Day Twelve: Hanoi (Last Day)

Hanoi -- the last day

I am bereft. It's our last day in glorious Hanoi -- so much food, so little time! Letting D sleep in, I head off to find pho -- and chance upon a real hole in the wall stall that is filled with locals. Pointing meekly, I order a whole of steaming pho and am comforted by the soft noodles, tender meat and gingery and savoury soup.

I love watching -- just watching -- the world go by in the Old Quarter, sipping a class of sweet cafe da (iced black coffee). A grandfather carries his grandchild past a shop of weaved baskets; a man gently hangs up his songbird in the shade a a willowy tree; scooters toot and weave among vendors, pedestrians and small animals. Life seems to pass with such leisure here.

We have lunch at Green Tangerine (again):

Foie Gras in a congac dressing


Onion tart


Seabass with Almonds


Beef Cheek with Red Wine


Meringue with passionfruit and chocolate

The Church

Eating our way down to our last dollar (literally)

We quench our thirst at the dessert stall (che) at Ta Hien street. It's been a daily treat. Sweet sticky cold tau suan (Split green bean soup), tang yuan (rice dumplings), jelly cubes, kedney beans, red beans, coconut cream, sweet potato bits, crunchy dried coconut flakes, dried persimmon and other sweets topped with ice and served in a glass.

And then! We meet doughnut lady...

The Doughnut Lady

She plies the streets of the Old Quarter, a large tin basin of doughnuts under her arm. The first time we meet her -- our first day in Hanoi -- her eyes meet D's and a huge happy grin spreads over her face. There must be something in D's face that saysI LIKE DOUGHNUTS, because she hurries over and tries sell us some. But we've just eaten and say no thanks, maybe later. So everyday from then on, we bump into her and each time, we've just eaten (we eat a lot), so we turn her down, much to her increasing frustration. As the days pass, she pleads more imploringly for us to buy doughnuts. Finally, as we have our last glass of che, down to our last 9,000vnd (S$0.70), Doughnut Lady notices us and stalks over, this time, almost demanding that we buy her doughnuts. It's our last day and we relent, but our remaining 9,000vnd is not enough for the 20,000vnd bag of three sticks of doughnuts!

Money no enough!

We shake our heads and ask her for only one stick. D, trying to explain, opens his wallet and shows her its contents -- empty but for a single US dollar -- his lucky dollar. She grins and indicates that that last USD is just enough to cover our purchase. We laugh and hand it over, feeling half amused and half coerced, but not unimpressed by her tenaciousness. The doughnuts are cold, greasy, sickly sweet, chewy and awful. And that's how we ate ourselves down to our last dollar in Vietnam, where the plucky, resourceful and die-hard spirit that won them the war against a formidable Western power lives on.

Day Twelve: Hanoi, Hoa Lu & Tam Coc

Olde Temples in the Ancient Capital of Vietnam (Hoa Lu)

The journey to Hoa Lu took us through long stretches of highway and packed bumpy roads. It was harvest season. In some communities, each household dries its own harvest of rice along driveways and flat surfaces -- any flat surface. In fact, a whole lane of a quiet highway is covered in a layer of light brown grain as it dries in the scorching sun.

Drying Grain

Hoa Lu is was once, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and is rural area that still bears the relics of the 10th century. It is a lovely picturesque area, filled with rice plantations and limestone mountains

The Temple

Tam Coc: Halong Bay on Land

Around us the greenery wrapped limestone mounds rise out of the mirror-like lake which winds its way past a lush carpet of rice plants. We see villagers hard at work, harvesting the rice; white smoke drifts up in the distance and the whirr of a machine can be heard. Our boat rower uses her arms, then feet to aptly guide the long thin metal skiff through the clear water. It is breathtaking here -- and also as a large sign declares, Safe and Friendly.

Day Eleven: Hanoi

The Streets of Hanoi

Day Ten: Hanoi

No.1 Cafe

Started the day with a fantastic foot scrub and massage along Hang Buom, a street named after rattan baskets and other crafts and a cup of strong cafe da (iced black coffee) at No.1 cafe. The place is run by a pair of gorgeous Vietnamese ladies. The sisters (or cousins?), are in their fourties of fifties but have the beautiful skin, large soulful eyes and faded glamour of Shanghai opera singers or movie starlets. A little chihuahua runs amok and under the legs of tables and customers, yapping shrilly and fearlessly at the laden scooters that zip past, or the vegetable and fruit vendors that ply the street. The pup is no bigger than my foot (a size 5) but is a feisty 'un. I ask the sisters to wake the little fella up today to take a photo. He was non too happy about it as you can tell.

Water Puppets

Even if the theatre is not for you, it's a must to catch the water puppet show (the theatre is near the lake, next to the giant Harpo's). It's all in Vietnamese, but the ingenuous maneouverings of the water borne puppets tell the tales well enough.

Random Street Eats

A random wandering helped in part by some research from the Luxe Guide and Wikitravel, we had some great eats in the evening.

Learning about coffee at Vi Lan Cafe (24 Hang Gay)

Fresh Chee Cheong Fun


A delicious mystery meat sausage


Bun Bo Nam Bo (67 Hang Dieu)

Day Nine: Hanoi

Meeting Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho is a popular guy -- even after being dead for so long -- the reverence for the father of Vietnam in profound. And it was clear from the insanely long queue that snaked along the outer street of the Mausoleum that the people of Vietnam think it a treat to meet him -- even briefly. We wait almost an hour amid an orderly and patient throng of people. When we enter the Mausoleuum, the blast of cold air sends goose bumps up my arms. The silence is eerie. The stern guards wave us along and the long line of people scamper hurriedly along the short viewing corridor, craning necks to catch a closer glimpse of the wax-like body. All too soon, we are herded outside, back into the blazing sun and heat of a Hanoi afternoon.

Sunday Brunch

We've heard a lot about the Sunday brunch buffet at the Sofitel, but want something a little more intimate and less likely to cause our pants to come undone. So in the spirit of moderation and adventure, we head to Vine (1A Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho). We were not disappointed, the Sunday Brunch a a treat!

Ecstacy! Fresh bread!


Sashimi starter

Smoked salmon bagel starter


Angel Hair Pasta, truffle butter and asparagus


Dessert Trio: Creme Brulee, Tiramisu and Icecream


Excellent coffee

Beer Ahoy

Sunday calls for a proper bout of rest and indulgence. And there is no better way to do both than in the Old Quarter where the beer is cold, fresh and cheap. So we while away the rest of the day with Bia Hoi (fresh beer) -- a sparkling, citrusy, clean and crisp brew fresh from the keg. Some crunchy rice crackers and a chewy snack of pork skin covered in rice flour are the perfect accompaniment.

Day Eight: Hanoi

Saturday Morning in Hanoi

It's a bright fresh Saturday morning. The time is 8.40am. Along Ho Kiem Lake, the locals are out, walking, chatting and chilling. Some elderly women gossip merrily as they eat breakfast out of a banana leaf. Couples snuggle under the leafy privacy of a lakeside willow, shaded by a curtain of green. Nearby, a toddler scurries excitedly away from his mother in a sudden joyful sprint. An old man sits serenely in contemplation under an arching tree, back straight, arms slightly crossed. Exercise is taken s.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y here. Lots of people are waving their arms, stretching, bending and walking determinedly and briskly around the lake.

Even with the heaving weaving Hanoi traffic just metres away -- close enough for me to catch a whiff of the fumes -- there is a cocoon of stillness around the lake, as if its bright emerald waters confer a talisman of peace strong enough to keep the chaos at bay. It's truly beautiful here.
An elderly lady sits next to me on the bench, smiles and says something to me in Vietnamese. "No same same Vietnam," I smile at her." She grins, nods and goes back to reading her magazine. Two little girls -- presumably her grandchildren -- run up to her,breakfast baguettes in hand, chattering merrily. Nodding her head to me, she gets up and together, the family stroll off, in the direction of an icecream stand.

Spa treat and good eats

The Luxe guide said the sophistication of the spas in Hanoi left much to be desired. But QT spa, located just across from Ho Kiem Lake and along a stretch of luxury label boutiques, is a good bet. Pricey by Hanoi standards, the blissful steam bath, massage, facial and pedicure set me back S$86 -- is still a good deal compared to back home. Plus, it ends with a delectable snack! A fried puff filled with meat, veg and mung bean vermicelli, a sweet cool wedge of watermelon and fresh passionfruit juice!

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Post-spa treats

Green Tangerine Visit #02

We were excited! It was time for lunch and Green Tangerine beckoned. The menu is Vietnamese inspired French cuisine. See: Soups and Starters, Seafood, Meat, Dessert, Lunch Specials. We had:

Beef Carpaccio




Sliced Duck Fillet

Rabbit with "su su" turnip crumble




Diplomat Pudding



Frozen Green Tangerine (Lime green, lime, green and tangerine!)

In response our waitress said in polite but obvious incredulity, "Three mains sir? Two people?" To which we rather shamefacedly said "yes" and tried to look extra starved.