Arrived in Hanoi as scheduled at 830AM on Thursday on a very quick 90 minute flight. Binh, our driver greeted us with a sign and we were on our way. He was more talkative than our Bangkok shuttle driver and gave us some advice including language lessons. Hello "xin chào" and Thank you "Cảm ơn nhiều lắm" so now we're set. On food to try he recommended Bun Cha and mentioned President Obama made one restaurant so famous when he visited that they've tripled in size and have a dish called Obama Cha which is what he ate and loved. I told him I was looking forward to the egg coffee and he said everyone tries it once because it tastes bad and they usually don't want it again. He was funny because he was pretty transparent about what to avoid. He said the Water Puppet Theatre is pretty dull if you don't speak the language and most people fall asleep in the comfortable theatre seats. Binh was pretty cool and when he mentioned he gives food tours, we booked a tour for Saturday.
He dropped us off in front of a shop and pointed to a narrow alley and said our place was through there. He couldn't escort us because he was double parked and traffic was mad. So the alleyway is dark and a little ominous and Finn is starting to get worried after his luxurious Marriott Club stay in Bangkok. But it suddenly opens up after 200 feet into a bright atrium and modern doorway and we enter our building and the Zebra Room. The studio is just as advertised with a modern African decor although it took us a bit of time to locate the second bed -- trundle.
We spent the first hours in Hanoi exploring the Old French Quarter area where we're staying. The shops and eateries are much like Bangkok but of course the menus feature Vietnamese food. The Old Quarter is small enough to manage with walking but the traffic is crazy. No need for BTS here. Binh also warned the 1000's of scooters buzzing around mostly ignore the lights and signs. Finn's advice is to cross the streets with confidence and not flinch and it seems to be working. So far so good and hopefully you won't be hearing from any emergency rooms. We found the travel office to pay for our Friday Halong Bay cruise and Trang, our agent, recommended a great cafe for lunch called Madam Hien. I had Cha Cha (grilled fish and vermicelli) and Finn had duck.
More to come about our Halong Bay cruise and other fun in the next entry.
He dropped us off in front of a shop and pointed to a narrow alley and said our place was through there. He couldn't escort us because he was double parked and traffic was mad. So the alleyway is dark and a little ominous and Finn is starting to get worried after his luxurious Marriott Club stay in Bangkok. But it suddenly opens up after 200 feet into a bright atrium and modern doorway and we enter our building and the Zebra Room. The studio is just as advertised with a modern African decor although it took us a bit of time to locate the second bed -- trundle.
We spent the first hours in Hanoi exploring the Old French Quarter area where we're staying. The shops and eateries are much like Bangkok but of course the menus feature Vietnamese food. The Old Quarter is small enough to manage with walking but the traffic is crazy. No need for BTS here. Binh also warned the 1000's of scooters buzzing around mostly ignore the lights and signs. Finn's advice is to cross the streets with confidence and not flinch and it seems to be working. So far so good and hopefully you won't be hearing from any emergency rooms. We found the travel office to pay for our Friday Halong Bay cruise and Trang, our agent, recommended a great cafe for lunch called Madam Hien. I had Cha Cha (grilled fish and vermicelli) and Finn had duck.
More to come about our Halong Bay cruise and other fun in the next entry.
 |
| American Fast Food Oasis in Hanoi |
Comments
Post a Comment