the military was surprising for us. It seemed to go several steps further than the American WWII propaganda of Rosie the Riveter, etc. Overall, the museum was a highlight of the trip for our political junkie selves.
We ended our time in Hanoi the only way it could end — with yet another street food tour. The highlight of this one was a stop for a dish called bun bo nam bo (at a place of the same name), which is essentially the beef version of bun cha with less sauce, more peanuts, and equal deliciousness. The other food we have to shout out here is banh goi, which is basically just a pasty/samosa/empanada filled with some kind of Vietnamese deliciousness. Our favorite were the salty ones filled with pork, vermicelli noodles, and veggies. Each cost about $0.50 max.
Special thanks to Adam, Fishsauce, and the motorbike drivers of the city for taking mercy on us. Hanoi was a blast.
We are off now to Halong Bay for a three day cruise and hike through northeastern Vietnam, likely with bad/no internet service outside of the small burner phone we bought. We’re down to just over two weeks to go which is crazy! The finish line is coming into view…
-J&A