Day One
When it was time to leave Vang Vieng, Laos, we once again got shitty seats on the small bus. Nico and I listened to Harry Potter as we wound back over the mountains to Luang Prabang.
When we arrived, we decided to take a tuk-tuk into town to get food. We stopped at a place with wifi close to where we got dropped off so we could look at plane ticket and hostel info.
After eating, we took another tuk-tuk to the airport where we boarded our flight to Hanoi. As soon as we landed in Vietnam, we got money out of the ATM (one million dong each??!!) and ordered food at Popeye's (mostly for the free wifi).
We found out that there's Uber in Hanoi so we decided to use that to get into town instead of dealing with a taxi. Our hostel was located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and was aptly named, Old Quarter View Hostel.
Our Uber driver sped through the crowded streets, barely dodging the various cars and motorbikes that headed whichever way they pleased up the road. I've never seen a more chaotic place in my life. When we reached the Old Quarter, our driver pulled over in a busy intersection and told us to get out there because the streets are closed to cars on the weekends. He pointed us down a crowded street and we were on our way.
Sheer luck is what mostly got us across the busy intersection and into the streets of the Old Quarter. We joined the crowds of people shuffling through the narrow street. The restaurants were packed with people sitting outside on tiny chairs about a foot off the ground. The liveliness of the Old Quarter instantly made us ditch our original plans of relaxing at the hostel and instead plan on going out for a beer.
After dropping our things off, we walked around a bit and decided to sit at a random tiny restaurant. The shop owners were really particular about where we sat, making sure we left enough space for other potential customers. So, we sat, practically squatting on top of tiny plastic chairs fit for five-year-olds, huddled together in a group. When the bill was paid, the woman who worked there handed me a plastic cup and insisted that I take the last few sips of my beer to-go. It was a pretty odd feeling so rushed in a "restaurant" setting. Nothing like what I was used to in the US.
We left the small bar and walked back to our hostel. Our room was up on the 5th floor of the narrow building. Each floor had a single dorm room and a bathroom. Our room was very nice and modern feeling. The dorm housed 18 beds but we all felt pretty comfortable despite the number of people. Each bed had a large locker that could fit my whole backpack plus drone and daypack. Also, the bedside table had a lockable cabinet for small valuables. The beds themselves were vary clean and comfortable and the AC worked wonderfully.
Old Quarter View Hostel
Good Wifi
Free breakfast
Very clean
Comfy beds
Extra large lockers
Free drinks from 6-6:30
Good Vibes
Overpriced tours/buses
Day Two
We slept in just a little bit before heading downstairs for breakfast. I had a pancake with honey. After fully getting ready for the day, the group decided to walk around a bit. We strolled through the Old Quarter and around the lake, stopping for ice cream.
Afterwards, Kristen and I stopped at a place to get our nails done while Nico and Josh went to a bar. We all met up again and got more drinks at the bar and each tried a nitrous oxide (laughing gas) balloon, which are extremely popular in Hanoi. We giggled for a few minutes and spoke in deep voices (it had the opposite effect as inhaling helium).
Then, we rested in the hostel for a minute before going out again to get lunch. We wanted to find a place that serves bun bo hue (a dish recommended to us) but ended up going to a place called Bun Bo Nam Bo, a restaurant that specializes in a dish of the same name.
To our luck, bun bo nam bo is delicious. It's like a Vietnamese beef noodle salad with just a little bit of broth in the bottom of the bowl. The name literally translates to "southern fried beef."
After lunch, we all showered and rested. Then we went downstairs at 6pm for free beer, which was cold but not very flavorful (even less so than Coors Light). For dinner, we walked to a restaurant called Duang's, the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor, but it was full. The hostess, however, recommended another restaurant nearby called Madame Hein, which was also on the fancier side. Nico ordered chả cá, which was "white river fish" cooked in a clay pot with garlic, dill, green onion, and other spices. It was actually quite good contrary to preconceptions I had made based off ordering seafood in foreign countries.
Josh ordered a beef kebab, which was pretty good. Kristen and I ordered bún chả, a plate of caramelized pork, which was my favorite out of everything we got. We also got some appetizers and other small plates I don't remember. The total cost for our group of 4 was only $85 USD, which was a very good price considering the quality and presentation of our food.
After dinner, we walked around to a few bars. It was still pretty busy out but the crowds were much thinner in comparison to the previous day (Saturday).
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