After a late-night arrival in Hanoi, we had trouble sleeping because the city was having a massive celebration for Vietnam’s youth soccer team, which made the finals in the Under-23 Asian Federation Cup. Although Vietnam lost to Uzbekistan in the last minute, hundreds of motorbikes with Vietnamese flags honking their horns sped through the night. Plenty were wearing headbands that declared, “Vietnam Wins!”. When we met our walking tour guide, a junior at a local university, we wanted to wake up, so we had bun bo (beef noodle soup) at 56 Hang Chieu and coconut iced coffee with chocolate and at Cong Caphe, a communist-themed coffee chain. We then took in the history and charm of the Old Quarter and French Quarter. Some local teenage soccer fans stopped me for a picture on the way to the Hanoi Opera House, which was built by French colonialists in the early 20th century. The guide pointed out motorbikes carrying kumquat trees to homes in preparation for Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, as well as octopus-shaped fruits that are used to decorate family altars. For lunch, we had pho, Vietnamese noodle soup, at Pho 10 (10 Ly Quoc Su) – and it was absolutely delicious with half-done, tender beef and fresh herbs. Adding just 2-3 sliced chilies makes the soup very spicy! The next day, we visited the Temple of Literature, a Confucian school that educated the Vietnamese king’s staff from 1076 to 1779. Students who did well could take the National Exam and, if qualified, the royal exam to work for the king. After lunch, we walked to the Hoa Lo Prison, the “Hanoi Hilton” where John McCain and other POWs were held during the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese government’s description of the events that took place there is in a photo below. I also stopped by the Ho Chi Minh Museum, dedicated to the communist leader’s life. It is clear that “Uncle Ho” remains an important figure in Vietnam, and his portrait hangs throughout the country. Hanoi has some of the best and cheapest food we’ve had so far in Asia. Pho (noodle soup), banh mi (toasted baguette sandwiches), and Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk were some of our favorites. Our most important tip for Hanoi is to cross the street with omnidirectional awareness because of constant traffic:
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September 2018
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