Viet Vittles and Final Reflections

     Phillip and I have been back to the United States for seven days, enough time to get the 2,046 photos that we took ready to create a photo album and for me to reflect on our adventures in Vietnam for this final post of the trip. Some of our best experiences in Vietnam involved food, and I didn't always share pictures and impressions during my previous posts. We saw some variation in dishes as we traveled from south to north, but one of the constants was the ready availability of fresh fruit.

breakfast buffet (clockwise): watermelon, bananas, dragon fruit, pineapple, passion fruit, and mangos

We didn't discover any new favorite fruits, but had a plentiful supply of our favorites: mangos for Phillip and jackfruit for me. The pineapples were gloriously ripe, and unlike with those we buy here, the core was even edible. Every market and woman selling fruit on the street had plenty of finger-sized bananas, another favorite of mine.

finger-sized bananas, sweeter than the big ones

     We did find a favorite vegetable: sautéed morning glory. As we moved north thru Vietnam, morning glory gave way to water spinach on restaurant menus. We ate whichever of them was available when we had a large evening meal. Spinach-like, preparation was the key, sautéed and covered with the sweetest, best-tasting garlic we've ever eaten. It isn't just that the garlic is fresh (I've grown garlic, so I've had it fresher than we get at the grocery), it's whatever variety they grow in Vietnam.

Sauteed morning glory, usually served with rice

     One of our dinners that stands out for me is a meal we had in Danang, at a restaurant, Tran Local Food, recommended by our hotel receptionist. I'm not sure what the dish was called. We ate it after we'd made the four-mile walk to the Dragon Bridge then back to the shore, and Phillip and I were hot, thirsty, and hungry. The meat was pork, tender and falling off the rib bones. The noodles were fresh, the peanuts were roasted, and the broth was well-seasoned. My favorite part, however, was the hard-boiled egg addition. These are quail eggs, already peeled. I did eat the first one carefully to ensure it wasn't balut!

Danang dish, with pork

     Banh mi, we love banh mi and ate it in every city. The banh mi is best when the bread is toasted, but sometimes, especially in Hanoi, the vegetables are added before it is toasted. The resulting warm cucumber was not as good as cold cucumber slices and herbs added to toasted bread and meat.

sandwich at Phi Banh Mi, with an iced coffee and free, cold herbal tea

     Phillip and I agree that the best banh mi was in Hoi An, at a restaurant called Phi Banh Mi. Perfectly made with homemade fermented chili sauce. And look at the menu!

Banh mi for as little as 15,000 dong ($0.66). During one visit, I splurged for the #11, the Phi Special. With my iced milk coffee, lunch for me that day was 50,000 dong ($2.20)! The cheese on these sandwiches was actually a heavy smear of cream cheese. The herbs were the traditional Thai basil and mint with one other herb I couldn't identify. Delicious.
     The entire east side of Vietnam is coastline, so seafood is plentiful at markets and restaurants. Phillip and I aren't big seafood eaters, and we really aren't a fan of calamari, but we did eat a fried noodle and vegetable dish after our DMZ and tunnel tour out of Hue that contained the most tender squid we have ever eaten. It was cooked, not raw squid, perfectly cooked.

     During our first Hoi An cooking class, our instructor had demonstrated cooking rice paper from raw rice on a cloth over a steaming kettle. I had thought it was some old, traditional cooking method; however, it is how the best banh cuon is still made today! In Hanoi, we found a TripAdvisor-recommended banh cuon restaurant in an alley about a km from our hotel. As we walked in, the owner was making the thin rice pancakes as they were ordered. So fresh and tender! I planned to get a picture when we left, but she was simmering the filling on her burner instead at that time.

Banh cuon: fresh rice crepes with a mushroom filling, topped with crispy shallots

The filling is sautéed mushrooms and other ingredients that I couldn't catch when she told me. The rice pancake is very thin, thinner even than a crepe, but since it is rolled around the filling, it was easy enough to pick the banh cuon up with chopsticks to dip it in a spiced fish sauce dip.
     In earlier posts, I described some of the other Vietnamese food we prepared during our cooking classes: pho, fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, fried noodles, and crispy pancakes. We also ate all of those foods at restaurants - in addition to meat on lemongrass skewers, meat baked in banana leaves, and many other delicious items. Although rice is popular and served often, noodles seemed more prevalent than rice. Fresh herbs are essential in Vietnamese cuisine. Shallots are used more than onions. And everything was delicious!

HCMC tower building

     In addition to remarkable food, I highly recommend Vietnam as a travel destination for a number of reasons. Ho Chi Minh City is a metropolitan area with all the amenities of a big city, even light shows on the buildings. Phillip and I had no problem getting around in Ho Chi Minh City. Taxis (usually Toyota Camrys) are plentiful and if the hotel calls one for you or you use one of the two major companies, Vinasun or Mai Linh, you shouldn't run into an meter scams. Uber isn't used in Vietnam, but Grab, which operates just like Uber, is the transportation of choice for many folks. Hanoi's Old Quarter, which is where a lot of the hotels are and visitors stay, has narrow crowded streets, but just outside, in the French Quarter, for example, the streets are wider. I still would never drive myself in Vietnam! Traffic signals and lane markings are only suggestions. Motorcycles are more numerous than cars and traffic operates differently than anything I've ever seen. Watching intersections was entertainment for Phillip and me, the flow of the motorcycles and cars is amazing.

A Hanoi intersection

     Vietnam is full of history, both ancient and recent. Pagodas and thousand-year-old dragon statues on the same block as museums dedicated to the American War (that's what our Vietnam War is called in Vietnam. It only makes sense, they also fought the French and the Japanese on Vietnamese soil during the past eighty years.). Natural beauty also graces Vietnam. The countryside around Hoi An was blanketed with green rice fields. The Mekong Delta, once we traveled away from the Saigon River section, was peaceful and scenic with its unique boats. We didn't travel to the Saba region, but met many travelers who had and shared that the mountains were very beautiful. Halong Bay is truly magnificent.

Limestone karsts of Halong Bay

     The main reason that Phillip and I will return to Vietnam and that we recommend it to others is the people. We were absolutely delighted by the friendliness of everyone we met. We brought home fond memories of Vy, the lively masseuse who laughed with us in Hoi An, her husband and cute son who loves ice cream; Chi, her six-year old brother ("My name is Superman"), and her mother and father who bought us ice cream in Hanoi; Mr. Huong, a father of twin girls and the restaurant owner/tour operator in Hue who personally gave us the DMZ tour; the many, many kids and young adults who stopped us around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi to practice their English; and especially our absolutely wonderful university student guides.

Phillip with Hua and Linh at the Reunification Palace

     We are so glad that we contacted the various groups, Saigon Hotpot, Hoi An Mates, Lets Hue, and Hanoi Kids, who provide free student guides. The students with whom we interacted thru these programs were knowledgeable, friendly, eager to share their history and culture and eager to learn about ours.
     Phillip and I are already planning our return trip to Vietnam, including it in a multi-week adventure that will take us to Seoul, South Korea; Chiang Mai, Thailand; West Samar in the Philippines (if airlines still fly to Calbayog); and to Cambodia, a new location for us. This would be our 2020 trip. We know that we need to revisit Asia while we still have no mobility issues. The ability to walk over uneven surfaces in extreme heat and humidity is a requirement for these adventures. But it is well worth it to visit Vietnam!

Hanoi: Our Final Three Days

     Saturday, May 19, was Ho Chi Minh's birthday. He was the leader of North Vietnam, actually more of a nationalist than a communist, as his fight was against any foreign power wanting to be in control of Vietnam. He fought the French, then the Japanese, then the Americans. I expected some kind of celebration to commemorate his birthday, so when we saw a stage being set up near Hoan Kiem Lake on Saturday, we decided to check it out in the evening. Not at all what I expected.

stage next to Hoan Kiem Lake

It was a music stage with a DJ. Around the lake, street vendors sold their toys and food, cartoon characters entertained children, and people played games in the closed streets.

a communist minion?

     It reminded me of how we celebrate George Washington's birthday with sales on TVs and washing machines. Apparently, May 19 was also some type of environmental event day as well, accounting for some of the celebration. After walking around the lake, Phillip and I headed into the walking streets. North of the lake, on weekend evenings, streets are closed to traffic and vendors set up stalls to sell their goods. Food vendors are on every corner. Literally every corner! The interections fill with carts: pork skewer vendors, fruit on a stick vendors, pho vendors, and Phillip's favorite, ice cream vendors.

ice cream rolls

     The next day, Sunday, we started our day with a stroll around the lake, but the thirty minute walk turned into about three hours! Kids, kids, and more kids! All wanting to practice their English. We loved it! During the morning stroll, we were stopped at least eight times. The younger children, 8 and 9 year olds, were always accompanied by a teacher or parent.

     This group of six boys split into two groups and Phillip and I fielded questions from three each. "What is your name? Where are you from? What is your favorite color? Do you have children?"

our favorite Hanoi coffee shop

     After our three hour stroll, we arrived back at the north end of the lake, where a young lady with a big smile was handing out coupons for a nearby coffee shop. We are always ready for iced Vietnamese coffee. This coffee shop, called "The Note Coffee," used sticky notes for its decorating theme. The staff also tied a note to each coffee order. Our first note said "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy a cup of coffee and it's all the same."

Sign amid the notes: "Don't judge me, I was born to be awesome, not perfect"

    After coffee, we returned to our hotel for foot massages. Not as inexpensive as in Hoi An ($5 there), but well worth the $10 for thirty minutes. Phillip had an hour foot massage ($15) and a head/shoulder/back massage and I also had a facial for under $23. After our pampering, we walked to dinner where Phillip tried to order duck for the second time during our trip. And for the second time, he heard the same words: "No duck." Apparently it isn't duck season.
     The streets around Hoan Kiem Lake closed again during the evening, so we again headed that way to see the street games and vendors. And again, as we walked around the lake, another half a dozen kids or groups of kids stopped us to speak English! As Phillip and I sat on a bench to rest, we were approached by another student, accompanied by her little brother and her parents. We never tire of speaking with the kids, so we were happy to talk with her. Her name was Chi, a 12 year old who spoke the best English of all the kids with whom we conversed. When we asked her little brother what his name was, he said "Superman!" Chi said that "Superman," whose real name was Minh, watches a lot of American Youtube videos and movies. Minh was six and could answer questions as well as the older kids, but being a six year old boy, he wasn't really interested in a conversation. Chi, however, was very interested in talking with us. We made space on the bench and had a great conversation with her. Her father, Tuong, is a lecturer in information technology at a university in Hanoi. He spoke English, but Chi knew more English than he did! After a bit, and to thank us for speaking so much with their daughter, Tuong and his wife invited us to join them for ice cream at a famous Hanoi ice cream parlor, Kem Trang Tien. To the other end of the lake, and we found homemade ice cream bars! Chi's mom bought six ice cream bars from this Hanoi institution which has been serving folks chilly goodness since 1958. After we finished our first round of ice cream, Chi's mom went back to the line and bought the sweet potato ice cream bars for Phillip, Tuong, and me! Delicious even as it dripped down our arms. Thank you, Tuong and family, for sharing your ice cream break with us!

Pat with Chi and her family after ice cream

     As Phillip and I returned to our hotel, we came across a game of tug-a-war and stopped to watch. The kids noticed Phillip's size and waved for him to join them, and he did! Unfortunately, the numbers were a bit off, with more folks on the other side, so even with the addition of Phillip, the other side won.

Phillip ready to help out

    Monday was our last day in Vietnam. We did some final shopping, walked around the lake, drank more coffee and went to the Hanoi water puppet show.
     During our last stroll around the lake, we were approached by fewer kids than the day before. A 22-year old university student, Tuyet (which translates to "snow" in English) came up to us, and we had another lovely hour-long conversation. Since it was lunchtime, we invited Tuyet to join us for banh mi. Just across the street happened to be a banh mi restaurant run by the winner of Iron Chef Vietnam. Another tasty sandwich!

Pat and Tuyet

     The Hanoi water puppet show had better production values than the one we had seen in Ho Chi Minh City.

     This show had singers and musicians in the wings.

     The stories illustrated by the water puppets were similar to those at Ho Chi Minh City, fishing, dragons, village life.

     After the water puppets, we made a last visit to Note Coffee. I left a note, "Live Long and Prosper," and the staff's note on our coffee order was "We will miss you!" Yes, they knew this was our final visit.

     During our last walk, I made my final purchase of fresh jackfruit from a street vendor. It's been so nice to eat all the jackfruit I want! It's only available canned back home.

fresh jackfruit in the sack from the vendor

     We took a car from the hotel that evening to the airport for our 12:05 am flight to Tokyo, where we changed airports, had an 8-hour layover, then flew to Los Angeles, had a 4-hour layover, then flew on to DFW Airport. We are glad that ordeal is over, but sad that our Vietnam adventure is also over. I'll have one more post to talk about food adventures and my final thoughts on Vietnam travel.

Halong Bay Cruise

     We returned yesterday evening from our three day, two night cruise of Halong Bay, a must-see destination in Vietnam. Indeed it was! I highly recommend Halong Bay as a side trip for anyone coming to Vietnam.
     Our bus picked us up from our hotel at about 8:30 am Wednesday morning for the four hour drive, east from Hanoi, to Halong Bay. We rode tender boats from the port to our ship, the Silversea. On the Silversea, we had a suite room, which meant it was one of only two on the boat that had a private balcony and complimentary fruit and bottle of wine in the room.

approaching the Silversea on a tender boat

     As we were served lunch, the Silversea headed out into the bay. Halong Bay contains 1969 limestome karsts. Limestone is a soft rock. Over the ages, coastal erosion created these pillars, islands and islets of limestone in the bay. Unlike the volcanic rock that we saw in the small islands around El Nido in the Philippines, these karsts generally are covered with vegetation.
     Halong Bay was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. And yes, you can see a pattern in my choice of adventure destinations. UNESCO does a fine job of identifying and encouraging preservation of places with cultural and natural significance.
   

at low tide

     During our first afternoon on the boat, we, and five other of the twenty people on the boat, opted out of a hike up to the top of a karst for the view of the bay. Stairs straight up the side of a mountain, at 3 pm in a tropical country? Just tell me about it when you get back down. Several who went were glad they did, several said it was really tiring and terribly hot. We all went on the next outing from the boat, kayaking and swimming. I wasn't yet ready to kayak, but did join swimming from the boat (not on a beach). 

Halong Bay in the evening

    Dinner that evening, just like lunch, was a series of courses of tasty food, fresh seafood and fruit were highlighted. The upper deck of the boat was an open lounge area where many passengers congregated aftr dinner to share travel stories. Our bed was comfortable and we slept well. 

    On the second day of the cruise, all the other passengers left the ship because they had booked their second night on Cat Ba Island. Phillip and I joined nine other travelers from several different boats for a day cruise farther afield of the mass of cruise boats. Our guide and handler for the day, Dan, was great! Fun, perfectly understandable English, and very knowledgeable. Our first stop, and we were the only group there, was a cave on a karst. It was a more natural experience than going into caves elsewhere. No concrete, man-made walkways, no lights (Dan had a couple of flashlight and several of us used our cell phone flashlights.)

stalactites in the karst cave

    We saw some awesome stalactites and stalagmites. The sea, as it eroded the limestome, created the caves eons ago. As the limestone above dissolved, plenty of formations were created. 

      Several times, we had to squat and sqeeze thru openings, but we were also surprised by openings out into the light.

     After the cave, we went kayaking. This time, with a smaller group, Phillip and I did join in, our very first kayaking adventure! I don't have any pictures because we were busy paddling the kayak. I didn't take the camera with us because I wanted to concentrate on paddling and not tipping over. I must say, we were actually in no danger of tipping over and did just fine. I wish I had taken the camera, because when we got about fifty feet from the dock on our return, the kayak helpers yelled "monkey, monkey!" and pointed up. As Phillip and I were kayaking about fifteen feet from the rock, we looked above us, into a tree that was hanging over the water, and yes.... a monkey! A wild monkey - there are animals on the larger karst islands. We did, however, make sure we did not paddle directly under the monkey. Monkeys are known to announce their presence with a stream of urine. No monkey pee for us. 

from the boat, the tree that contained the monkey 

   Dan and the staff of our day boat served us a terrific lunch of green papaya salad, fried squid, sauteed morning glories, pork skewers, chicken, rice, and fruit. After lunch, we visited a pearl farm and saw how the irritant (made from oyster shell), is added to live oysters. After three to five years, these irritants get coated repeatedly by the oyster and turn into cultured pearls. 

implanting to create cultured pearls

     We returned to our Silversea boat where we had a new batch of people, the two day, one night batch. We missed their 3 pm trek up the stairs, but did join then for kayaking again. From never kayaking to twice in one day! Phillip and I paddled near the shore, looking for monkeys, but it was a different karst island and we didn't see any monkeys. It was still fun to see the many bugs skittering across the rocks and to look up at the formations.

the view from the kayak, looking up 

   Another beautiful night on the boat, drinking my complimentary wine!

sunset on Halong bay

   Sunrise was about 5:15 am, and I got up to get sunrise pictures; however, unlike my sunset pictures, boats joined the reflection on the water. 

sunrise Friday morning

    We went with this second batch of people to another cave on our third morning. This cave, containing three chambers, was huge. It reminded me of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. 

find the people on the lower right third of the picture, and you'll see the scale of the chamber

      Surprising Cave was more developed for tourists. It had a sturdy walkway to keep the visitors out of the dampness on the cave floor, but it also kept us farther away from the features than the smaller cave had. It was still a very impressive cave.

sea water wave action, not dripping water, created these features

     A final view from the cave chamber, out cross the bay.

     After the cave visit, we went back to the Silversea for a class on how to make spring rolls. We can already do that, so I just made one to eat. Lunch, then the tender to port and bus ride back to Hanoi. We had reservations for an outdoor cultural show yesterday evening and caught the shuttle bus for the hour-long trip, but it started storming enroute. When we arrived at the venue, a representative came on the bus to apologize, saying the show had been cancelled. Outdoor performers, outdoor seating, lightening and heavy rain... we certainly understood. So, another bus ride back to Hanoi! For the next few days, we are shopping and just wandering around Hanoi. Maybe some more adventures?

     

    

Hanoi: Food, Turtle Stories, and Other Adventures

     Before describing our adventures in Hanoi, I have a final Hue picture that I hadn't downloaded from my camera when I made my previous post. During our last evening in Hue, we went on a dragon boat ride again, this time on a party boat with folk singers. Vietnamese folk singers.

costumed folk singers

    These four ladies sang and were joined for the final song by one of the male musicians, a song probably about marriage. Although Phillip and I had no clue what the lyrics said, everyone on the boat was laughing at times. The expression and word emphasis gave the song meaning that we couldn't get from the words.
     A few hours after arriving in Hanoi on Sunday, two lovely young women from Hanoikids met us for a food tour.

Nga and Chinh from Hanoikids

     Chinh and Nga are university students and we spent a delightful evening walking around and eating great food. Our first stop was for pho, Hanoi style which is different than pho from the South. It isn't served with a plate of raw bean sprouts and herbs, as the broth is more seasoned than that of the South. Vegetables are added before it is served.

pho (Hanoi style)

     This restaurant, Pho Gia Truyen, is very popular with both locals and tourists. We were there fairly early and waited in line. When we left, the line was even longer.

waiting for the best pho

After pho, Chinh and Nga took us for banh cuon (freshly made rice paper wrapped around seasoned pork with an excellent dipping sauce), egg coffee (yes, raw egg yolk - it mellows the strong Vietnamese coffee) and coconut coffee (sweet and smooth).
     Monday morning, another set of young people, Mon and Daniel, met us for a tour of the Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo Prison, followed by lunch. The Temple of Literature was constructed in 1070 by the emperor, dedicated to Confucius. Vietnam's first university was created here.

one of the Temple of Literature courtyards

     The grounds had five courtyards and several pavilions. One of our favorite areas had 82 turtle statues. Turtles represent longevity and wisdom. During the time the Temple of Literature was active under the emperors, the names of top scholars were inscribed here. More recently, students would come and rub the heads of the turtles before they had a major exam! Most recently, however, the foks who run the facility put up a fence to try to stop the turtle head rubbing, as it was damaging the artifacts.

darkened head where thousands of students have rubbed it

     This site is important to education today. The area was filled with graduating kindergarten students, lining up in various states of order and disorder, to have their class pictures taken. So cute to watch, as kids are kids world-wide.

one of many kindergarten classes

     After the Temple, Mon and Daniel took us to the remains of the Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the US pilots who had been incarcerated here. The prison was built by the French for political prisoners. Only about 1/5 of the original structure remains, as a museum. The barbed wire and broken glass at the top of the wall looks original, exactly like that we saw in the historical pictures inside.

Hoa Lo prison wall

The prison was not totally secure, as the sewer system was used by numerous prisoners to escape.

even after th French added bars, prisoners still escaped thru the sewer

      After the visit to Hoa Lo, we walked back toward our hotel and had lunch at a restaurant whose name I did not get, but the food was delicious, especially the pork in a red sauce that Mon said she makes for herself by simmering pork with sugar and fish sauce. We also ate a lemon grass beef and a tofu dish. So tasty!

Phillip, Daniel, and Mon

     Phillip and I rested yesterday afternoon, then went out after dark to Hoan Kiem Lake, just a few blocks from our hotel. Chinh and Nga had taken us there Sunday evening, but it started raining right after we finished our coconut coffee so we didn't walk around then. Last night, we did walk about a fourth of the way around, far enough to see the red bridge that leads to a temple on Jade Island.

"Morning Sunlight Bridge" to Jade Island temple

 This morning, Phillip and I walked all the way around Hoan Kiem Lake, on a lovely wide pathway with benches.

Hoan Kiem Lake walking path

Flowerbeds had been planted all around the lake. These flowers, which are expensive and only available at florists in the US, were planted in grand beds.

only seen as houseplants from florists in the USA

     In the lake is a second small island containing the Turtle Tower. According to legend, during the 1400's the emperor was boating when a turtle god surfaced and wanted his magical sword back. The emperor did return the sword after using it to fight off Chinese invaders. Hoan Kiem translates to "Lake of the Returned Sword," so this Turtle Tower directly ties to the legend and name of the lake.

Turtle Tower

A more current activity that Hoan Kiem Lake is known for is exercise class. Although we were not early enough to see tai chi classes, we did see the women, most about my age, at their dance/excercise class.

dance/exercise class

     Tomorrow, we head for Halong Bay for our 3 day, 2 night cruise. Only one more week in Vietnam before we make that grueling return flight. We won't think about that yet!