Hanoi Old Quarter by Matt

Located in the east of the city, the Old Quarter is bustling with locals and tourists seeking out food, coffee or a wide array of market items, from shoes to tin boxes and everything in between.

After a morning spent sightseeing, we'd worked up an appetite so we headed back into the Old Quarter, where our hotel is located, and found ourselves wandering down a picturesque street with lanterns hanging from the trees and plenty of Pho restaurants. We picked one, purely based on the fact that there was a western couple sitting there, and ordered our first bowls since arriving.

Pho (pronounced fuh named after the French for fire, because of the cooking method not a spice heat) is the Vietnamese version of fast food. A simple but delicious broth with noodles and your choice of meat, or tofu for the veggies, add some lime, coriander and chillies if you like then slurp away!

Unfortunately, during lunch, Millen's coffee kicked in and, being something he's not used to, induced a bit of a panic attack style reaction. The sensory overload of the streets of Hanoi wasn't helping to pacify him so we steered him back to the hotel and applied some damp towels and lavender oil (courtesy of BA club class!) until his heart rate had returned to normal and he was back to his happy self.

It was a short walk to the Hoan Kiem, one of the lakes in the city. We found the water puppet venue, purchased our tickets for the next available show and wondered round the nearby streets, occasionally entering a barter but not buying anything.

We came across Note cafe, so called as it was full of sticky notes left by customers with some words of wisdom and messages for future visitors. We tried egg coffee, a local speciality using yolk rather than milk, and a coconut cold coffee. Both were delicious, though Millen avoided trying either! We stuck our words of wisdom then headed back to the lake.

In the middle of the lake is a small island with a temple on it. Neither are particularly special but you have to cross a cute red bridge to get there and it provides a moment's respite from the crowds and scooters.

Our vegetarians were getting a little tired of the limited rice/noodle options so we sought out a pizza place for some variety, which also served a decent burger 😋Read more