Vietnam

How to Cross a Busy Road

November 13th, 2023 – November 18th, 2023

Vietnam was the 7th country we visited in our Southeast Asia 2023 Trip. If you want to read through chronologically, start here.

Vietnam had been top of our travel list for some time now.

Vietnam. It grabs you and doesn’t let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever.

-Anthony Bourdain

The Visa process was also one of the more challenging (and expensive) ones. About a month before the trip, we filled out our e-Visa applications. We scanned our passports, attached a photo, filled out all the information, and paid the $70 application fee. A couple days later, “Denied: Incorrect full name”. This was a common problem, you had to fill out your first, middle, and last name in a specific order. I fixed it and sent it again. A couple more days later, “Denied: Photo older than 6 months”. Okay I couldn’t use my passport photo as my portrait photo. And then finally, a couple more days later, Accepted. This is why we don’t procrastinate.

First Impressions

We arrived at Noi Bai International Airport around 4pm local time. It was misty and raining slightly, a stark, but welcome, difference to the blazing heat we’d endured the previous weeks. Before we could relish in the cool air, however, we had to go through security. I couldn’t help but notice the police officers keeping a careful watch over everyone. Now they do this at every airport, but here in Vietnam they wore the green outfit. I obviously couldn’t take a photo, but I found this photo from Reddit which gives you a good idea.

It felt like we had just been transported back to the 1960s during the Vietnam War, the height of the US-Soviet conflict. Everything just screamed communism. I was excited. This is why we travel. To experience these cultures so different to what is in our comfort zone. Anyways, we got through security with no problems and met up with our driver to take us to our hotel, the Hanoi Siva.

We’d been spoiled in Thailand and Cambodia with our hotels, but this time, we’d be staying in a more basic setup. Just a small room with just a bed and a bathroom. But the main thing was, it was right where we needed it to be, in the center of the Old Quarter.

Pho-king Delicious

We rested, cleaned up, and went out for our first dinner in Hanoi. Of course it had to be a bowl of Pho . Luckily for us, just a 10 minute walk down the street was Michelin Bib Gourmand Pho Stall.

An endless stream of motorcycles whizzed by. Everywhere you looked, people cooking, eating, drinking, laughing. This was incredible. Everything was alive.

Eventually we pulled up to a small opening. This was Phở Gà Nguyệt, our dining location for the evening. Out front, a man chopped up chicken with his cleaver. Inside, the classic short Vietnamese stools surrounding tables. I held up 2 fingers to one of the ladies, and we were pointed into a second hole in the wall to our table.

This particular Pho Stall specialized in Chicken, so we each ordered a Phở đùi (Chicken Thigh Pho). This is what I live for. These are the moments that I will always remember and cherish. We were sitting in a little hole in the wall, drinking a 50 cent Saigon Lager, eating a $2 bowl of chicken thigh pho which has been chopped up and cooked by a man right out front.

Egg Coffee and War

We awoke to an orchestra of honking from the constant stream of motorcycles going up and down the street. To this day, whenever I close my eyes, I hear the tune of the Hanoi motorcycle orchestra. Not really, but holy shit there were a lot of bikes outside.

This was our first full day of the week we’d be spending here in Hanoi and the first time we got to experience the feeling of the city. The streets by themselves are an incredible thing to witness. I couldn’t get over how alive it felt, even this early in the morning.

We had learned a trick in crossing the street by the man who checked us in. With the constant barrage of bikes and cars, it seems impossible to get across, but you literally just have to walk at a constant pace and everyone will drive around you. We tested it out with a less than usual pace of traffic, and it actually does work. Its horrifying, but it works.

You can’t go to Vietnam without trying their iconic Egg Coffee. It sounds weird to think that eggs and coffee would go hand in hand, but bartender at Cafe Giang in 1946 had no other choice, and created it out of necessity. Back then, milk was hard to get, so he replaced it with egg yolk and condensed milk, and here we are 70 years later still drinking it. I will stand by the fact that the best food is created in places where its necessary to be creative. That is why street food thrives.

Anyway, we walked into back alley that lead to the cafe and were promptly seated upstairs. Being surrounded by old Vietnamese men chain smoking cigarettes really added to the old timey atmosphere. The coffee was great. The egg made it thick and creamy, which was a nice contrast to the strong tasting coffee.

All that Egg Coffee got us in the mood for some depressing war museums. First up was Hỏa Lò Prison Museum also known as the Hanoi Hilton to American POWs, this one was grim. This prison held a bunch of high ranking US soldiers, one of them being former Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain who was held as a POW here during the Vietnam War. Oh yeah and here, it’s called the American War, we were reminded that a couple times.

It was really interesting to see the war from Vietnam’s side. Honestly, it also changed the way we saw it too.

Next up on the depressing war museum trail was the Vietnam Military History Museum. We feel bad for laughing, but in the moment we couldn’t help but think, “There is no wonder the US couldn’t beat these guys. They’ve been at war every year since their existence”. And that’s the truth, there was room after room of countries trying to invade Vietnam and getting their asses handed to them. Outside was pretty cool, they had a bunch of planes they shot down and some American tanks. Standard war museum things.

National Pho-ish

That night it was time for another $2 bowl of Pho from another Michelin Bib Gormound Pho Stall that was also 5 minutes away. Saying that anywhere else in the world would be insane, but this was Hanoi. Great Pho was everywhere. I mean, it is their National Dish. The Pho we had at Phở Gia Truyền would end up being our favorite. Whereas the previous place had specialized in Chicken, this was all about the BEEF baby.

We rolled up to the hole in the wall and stood at the counter which had the carcass of some animal hanging from hooks, while a man with a cleaver chopped up meat. This was classic Vietnam.

There was only a couple of things on the menu, so we both went with the Phở Tái nạm (Beef and Flank Pho). We took seat in a second hole in the wall and patiently awaited our bowl of goodness.

You thought we were done with food for the night? Nah, we’re The Hungry Voyagers, and we only had a week in Vietnam so you best believe we’re eating two dinners a night. Just down the road was Cha Ca Thang Long were we’d be eating their famous Cha Ca. This was yet another Bib Gourmand restaurant in Hanoi, and our second of the night.

Cha Ca is essentially Catfish marinated in spices, and here you cook it yourself at the table. We were given a bunch of bowls filled with various greens, noodles, peanuts, spices, everything. I just threw it all into the Wok and fried that shit up. It was super tasty. Compliments to the chef.

Day 3

There’s nothing like a good day trip. We had two of them booked for Vietnam, because there’s nothing we like best than loading into a van with a bunch of other sweaty tourists and being shepherded around touristy sights while everyone snaps photos of everything. I’m being pedantic, we actually do like these day tours, they’re a great way to see parts of the country, especially when you don’t have a car. This first tour I actually booked on whim, it wasn’t the top of my list, but I’m so glad we did it.

We loaded on to a bus at 6am, we were the first people on. For the next 30ish minutes, we bounced around Hanoi picking up the rest of the group. I’ve started specifically booking the tours that say ‘Small Group’. You end up paying extra, but instead of being on a 30 person bus, you’re only in a van with like 8 other people. It’s not only good for comfort in transportation, but you’re also not walking around with millions of other people. Anyways, we’d come to get real close with the people in our tour. I wish I remembered their names. We had Emily and I, an older English couple, a younger Dutch couple, and a German around our age.

Ninh Binh.

The first stop on our tour was the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lua. This was our first glimpse of the overwhelming natural beauty that Vietnam has to offer. We walk across the Sao Khe River, stopping to take in the unreal backdrop of mountains covered slightly with fog. It didn’t feel real, and this was just a tiny taster of what was to come later today. Once at Hoa Lu, we were met with an imperial looking gate covered with flags I have never seen before. I asked our guide and he noted that they were Buddhist flags.

Next up, we loaded into

It had been a long day, but we still had work to do, Pho number 3 was calling our names. We’d had Chicken Pho and Beef Pho already, but this next one was something different. Don Duck Old Quarter, a Hanoi staple, specializes in, you guessed it, Duck, including Duck Pho.

Stir Fried Duck with Basil

We ended the night sitting outside a small bar, Beer Bar Café 81, and having a couple drinks. It had been probably the best day in all of our travels.

Day 4

The next day we woke up and strolled over for breakfast at Tranquil Books & Coffee. This little cafe was tucked away at the end of an alley and filled to the brim with books. Emily got a sandwich and I got Shakshuka, standard food, but the coffee was delicious, Robusta espresso with condensed milk, called Bac Xiu. Plus, the quiet, cozy vibes were exactly what we needed after a busy day.

On our stroll of the city we happened to walk past Hang Day Stadium, home of the local football team Hanoi FC. Part of my ‘checklist’ for each country is to visit the stadium of a local team, it’s always interesting to see.

For lunch we went to a very special place, Bún chả Hương Liên, famous for that incredible video of Anthony Bourdain and President Obama in Vietnam. In case you haven’t seen it, you can watch it below.

We walked in and were taken up two flights of stairs to our seats. To my amazement, we were given the table right behind where Bourdain and Obama sat. Yes, they have it encased in glass with their (cleaned) plates immortalized within. You could tell they were proud of it. The top menu item is even called the Combo Obama, where you can order exactly what they ate: Bun Cha, a Crab Spring Roll, and a can of Hanoi beer. Come on, we couldn’t not order it.

A couple minutes after we ordered, 3 waiters came rushing by and dropped off plates and bowls filled with a variety of foods. This was Vietnam, all hustle and bustle, those waiters never stopped the entire time we were there. Constantly dropping off food and cleaning tables. It was an assembly line of patrons.

Bun Cha is somewhat similar to Cha Ca in the sense that you create your own plate. In one of the bowls was grilled pork swimming in some type of broth, one had cold noodles, the other had lettuce and herbs, and the last had chilis. The idea here is to combine all of them into your own bowl, adding as much as you want of any particular ingredient for a personalized experience. I loved it. The pork was smoky and fatty, the sauce was a tangy and a little sweet, the cold noodles and greens cut through it all with their freshness. Super balanced and a really enjoyable experience.

Guess what we did next. If you guessed ‘Ate more’, you’d be correct. Listen, there’s so much tasty food in Vietnam and we only had a week. That means we have to sacrifice our bellies so that we can try everything. This is what we do for you all.

This was another small location. We walked in and were immediately ushered down a small flight of stairs to our little wooden table. We were at Bun Bo Nam Bo Bach Phuong to try their Bun Bo, a similar dish to Bun Cha, but ordered in a different way. I didn’t like this one as much, I thought it was a little boring compared to the flavors we’d already had in Vietnam. It was a bowl of beef, cold noodles, lettuce, herbs, shallots, and peanuts. Not bad at all, just a little underwhelming.

Later that night we had plans for another viral spot in Hanoi, Train Street. The videos of this online looked so sick it was probably our most hyped activity of the trip. Getting in wouldn’t be easy though as it’s illegal due to safety laws and regulations. It’s actually enforced too, there’s blockades and police roam the area, turning away people that try to enter through the openings. There are, however, loopholes, and I’d done my research. There are certain restaurants/cafes located along the rails that tell people the perfect times to come, so that you miss the police patrols, one of them being The Railway Cafe. I texted the number I found online and was given instructions by the owner Tuan. I’m not outing them by posting this information either, there are thousands of reviews of this place online, it seems like there may be a deal between the police and the cafes, but that’s just my theory.

About two hours later we were hit with the text ‘Come now if u can’. He didn’t have to tell us twice, we headed over as fast as we could. Once we got to an opening in the rail, the barricade was still there, but as our new friend promised, no police guards. I called him up and he emerged from his cafe and guided us through the barricade.

We were sat down in a literal hole in a wall next to the tracks with a couple of small tables which quickly filled up. In our hole was us, a British man married to a Malaysian woman, and an Australian family. We all had too much to drink and chatted the entire night, it was a great communal time.

And then it happened, a siren went off followed by people ringing bells and rushing to move tables away from the tracks. “Tuck in. Away from the tracks” we were told. This would be our first train of the evening. The tracks started shaking.

I’m not going to lie, the drunker we got the more fun the trains got. I absolutely see why this is a safety concern, but shit, if it isn’t the best time being drunk cheering on a train that flashes by right next to you.

At one point Tuan came over to us and said he had a special Vietnamese drink not on the menu, Bia Trứng or Egg Beer. Does it work as good as the coffee? Absolutely it does, I think better.