Detailed Postings for the Day
- Hanoi Train Street
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Exterior Only)
- Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls
- The Note Coffee
- Hanoi Walking / Pedestrian Streets on Weekends
- Ice Cream Truck by Kem Tươi Plo
- Alluvia Chocolatier
- Kem Tràng Tiền
- Café Giang - Origin of Egg Coffee
- Piggy Bank Street
- Phung Hung Street Art Murals
- La Mensa Cafe
- Hong Hoai's Restaurant
- Meat Skewers
- Hanoi Weekend Night Market
A light breakfast at Bonsella Hotel since it would be a relatively free day with likely loads of walking. I am not complaining as I do enjoy walking, especially when the temperature was so nice in Hanoi.
Going towards to the hotel that the Greatest Kon and the Lockie Boy were staying. Main reason why we stayed separately was because we booked separately and by the time they decided on Bonsella Hotel; it was already fully booked.
Captivating lamps; while pretty, I wouldn't have them at home as I don't like orange lights. Friends who have been to my house would realize I am a white light person.
Tall yet narrow buildings; common even in Ho Chi Minh City; this was said to be a result of tax in the colonial era whereby property tax was calculated based on the width of the building. Thankfully, Vietnam isn't on a major fault line.
Hang Da Market - walking past only.
Obviously fake autumn leaves but it did catch our attention!
Coming from highly sanitized Singapore where raw meat for sale had to be put in glass fridges; this was always an eye opener, and a challenge for the nostrils.
First destination - Hanoi Train Street. Honestly, once is enough to have the train coming so close to us although I wouldn't mind a time-lapsed video from the second floor. However, I heard that there were plans to restrict tourists to the space given quite a few near-misses.
More lights; in Hanoi's Old Quarter, the streets were traditionally segregated by specific trades and I am guessing this would be the street for those who intended to buy lights to adorn their home / business,
Lenin Garden again, which we upon on day two.
Iconic flag tower from the Vietnam Military History Museum. As I got older, I did notice that I don't seem as enthusiastic visiting museums when I am overseas.
Another Cong Cafe!
Exterior of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; the queue was too long and while I do respect the great man; it's not a wait I am willing to endure.
Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls from Quán Bánh Cuốn Nóng Gia Truyền Đội Cấn; well, I prefer the ones in Singapore. Visually disturbing to drink from the bowl of herbal chicken soup.
Just wondering; is it petty care or pretty care? Petty care doesn't sound quite right despite the word "pet" in it; what if the operators are petty and take it out on our beloved pets?
Chợ Ngọc Hà - fresh food market and its surrounding.
So tempted to get some fruits, especially the mangosteen!
Did I understand correctly?
Bun Cha for a price of between 20-30K dong!?
More photos on the stores.
Seafood as well; the prawns were quite small and I wonder if they would eventually be turned into dried shrimps instead.
Without any base and seemingly thrown onto the street, they looked fresh enough for one to bring back home and whip up a plate of delectable vegetables.
Too late in capture this photograph of a man bringing his two sizeable dogs for a walk!
Random photo I took; if I recall correctly, it's to document the nice smell of grilled meat coming from this street stall on the right. However, the yellow derelict building on the left also caught my attention.
Another section where the train would drive past. Those interested can search for A99 Cafe on Google Map. Address is 29A P. Nguyễn Thái Học, Cửa Nam, Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam.
Decided to take this path.
Nice street with quite a number of quaint cafes and restaurants.
Known as Tong Duy Tan Street, it's known as a food street at night.
Alex went back to take a nap whereas the rest of us went to check out one of the world's top 50 cafes; The Note Coffee! Don't bother gawking outside as the notes appeared white due to their sticker backing!
Pizza 4P, at its branch along Bao Khanh street, where Bonsella Hotel was located too. We actually went on Day Two as the allure to have 4-cheese pizza was too hard to resist.
View on top of Bonsella Hotel, which had a rooftop bar that I didn't manage to visit, despite staying six nights in the hotel! Now, that's a regret as it would have been nice sipping draft beer with the surrounding scenery.
We intended to order some light bites but no one was in the kitchen.
This time round, it's only Alex and I to explore the Hanoi Walking / Pedestrian Streets. which happened only on weekends! The Greatest Kon, Lock and I did explore a little bit early where we had ice cream from the Ice Cream Truck by Kem Tươi Plo. After which, with Alex, I had another ice cream from Kem Tràng Tiền and purchased some chocolates from Alluvia Chocolatier!
Bypassed this King Lý Thái Tổ Monument. King Lý was the man who moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Hanoi, then known as Đại La, and renamed it Thang Long.
An interesting shop; it manufactured urns, niches and headstones for the dead! Quite a few shops along the stretch specialized in the same niche products. Strangely, why no coffins?
You have heard of egg coffee I presume? Have it from the original shop; Café Giang - the Origin of Egg Coffee! My purpose wasn't egg coffee; it was egg beer and omigosh, it was yummy!
Hải Xệ - Bánh Rán Cao Lâu; this shop selling the donut-like deep fried pastry was quite popular even though it wasn't at a busy street. If the Greatest Kon was with me, I am sure we would buy to share! I can't do that with Alex. :(
Vape shop! Recently, there had been quite a bit of discussion about vapes; I know for a fact that it is illegal but without active enforcement, it's just so common to see people vaping on the streets! While vaping is said to be more unhealthy for the vaper, I must say it's a relief for people who can't stand second hand smoke.
More on street views.
Ta Hien Beer Street in the daytime.
Quieter, less robust, more boring.
I am guessing this was a corgi!
More random photographs of the stores while we undertook this walking trail along the streets of Hanoi Old Quarter. As you can see so far, items for sale were more catered for locals, rather than foreigners.
4pm and this street stall was doing a booming business. I peeked at what they had and couldn't fathom what it was. From the second photograph, it seemed like a plate of raw meat.
Fresh flowers for sale!
Streets of party suppliers and lanterns! Although the lanterns were mesmerizing, my practical mind kept me from buying as they would likely be dust collectors! Furthermore, my flat's ceiling isn't high.
The Vietnamese cyclos, where the rider sat behind the passengers! Not exactly a safe mode since the danger is on the customers as they would be the first one to be hit by incoming traffic!
Something of personal interest - the Piggy Bank Street! I was all ready to buy two or three of them but there was an issue; the slit for coins was too narrow for coins as Vietnamese currency is usually in notes. After much effort, I found one with a slit that seemed okay for Singapore's coins; not S$1 though.
Street of artificial flowers, and fruits.
Found a mosque; Masjid Al Noor Hanoi which is the only mosque in Northern Vietnam and had a history of over a hundred years.
Open air barber shop!
Cake Shop Hong Kong - the Greatest Kon doesn't enjoy cakes that much so it's hard to share even if he was with me! I needed Grace Louis and Sandra Lau to be with me so that we can buy and share the fats!
Railway bridge.
Interestingly, no height limit sign.
Phung Hung Street Art Murals; visit only if you have ample time to spare. Nonetheless, there's another thing that could have attracted you to might as well go to Phung Hung Street.
There were quite a few shops along the street that sold dog meat! That's quite a sight although I wouldn't encourage dog lovers to purposely make a trip there just to impose your stand. Eating dog meat is a culture for some and to them, eating dog is no difference from eating chicken.
Under the railway tracks!
If we were to go down this way for a few hundred meters, we would have reached the Hanoi Train Street. Just wondering if we could emulate the same for Singapore's MRT train system even though it's highly unlikely given the security risk.
Color made this building stand out.
Another party supply shop, that had a lot of environmental unfriendly helium balloons! There was a period of time I had a short interest in balloon sculpting; Alex hated it as he dislikes the sound of bursting balloons!
Beautiful boxes, for weddings, that had a slit for red packets!
Guess what's so fascinating about this building? Look at the third floor; wasn't that a temple? And if you look closer, the burner for incense paper was located on level two.
Hm... laundry and coffee.
Does that even rhyme?
A shop selling door locks and handles! Handles I can still somewhat understand but it's strange that they are not targeting the keyless market, which is huge in Singapore.
Since we were early for dinner, Alex and I decided to chill at La Mensa Cafe, and have a slice of their black forest cake which was quite a disappointment.
Dinner at Hong Hoai's Restaurant - with a score of 4.9 from over 6,000 reviewers, we had high hopes. While food wasn't disappointing, we were still surprised of such an impressive score. Service was great, for sure!
This stall was so popular with the locals!
I have noted the stall; shall visit if I return to Hanoi.
Nightfall with some trees lighted by lanterns. I heard that there's a place in Vietnam, known as Hoi An, that's supposed to have tons of lanterns. Some vloggers / bloggers mentioned that it's a must for a shop to hang lanterns.
After having Meat Skewer for snack, let's explore the Hanoi Weekend Night Market! Click the hyperlinked words to check out more photographs.
Without motor vehicles and the cool night time temperature, it's incredibly relaxing to walk up and down the streets. Sadly, Singapore's weather is seldom this compromising.
The Note Coffee at night!
Street performances.
Ending the night at Sen Spa even though I was there mainly to check out the prices as I aimed to have a massage on day five, after our day trip to Halong Bay.
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