Vietnam (Day 21) Heartbeat of Hanoi

The Old Quarter of Hanoi is a juxtaposition of the traditional and the modern. To really appreciate this gem, you must put down the map and lose yourself in the alleys! Awesome vibe returning to our favorite city in Vietnam.

Our last day in Hanoi, we decided to take it slow. Got a cab over to the Museum of Ethnology, a museum that focuses on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam. The aim of the museum is to preserve cultural heritage and promote socio-cultural diversity. We weren't able to hire a guide, but all the displays of tribal art, artifacts, and everyday objects are well labeled in English.  

This museum was SUPER cool to us, especially since we had just gone trekking through villages of Thai ethnic minority people.  Here we got to learn the history of these people.

Ritual tree of the Thai Thanh Hoa - decorated with light-weight wooden flowers and animals like spiders, birds, water snakes, monkeys, and buffaloes. Other small wooden and plaited bamboo objects also ornament the tree. Multi-colored dyed eggshells are suspended around the central post that symbolizes heaven and earth.

The stilt house of the Black Thai can be recognized by its distinctive turtle-shell shaped roof. Recounting the myth of a turtle that taught people how to build houses, the Thai consider the turtle as their benefactor. They also have the custom of worshipping a turtle shell hung at the top of the sacred column inside the house.

Caitlin became rather popular with a large group of visiting school children as they were excited to take pics and practice their English with her. Molly was feeling rather shy, perhaps overcome by the attention so she mostly hid behind me. She certainly perked up when she saw the cotton candy vendor outside the museum. 

When we were here, there was a sort of event going on where many of the Ethnic minority people had traveled far from their villages to attend and see the museum. We admired their beautiful clothing and even got to try some of the food from the event.

Trying Buffalo Meat from an Ethic Minority Event

The museum has two parts. There's also an outside part with houses showcasing the architecture of ethnic minorities. It's done well with the replication, but we found ourselves missing our hillside villages and home stays.

It began pouring as we were exploring the outer part, so we made our way to the cafe located alongside it. We were ready for some lunch! This cafe supports the training of disadvantaged youth in the hospitality business. We really enjoyed the delicious food and cold beer.

On the way out, we had to stop for cotton-candy. This gave all the waiting taxis time to converge on us - hahahaha. We grabbed one and off we went. I took a pic of it because it wasn't a MaiLinh or VinaSun. And, we had no agreed upon price. Just hopped in. You're worried for us, aren't you? Well, we had a FANTASTIC ride. I really wish I could remember how much we paid for it, but I know it was reasonable BECAUSE I can't remember it. This driver gave us a great tour all the way back to Ma May Street. We had lots of laughs and got some interesting information. We were interested in the different embassies and he drove pointing each one out to us. Did we get "ripped-off" overpaying the fare? Maybe, but we got extra for extra and THIS is the only taxi that I took a picture of the whole trip because of the driver's personality.

Afterwards, we did some street shopping. When we left home, we were so impressed with ourselves only traveling with 4 small carry-ons. We are up to 6 luggage pieces now. 

We wrapped up our last night in Vietnam with a fabulous fancy dinner at Duong's 2. This was a newly opened restaurant when we went and it had caught our attention when we walked by (it's right across from La Siesta) earlier in the day. Attentive staff had come out to greet us and we made reservations on the spot. 

When we arrived at the reservation time, it was closed, but again, attentive staff came out and brought us inside. I'm not sure what time they open, but they kept the "Closed" sign up after we entered and we had the ENTIRE restaurant to ourselves until the near end. Talk about feeling like a VIP. 

Just to be clear, I get nothing in return for ANY content on my blog.  I write this purely for the enjoyment of sharing. With that written, this meal from start to finish was a gastronomical experience that I will never forget. And, it's not just the exceptional food.  The entire staff left us feeling so at ease, like we were family.

I might not order this beer ever again, but it was definitely interesting. Really does taste like bia pho, quite literally.

After we sorted the drinks, we were next given complimentary individual starter plates that included a refreshing fruit drink. 

Lots (and lots) of food followed. I hope you aren't seeing this on an empty belly. 

I would sell my soul to have this fish dish plopped before my eyes again. I may or may not have just drooled on my computer watching this video again. 

Of course, after eating every last bit, we got coffee and dessert. Of course, we did. Now, I don't even like desserts.  Much more of a savory palate kind of person. But, wow, if every dessert tasted like these, I might be turned. 

Now, this was a pricey meal, especially since both kids had EACH order the imported lamb. I know, I know - but it was our last night in Hanoi.

This was the perfect way to end to our time in Hanoi. Stuffed and so satisfied, we walked the long 10 seconds back to La Siesta to relax and pack. Tomorrow is a travel day with an international flight, so calling it an early night. Hanoi, you are our favorite city and we sure are going to miss you. 

Up Next: Lovely Luang Prabang, Laos

Vietnam (Day 20) Hanoi Sweet Hanoi

We said our goodbyes to Ninh Binh and made our way via car back to Hanoi (2 hour drive). Our driver (pre-arranged with Toan) picked us up as scheduled. We couldn't resist stopping on the way out of Ninh Binh for a few more pics. 

In no time at all, we were settled back in at La Siesta. Warmly welcomed, we felt like we had returned home. They had our room ready with our stored luggage. First things first, we headed straight to Red Bean. I know, I know - so many food places in Hanoi. All that street food goodness begging to be sampled. But, Red Bean is just so good! And, I got my Rooster :) And, that bun cha!!

It's Saturday, so streets were blocked around the lake for the weekend to make it more pedestrian-friendly. It was a whole different vibe from our earlier stay with more families and a gazillion more people on the streets. Ma May Street is in the center of the closed-off (to vehicles) street so we took the kids out in spurts retreating back to the hotel for breaks. It is an awesome location and the vibe is top-notch. 

Molly led most of the way (by her belly) - first, grilled pork on a stick and then, on the hunt for ice-cream. 

The street was filled with lots of street performers, young backpackers, and an increased police presence. It was great fun watching the performers - some real talent!

The Mother Ship aka Home Sweet Home

Rob insists that he did not bargain his purchase "up" (again) hahahaha, but I don't know. Those sellers looked pretty happy. 

We decided to make our way through Beer Street after depositing the kids back at the hotel. It was crazy crowded, think NYC Times Square at NYE! An interesting sight was watching the police try to clear street space by making the restaurants remove their tables and stools, but as soon as the policeman passed, they would stretch them right back into the street. 

Rob went out again solo close to midnight to take a look around and came back to report that the police where shutting everything down telling all the tourists to move on. We think there must be some sort of curfew? The only businesses that they seemed to leave alone were the backpacker hostels, which he described as crowds of partying kids. Also, there were a few clubs on our street that remained open, but we don't know how late. He said a lot of tourists were using the ATM, so he did the same and said it would give him evidence if he got questioned for wandering alone 😂. So after about 20 minutes, he returned to the hotel and was shocked to find that the lobby no longer resembled the same lobby we have known during our stay. All the regular staff are gone and there was a crew of young men sleeping out in the open. They had even pulled in their motorbikes into the restaurant. We concluded that they were hotel "security". Of course, he took no pics the whole time he was out. I guess he was too nervous being out there late night alone. Goodnight from Hanoi!

Up Next: Heartbeat of Hanoi