ungkler: Good morning, Vietnam!

Vietnam : Hanoi, Hoi An & Ho Chi Minh, formerly Saigon

Autumn 2023

Kicking off my birthday celebration from the Imperial Citadel, in Hanoi
(nov-2023)

Journal Entry... I can't believe I have never been to Vietnam all these years of traveling. My ignorant thinking often tells me it looks and feels the same as my home country, las islas Filipinas, which is hot, humid, and crowded. Le poupee had previously traveled to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh (formerly, Saigon) & Hanoi, twice for an office junket. The winter traveler that he is, he announces, "Vietnam is hot, humid, and crowded with people and street motorcycles!" Inevitably running out of quick getaway locations, I thought, "How about Vietnam? Why not Vietnam?!!" Come to think of it, I have always been fond of the brisket pho, fresh rice paper rolls, pomelo shrimp salad, stuffed chicken wings, at Pho Hoa restaurant, in Manila. And so, it was settled. My birthday trip is now boarding, and bound for Vietnam.

November 4, Saturday: It would be the earliest flight I have flown in my years of traveling. Manila-Hanoi #CebuPacific direct flight, boarding at 5AM, was the most ideal. Compare: CebuPac flight arriving Hanoi in the morning vs. PAL's 10pm flight arriving Hanoi at midnight. Best to navigate a new city in the morning, than at midnight or wee hours. Given a 5AM flight, it meant foregoing sleep to get to the airport by 3AM. Plus, using up all waking hours of the previous day for last-minute preparations that included leaving my neighbour's recently gifted shaggy-black toy poodle, "Molly" (French: Mollee) with the same neighbour who gladly accepted Molly-poodle for a weeklong sojourn. Salamat, Tatay Josep.

Early flight turned eye-opener to a breathtaking aerial view-- "Wow, Philippines!"
4-nov, 5:33am

Two-and-a-half flight hours later, 7:28AM, CebuPac makes a smooth touchdown in Noi Bai international airport, in Vietnam's historical, and capital city of HANOI.

First order of the day really was finding a money exchange counter for VND currency. Back at the airport, there were already three money exchange counters, available, each offering from low to high exchange rates. I was sleep deprived, I could not make an intelligent decision and ended up foregoing with that money exchange transaction at the airport. The car shuttle driver, who had found me there walking back and forth and undecided about the money exchange counters, was growing impatient by the minute he was waiting on me. He wanted me to follow him, and ride the car shuttle already. I told the car shuttle driver with a limited English understanding that hubby was nowhere in sight, to begin with. As soon as we landed, hubby took off searching for the counter where to claim the wifi gadget he had booked online. Those were crazy minutes with the car shuttle driver, who in fairness made many attempts at conversing with me through a phone's translate-app, convincing me to follow him to the car. Of course, I would hold my ground, and glued myself to the spot where hubby had left me with our luggage. Better safe than sorry, is my unbreakable travel motto.

Hubby returns with the wifi gadget, and we both followed the restless car shuttle driver out of Hanoi airport arrival hall. Hotel had arranged a shuttle car service for us to get to Hanoi center, from the airport. Drive to hotel, easing through motorcycle-ridden narrow streets after exiting the main highway, took 1 hour. Check-in: La Siesta Hang Be, a cozy and charming boutique hotel conveniently located in the Hoan Kiem district. Hanoi's old quarter.

Sunset by the lake in Hoan Kiem district in the old quarter of Hanoi.
4-nov, 4:24pm

Hanoi comes alive with strobe lights and street party music at sundown.
4-nov, 5:45pm

Amusing old neighbourhood dubbed the "Old Quarter" of Hanoi had me questioning myself, "Am I still in Manila?" Like doing a 'Pick-the-Difference' between two identical photographs in the comic-section of the newspaper, next to the crossword puzzle. Save for reading, and hearing, Vietnamese words, the differences are not easy to tell.

Hubby told me, it will be cooler in this northern part of Vietnam. But, NO. It was November's autumn, and a shy away to December's winter month, in Hanoi. Ironically, the week's weather forecast indicated a temperature drop, only that it will occur on the very day we are to leave for the next destination city after Hanoi.

Pho 10's beef soup.
4-nov, 10:28am

Time: 9:20am, hotel check-in: 3:00pm. We left our luggage with hotel concierge to have a first traditional meal in the old quarter of Hanoi as it was nearing lunch time; recall, we did not avail of Cebu Pacific's in-flight meal on a too early flight. My 24-hour lack of sleep, and meal-deprivation, took a toll and had me in a floating state. As for VND currency, hotel staff had directed us to a forex shop nearby, and became instant millionaires, like winning the elusive lotto. Great! It called for a celebratory meal, indeed. The Michelin-guide's list of must-eats was in my foodie checklist. Pho 10 restaurant is popular for the local favourite, beef noodle soup. It's in the Michelin-guide. Restaurant is located in the same old quarter as the hotel; it was walking distance. 10AM, in front of the restaurant, and there's a long line. But it did not take long to get a table, with a table-sharing policy observed among customers. Meal-prep station at the entrance, and the pho scent permeating the air, it lures in customers easy. My breakfast, er brunch-- a piping hot bowl of beef noodle soup, or beef pho. Broth was steaming hot, the raw beef topping was cooked instantly. I paired it with fried dough stick, which is best eaten dunked in pho broth. Lotsa chili and lime on the side for extra twist of flavour. Chibog-chibog!

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was check-in time. We're in Rm. 811. 8th floor is the topmost floor for guest rooms. One floor up is Cloud 9 restaurant & bar, where there'll be a breakfast buffet in the morning. I got surprised by the hotel room layout, actually. Hubby is already busy unloading his luggage when I entered the room; I'm slow, I vowed to do it later. Where was I? Doing a hotel room tour. Hotel room is two-level, my first time to experience a hotel room layout as such. Black staircase led to the upstairs bedroom, and a Gothic-style chandelier hung from the high ceiling. I thought for a minute that the staircase in a hotel room was cute, but this layout might not appeal to senior citizens. Hubby was going up, and down, the staircase, to gather the water bottles from the bed side tables upstairs, and take them down to cool in the mini-ref downstairs. I was thinking ahead, how to manage stepping down the staircase for nature calls in the wee hours, and climbing back up to the bed. I definitely need not be just half-awake for that effort, right? Back to my hotel room tour, watch travel vlog>>>

Cafe Giang's
egg coffee sans milk.
4-nov, 3:29pm

3:16pm, we're entering the most famous coffee shop, Cafe Giang. A street corner away from the hotel. Egg coffee was here invented in 1946. Photographs of Cafe Giang's founder, and inventor of the egg coffee, adorn one side of a wall. The egg coffee recipe remains the same today. Found a vacant table on the 2nd floor. Table & chair was below normal height. Settling down into one, it was like sitting in a kid's chair. The server handed me the menu. First item listed in the menu was the egg coffee. Coffee at 3PM? Hope I sleep soundly tonight, ha-ha. There's two egg coffee versions: hot, and cold. Egg coffee came about due to a milk shortage during the war in Hanoi. Whisking in the egg yolk substituted for condensed milk. Egg yolk was whisked very well till frothy. Note, egg coffee receipe: raw chicken egg yolk, Vietnamese robusta coffee, sweetened condensed milk... plus butter and cow cheese, really? CALORIFIC! Hubby's taste test of the cold version of egg coffee, and he is speechless. My taste test of the hot version of egg coffee, and my reaction speaks for itself; egg coffee was yummy, watch travel vlog>>>

Kem Trang Tien's
ice cream in a cone
4-nov, 4:50pm

Ice cream would be great on a warm afternoon. 4:36pm, we reach the courtyard of Kem Trang Tien, and lined up for ice cream in a cone. Ice cream was here invented in 1958. I was not adventurous, and settled for basic vanilla flavor. Ice cream was light, and airy, to the bite. One scoop, one bite. Sugar-crash. 4:20pm, back at lakeside. There's a legend to the lake. Accordingly-- a fisherman found a "sacred sword" at the lake. Fisherman gave the sword to Vietnamese rebel Le Loi. Le Loi used the sword fighting the Ming occupation, and won. Le Loi later became the Emperor. A statue of Le Loi stands at the square fronting the lake. At the middle of the lake is a "Tortoise tower" and home to so-called divine turtles. Legend goes further-- Emperor Le Loi returned after to the lake bringing with him the "sacred sword." Where the golden/divine turtles took back the sword.

Tortoise tower, in the middle of Hoan Kiem lake, is home to divine turtles.
4-nov, 5:24pm

Traveler's downtime. Sunset watch by the lake in Hoan Kiem district in the old quarter of Hanoi. At sundown, Hanoi comes alive with strobe lights and street party music. Sights are lit up, the red bridge gets more bright red in lights. Main pedestrian street is getting filled-up with groups of locals enjoying the night scene, idling around, eating an array of street foods. Hubby wants street food-BBQ over my objection. Uhm, I'd rather eat in a restaurant?

7:14pm, Madame Hien Cafe & Restaurant. I commend every restaurant in Hanoi for their cool interior design. Madame Hien had a row of red lanterns atop the narrow courtyard entrance way, while the ice cream shop earlier had white lanterns. Madame Hien restaurant was near the hotel. Restaurant owner, who himself served the dish, was explaining that the restaurant closed down during Covid-pandemic, and had just re-opened two weeks prior to our visit. It's French cuisine (to be continued...)

Link to YouTube>>> Ungkler Travels 2023 | Ep. 1 in HANOI. Foods, sights & a boutique hotel in old quarter. - VIETNAM

7-nov: Flight to Hoi An... So, it's leading up to my birthday, the 8th of November. But, the weather in our next destination be like-- MONSOON RAINS!!! How do I get into a celebratory mood in that weather? Oh, well. This birthday trip must go on. (to be continued...)

Link to YouTube>>> Ungkler Travels 2023 | Ep. 2 in HOI AN. Foods, sights & a boutique hotel in ancient town. - VIETNAM

10-nov: Flight to Ho Chi Minh... The heat is on in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh city. Literally, outside temperature is 32-degrees. Just like the Philippines, so I'm used to it. (to be continued...)

Link to YouTube>>> Ungkler Travels 2023 | Ep. 3 HO CHI MINH CITY. Foods, sights & a boutique hotel in District 1. - VIETNAM

oOo

PHOTOSTITCH

Manila-Hanoi flight

via Cebu Pacific Airlines.