When we visited Vietnam in 2012 we
started in the South and ended in the North. It had been a hot and
humid three weeks and by the time we got to Hanoi we were fairly
tired and worn out. Our hotel on that occasion was across the lake
from the Old Quarter so a short excursion followed by a swim or
relaxation in air-conditioning was out of the question. Added to
that we were unable to get to see Ho Chi Minh in his mausoleum.
We really had only one day free in
Hanoi that trip and it happened to be on a Sunday – the day the
locals come out to pay their respects to Uncle Ho. We had been told
that we might get in if we got there early but even then we were
facing a 2-3 hour queue. So we didn't hang around.
Time for a Hanoi re-run to catch up on
all the bits we missed out on last time, though mainly Uncle Ho and
street food. Add in a cooking class at Rose Kitchen
(https://rosekitchen.com.vn/#/our-cooking-class),
a street food tour on the back of a motorcycle, maybe a stop at the
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (http://www.vme.org.vn/home/),
a lot of sitting on very low plastic chairs drinking beer and eating
satays and rice paper rolls, and we might be just about done.
And with a hotel located right in the
Old Quarter this time I can always go back for a quiet drink late in
the afternoon before heading out for the night. Looking for food,
naturally.
No comments:
Post a Comment