Part I- Vietnam- 2 Days in Hanoi.

 

The anticipation of the trip builds up, especially because this time we knew what to expect, with a lot of friends and family who had visited. Also, Internet Content available tells us that we will have warm hospitality, an economical/budget-friendly trip, and an Unforgettable Experience.

It's a trip I am taking after a year, so unburdening and unwinding are the Goals before we start.

I am told, "The coffee is supposed to be a legend".

We pack our bags (1 Medium Check-in & 1 small backpack) for me, and we are all set to go. (The last part is where you will know why i am giving you this piece of data).

The Niyo card website delivered the forex card in 2 hours & Currency also the next morning.

 

Day 1 in Hanoi

Landed In Hanoi:

We cancelled Sapa, which was on the plans. 

We chose a hotel randomly. 

1. No early Check-in, so we leave our bags & go out for coffee.

The thing Vietnam is largely famous for is coffee.

We are recommended Cafe Giang for its egg Coffee, which was a first-time try in my life.

The egg coffee we had was definitely as yummy as it looks in the pic. We chose the ice one. (90k Dong for 2).

 

                Iced Egg Coffee.

Then we wandered around in the Old Quarters looking at things & taking in the sights. For lunch, we had Avocado Banh Mi at BanhMi 25.

 

We saw pedestrians and street shop sellers who passed by, wearing the Unique Vietnamese hat.

 

The French Quarter, where our hotel was situated, is much more sophisticated and spaced out with a Colonial Vibe.

In the evening, we went to the night market. The night market reminded me of the linking road/fashion street in Mumbai. What we are told & also figured is that things are generally more expensive in the night market. What we bought- Coasters70k(Dong), 2 tops & 1 shirt (1 lac Dong) & 2 posters (2 lac Dong) for framing.

We had a passion fruit Juice which was yummy.

 

For Dinner: It was fine dining with Vegetable noodles, rice paper rolls & orange coffee.

The Orange Coffee, Veggie Noodles & the Rice Paper Rolls.

Day 2 In Hanoi

We wandered around without an agenda for the day. We soon reached the Lake. It is a great place in the city and gives a break from the chaos of the city. The lake as a background would serve great for Instagram Pictures. There are talented artists on the periphery of the lake- caricature artists, charcoal artists, musicians..

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

While walking on the lake we came across a Uniqlo. My advice to a person walking into a Uniqlo in Vietnam - you will not be able to walk about before 2 hours ... I think we spent 3 hours...

I came across a book shop and bought 2 Vietnamese classics translated into English.

We had our first authentic pho and mango salad of the trip.

Pho.

On the way back, we saw in the heart of the city a treasured monument in Hanoi- St. Joseph's Cathedral. 

The day ended with a coffee in a cafe, sitting on a balcony watching the world go by, sipping on a coffee with longan and sweet lotus seeds.

        Coffee on a balcony in a cafe in Hanoi

We prepared for meeting the Migrant Musings group, which we were to join early the next day. Since we were all to meet at the airport, we took a cab to a hotel we had booked for the night near the airport.