Vietnam: Old Quarter Hanoi

Personal

Jan 22

Written By

Happy New Year, y'all! Okay, okay... I know the new year was old business. I mean, it was like 22 days ago. But, for me, the new year has really just begun. Stunting my start of the new decade was an amazing two week trip to Vietnam. Sure, it took forever to get there; a combined flight and airport time of 29 hours ... each way (traveling to Asia is no joke). But the warm temperatures, access to authentic Pho, beautiful scenery and the amazing people made those hours totally worth it.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Now, I know what you're thinking... Vietnam? It just so happens my brother Dana has been living in Vietnam since April of last year. This autumn, my mom was tossing around the idea of visiting him there and asked if I'd be willing to go with her. After asking my husband if he would *mind* being a single dad for a couple of weeks (he did mind, but he's an awesome human so he didn't complain too much - to me at least), and getting some finances in order, I booked the ticket alongside my mum. We left New Years day.

The first thing you need to know about Vietnam is that there are vehicles... EVERYWHERE. Our first stop on our trip - old quarter Hanoi - is particularly a chaotic cattle-yard of people, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, trucks, the occasional dog and more motorbikes. Honestly, after coming off the plane with a bit of exhaustion and an empty stomach, dropping into the old quarter was extremely anxiety-inducing. At first, I felt my life was threatened by just crossing the street (think Frogger x 100). To add to the fun, the streets are lined with people, parked motorbikes and market goods, so really there isn't a place to casually observe the chaos. So, when you are outside you are in it... just be careful not to get hit.

After we got our bearings, my brother took us to his favorite coffee shop in Hanoi and we tried egg coffee for the first time. Wonderful, beautiful, delicious egg coffee is made by simply making meringue from egg yolk and sweetened condensed milk then topping that mixture on a hearty shot of espresso. It's dessert and coffee in one and it's fabulous.

We limited our Hanoi time to just over a day and a half and spent the majority of the time observing the chaos, walking around Hoan Kiem lake, eating street food and checking out the night market.

Even though I was totally overwhelmed by Hanoi, I am happy it was our first stop on our journey. In retrospect, I think my brother was right when described the old quarter as "quintessential Vietnam". I think an alternative description could be "Vietnam on Steroids". You could say that Hanoi is the Big Apple of Vietnam - or maybe the Big Mango?