Day 66

Hanoi

I woke up bright and early if bright and early meant midday and slowly gathered myself for some breakfast - well I guess lunch. I wasn't too hard on myself as I knew I needed good rest to not end up exhausted. Plus I was in absolutely no rush. I went to a small Banh Mi place closeby and as always it was super yummy. I kind of wanted to spend today exploring, and as most of the things are in the old quarter and walkable I could just wander about.

My first stop was the Hoan Kiem Lake in the middle of town. I seem to have a bit of a habit of finding the closest lake in a city and walking around it but how could I not especially when there was a floating pagoda right in the middle. Unfortunately though it was super busy and filled with people trying to clean your shoes (honestly mine could use a scrub but I'd rather not), and sell you stuff (I met a nice guy who "wanted to practice his English" but ended up wanting to sell me bracelets to fund his travels).

Hanoi is famous for its train street but during the week there are only trains during the night so I'd have to wait until later but in the mean time I could go along the track for a little bit and find the Street Murals - artwork confined to the arches under the railway. They each had their own style as well as a sign explaining their significance - really cool! I then followed the train track down (in the wrong direction initially) until I got to the Long Bien Bridge - a fairly historically significant bridge joining the 2 sides of Hanoi together over the river. I ventured through a very local housing estate to try and get a good view. I didn't get a good view of the bridge but I got a great glimpse into the lives of the kids playing in the park, playing badminton in the street, and 8 year olds riding scooters. I ended up going to a rooftop café and whilst I still didn't get a great view of the bridge I got a pretty decent view of the city.

The train was "scheduled" through train street at 7 but they're famously late or cancelled but I wanted to get a good seat and chill for a while so I ended up getting there about 6.30 and found a trackside seat with a good looking smoothie. I also grabbed some doughnut pieces off a street vendor to snack on and then patiently waited. The street itself was really nice, with lights and decorations. The first train ended up not coming so I waited for the 8.30 one. When it was close, sirens went off and the café owners went into crowd control making sure no one was to take an unplanned and painful train ride. Unfortunately as it was dark and the train had its lights on I didn't get any fantastic pictures so I just stood there and took in the train passing inches from my face. Once it cleared, people clappes then life returned to normal for the cafés and everyone quickly went on their way.

Today I was determined to eat at the Michellin place I had went for yesterday so I turned up at the right place and had a look at the menu. This place specialised in sea food and they had so many choices and I'm sure they were lovely but weren't quite as budget as I hoped. I ended up going for some black shrimp noodles and a couple oysters. It was honestly fine but I don't think I'm a massive sea food guy especially for the price. I wandered back and called it a night.Read more