Back in Vietnam: Hanoi

Me and Noppy at Puku restautant

It was a real treat to be back in Hanoi. It was definately a different feeling than the first time we arrived - wide eyed without a clue of anything that was happening. A holiday to a new place is always exciting but there is also something refreshing about understanding how a place works. This time in Hanoi everything was on auto-pilot. We knew how to take a taxi and where to go. We could speak to the driver and opted for the Old Quarter. We decided to stay in the same hotel as the first night we arrived in Hanoi a few years ago. The hotel had changed it's name but this is not unusal for Hanoi. We knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. We knew the food to eat and what restaurants to eat it in. For Romain, Celine's cousin who was travelling with us, the trip was " the best of" our year and half in Hanoi.

We only had a day and a half but we were able to fit a lot in.

You can't have a stay in Hanoi without a bowl of pho - the famous noodle soup. I tried and got sick of many Vietnamese dishes over my time there but pho was always a favourite. I could do with a bowl now.



As soon as we arrived in Hanoi we went to see our friend Quan who rents motorbikes. You can find him at 68 Hang Bac street in the Old Quarter. We picked a two motorbikes for a couple of days. Motorbike is the only way to properly get around in Hanoi. One of our first stops was to ride over the Long Bien Bridge.



We had dinner at the Rainbow restaurant with our friends Nam and Mai. Mai (pregnant in the photo) has recently given birth to to a beautiful baby boy. The raindow restaurant was on Bao Khanh street in the old quarter and was one of our favourite places to go.



Romain and I by Truc Bach Lake or what we called it; poo lake. The lake really smells. The trick is not to get too close.



Celine and Noppy at a cafe drinking coffee.



Romain and I eating frogs legs at Quan An Ngon restautant.



Eating and drinking at Sen restaurant - all you can eat buffet.



One of our stops on the motorbike was a small cafe by West Lake. It is a great place to go to get away from the hustle and bustle of busy Hanoi.



There are always fisherman on West Lake. I wouldn't want to eat anything they catch though.

Back in Vietnam: Mai Chau

Working in the fields

We stayed with the same family as the previous two times we have been to Mai Chau. They are very friendly and it was a lot of fun speaking Vietnamese again (albeit rather limited for myself). Celine on the other hand had no problem jumping straight back into her Vietnamese and was conversing like she hadn't left.


Hammock under the house

We spent our time relaxing and walking around the village, drinking the local wine, ruoi, with the father of the family, eating superb home cooked meals and going on motorbike rides around the area. At night we saw a traditional dance, where the son of the family was in a leading role. We drank the local Vietnamese coffee and bought some things for the house from the market.

Vietnamese traditional dance


My attempt at one of the dances

Madame Linh lives in her house with her husband and one of her two sons, his wife and their little baby. Sitting down to eat with the family is one of my favourite things. The sleeping arrangements are simple but by no means uncomfortable. The mattresses that they use are made in the village and we like them so much we took some back to Hanoi and now have them in Bangkok. Celine's cousin, Romain, is sleeping on those very mattresses at the moment while staying with us in Bangkok.

Sleeping arrangements


Dinner with the family

Madame Linh, her son and granddaughter. I look rather tall next to them

These guys played a song on the drums and them offered us some local ruoi wine.

Not bad views

Mother and daughter

Back in Vietnam: Road Trip

Romain battling dusty Hanoi



Celine, her cousin Romain and I recently took short trip to Vietnam. It was our first time back since leaving in March. We spent a few days in Hanoi before grabbing a few bikes and riding to one of favourite places in Vietnam - Mai Chau.

Riding up the mountain

Riding through a small town

Friendly and curious kids


Without a doubt the highlight of our year and half in Vietnam was the 3 week motorbike trip we took from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang. We have great memories from that trip so we were very happy to be back on the open road again enjoying the Vietnamese countryside. The first few hours out of Hanoi is a bit painful - hot and dusty traffic jams, poor roads, zooming buses and impatient truck drivers. However, once past Luong Son (the small home town of our friend Nam) the roads are better quality and wider with much less traffic, the air fresh and the scenery amazing.

Buffalos on the road

Rice fields

On the road to Mai Chau

Mai Chau is about 130km south-west of Hanoi. The drive took us about 6 hours. The town itself is pretty unappealing however the White Thai minority group have a village on the outskirts of town where they all live in traditional houses. This is a great place to stay, relax and eat some delicious home cooked Vietnamese food.

Not the worst place to go for a ride

Friendly locals


Goodbye Mai Chau