Vietnam was a last minute spontaneous trip. I got a call from my friend, Cristin Abrams asking if I wanted to go on a trip with her to China. Heck yes I did, so we started planning China, due to their strict visa rules, we just didn't have time to make that work, so we decided to go to Vietnam instead. Kevin was amazing enough to give me the green light to go, so we bought plane ticket and packed our bags. Corianne Schwarts also joined us, making us the three amigos! It was a fast weekend in Vietnam, but life long friendships were forged and another of God's beautiful country, people and culture was explored!
Welcome to Hanoi Old Quarters. This is where our hotels were, so a lot of our time was spent here.
The traffic is insane here! There are so many scooters and bikes, and no one follows the traffic laws. Just like Bali, you would see entire families all crammed onto one scooter, it was crazy! The scooters would weave in and out of traffic, run all traffic lights, drive on the sidewalk and even drive on the wrong side of the road.
Our big joke was that one of us would have a "death by scooter". The streets are dirty and all the houses look so small, old and run down. My first night here, I was seriously wondering why I came to Vietnam, and why anyone would possible want to come here. By my last day, though, I fell in love and absolutely cherished my time in Vietnam!
We were starving so we headed over to the heart of Old Quarter. This huge cruise ship looking building is called the Ham Ca Map Building. We headed there for some food. This building rests right by the HoahKiem Lake.
After we ate, we headed over to the lake to see all the sites around the lake.
One of the most eye catching views is a red bridge that takes you half way across the lake to the Ngoc Son Temple. We really wanted to see the temple, so we headed over there.
When we got to the bridge passage, the gate was locked and all the doors were closed. We learned that we were 5 minutes too late and the temple was closed for the night. We attempted two other times to make it to the Ngoc Son Temple, but we weren't ever able to cross the bridge, or even get close for that matter.
On Sunday, when we came back to Old Quarter, we found that the entire central part of Old Quarter was closed to the traffic. The roads were wide open and filled with kids running, parents walking hand in hand, balloon makers, K-pop bands, shops and street vendors. In the middle of the square was a huge stage, which we found out was a fashion runway for the fashion show that would be going on Sunday night. It was crazy busy with so many people in the heart that you could barely walk. But towards the outskirts, it was fun seeing a huge open road.
The shopping in Hanoi is super cheap. Most of the stores are "Made in Vietnam" stores. You can find anything from knock-off North Face backpacks to rain jackets to sweaters. There were paper lanterns, pottery, clothes and so many toys!
One of my most favorite streets we went down by accident and sadly right after we had just eaten. There was a restaurant alley, with hundreds of restaurants. Each person would attempt to stop us and ask if we wanted to eat and then try to persuade us as to why we had to sit down at their restaurants.
The way the Vietnamese people eat is on these super tiny stools on super short and small tables, or even just a third stool in the middle to act as a table. The stools are low to the ground and look as if they were made for a toddler. You would find these little stools all over the city with large adults squatting down on a tiny stool eating something delicious. Someday, I want to go back down this alley, but starving so I can stop at multiple restaurants.
On our last day in Hanoi, we went in search of a good Pho restaurant in the Old Quarter! You can't come to Vietnam and not have authentic Pho!!
It was so funny because we didn't know if it was pronounced Pho (with a long o sound), or Ph(ah). We asked so many people and each person gave us a different answer, so even to this day, I don't know how to pronounce Pho, but I DO know what it tastes like, and I loved it!
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