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.