Hello Hanoi

 Mopeds and Bun cha!

We arrived in Hanoi at midnight to a city very awake and thriving. Late night eateries lined the boulevard on our taxi drive from the airport to the old quarter of central Hanoi. 

At the airport, we had a brief panic at our taxi meeting spot as we could not find my name. After staring at this make shift sign by pillar 9 at arrivals I realized that my name was written in Hiragana above Niamh Gleason (Liam Neeson?). Our driver was patiently waiting for us there and he whisked us off towards downtown.

After a thorough night’s rest and a slow morning walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, Norah and I met Mai and Hang, our foodie tour guides on mopeds, for an afternoon eating our way through the old quarter. We stopped for five authentic Vietnamese/Hanoi dishes along the way-- from bun cha, to Vietnamese coffee, pho cuon, mango pudding, and (snails!!).

( Norah and Hang)

( preparing Banh quon)

(enjoying Bun cha)

The moped rides between stops was super fun even though I had a death grip on my seat as Mai drove deftly through a sea of honking, crisscrossing, speeding mopeds! I was having the time of my life!! 

(the time of my life!)

Midway through the afternoon we stopped for Vietnamese coffee, a rich dark coffee that is slow brewed and fused with condensed milk. We stepped from a narrow alley to a quiet cafe to be greeted by a tiny dog wearing a dress; my new best friend.

(the entrance to Circle coffee bar)

(my new friend)

Mai and Hang drove us around the city, past Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, through a street market and along the West Lake where John McCain was captured during the Vietnam war. It was a lot to think about.

We ended the afternoon with a bowl of steamed snails and then a variety of sweet desserts. I could not finish the snails! But the mango pudding was delightful. 

(That is a lot of snails!)

I really appreciated this start to our adventures in Vietnam. We learned a little about the food and life in this beautiful city from our new friends Mai and Hang. I am looking forward to tomorrow and our journey to Ninh Binh.

(Mai, Norah, and Hang)