day thirteen: 28 dec Hà Nôi to Sydney

What a trip! We managed to fit in so much and make enough time to relax and reflect on our holiday too - the people we met, the places of significance and the bonding of the family that happens when you travel together. 

Our final morning in Hà Nôi was merely enough time to pack our suitcases and hunt down a French patisserie we'd spotted from our cab the night before. Anh Hòa was a couple of blocks walk from the Golden Silk Boutique Hotel where we were staying and inside its doors were baguettes long and short, amazing cakes and mouth-watering pastries. We ordered a couple of pastries for morning tea and a couple of baguettes 'for the road' before heading across the street to a cafe J had noticed. 

 

Out on the street we ordered "Vietnamese coffee" which, I must tell you, is strong, dark and incredibly sweet. We asked for milk and it wasn't until the last mouthful that I understood where the sweetness had come from. When we ordered 'milk' we were asking for sweetened condensed milk. The coffee and pastries were still very pleasant and we were made to feel very welcome by the host,
N.M.Tri and his family.

Sticky-taped to a wall adjacent to Cafe 183A was this 'American dollar bill' which we assumed was another form of 'war propaganda.' N.M. explained that the cafe was popular with cyclists and it was a bike pump - not bomb pump as we'd thought. We remarked how easily, at times, you can make assumptions.

Within a day we were home again, in suburban Sydney. You know what it's like when you've had an amazing experience and you return to your routine life and you feel as though you've changed but nothing around you has?

The kids managed to get about four hours sleep on the overnight plane ride home. I had half an hour and J didn't sleep a wink. Jet lag caught up to us rapidly and we all slid into our own beds for a three hour sleep. Feeling somewhat revived I headed to our local Harris Farm markets to source some fresh ingredients for a Vietnamese chicken soup. Can you imagine my disappointment when there was no Vietnamese mint - and none in any of the supermarkets I tried over the following few days?!

I had to remind myself of our incredible country - a relatively high rate of employment; a good economy; access to world class education and health care; a melting pot of cultural diversity; some of the freshest, cleanest food in the world and of such a variety thanks to all our global influences, including Vietnam.

This was my lasting memory of Vietnam......

Anh Hòa bakery

Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, 
Vietnam +84 93 650 52 99


Cafe 
183A Phung Hung,
Hoan Kiem Dist, Ha Noi

day twelve: dec 27 Hà Nôi

The streets of Hà Nôi were adorned with these banners. The North Vietnamese were commemorating forty years since the end of a ten-day American bombing campaign over Christmas in the city. We spoke with locals about the anniversary and whilst it resonated as an important date on the calendar there wasn't a thirst for revenge. People just seemed to think that acknowledgement of the date was important and that, as they say, "life goes on."

It was strange to think that these banners, that celebrated the end of the American (and Australian) invasion of Vietnam could be viewed as propaganda too and, as they say, "there's always two sides to a story."

This morning we took a walk along the lake to 'Book Street' (Ba Trieu) and visited a 3D trick exhibition. The street is also lined withbook stores where we had fun perusing English and, mostly Vietnamese, books.

 

Sun Handicrafts was a discovery we made while walking to lunch. Fabric necklaces (200VD = $8AUD) hats, scarves, women's clothes and fabric buttons are all made onsite. I was particularly taken by the handmade quilts - single, double and pram sized - but I knew we couldn't fit them in our case on the trip home.

 

We headed to Xôi Yên for lunch which had a great view of the street. They served a few variations of a rice dish and I settled on Gà luôc. Against all instinct rubbish is thrown on the floor during a meal and so your feet are surrounded by used paper napkins and pieces of gristle.

Gà luôc

Sticky rice (savoury) with grated beans (possibly butter beans), crunchy fried garlic, shredded chicken pieces, served with cucumber pickle on the side.

Cucumber pickle

According to many websites we simply had to visit Ca Cha La Vong for dinner. Ca Cha La Vong has a cult following, probably due to its inclusion in the Lonely Planet guidebook. We arrived at Ca Cha La Vong just on 6:30pm and were seated immediately. Moments later the restaurant was full and within an instant we were served the dish that has made Ca Cha La Vong famous and given the restaurant its named because it is the only dish you can eat there. Fried fish.

What makes Vietnamese food taste so fresh are the stacks of fresh herbs and greens. This dish needs more of them. Although tasty, I found it very oily, but the greens did give the dish a slight 'I don't feel like I just drank oil' feel afterwards. Accompaniments also included roasted peanuts, chilli/garlic oil and steamed rice. The beer we ordered also helped to cut through the grease.

At the end of the meal we asked for the bill which came to 360,000VD ($18AUD) which was far than we were expecting, more than we were carrying on us and too much for a meal for two. J literally tried five nearby ATM's before he was able to withdraw cash while we waited for his return.

We finished the night with dessert at Green Tangerine with our very own chocolate truffle fritters perfumed with tamarind and the red fruit flower sauce! Fortunately, for me, that wasn't the end of my night because I was lucky enough that J offered to take the children back to bed at the hotel.

Meanwhile I SUPER indulged in a package at SF Salon and Spa which had been recommended by our hotel while their own spa was under renovation. The coconut pre-sun package included 3.5 hours of blissful attentiveness.

"Freshly-grated coconut is used to smooth and moisturize the skin with a gentle exfoliation, leaving it in perfect condition to receive the sun. A great start to your holiday! For all skin types, this treatment is also a perfect preparation for a Body massage and also ideal combined with a facial care.
– Steam Bath or Sauna or Jacuzzi
– Massage Therapy with Coconut Oil
– Coconut Exfoliation
– Facial Care by Coconut and Cucumber
(Offer free coconut juice)"

Are you enticed? Believe me, this was the very best final night on a brilliant trip. The package set me back abut $60AUD but a package like this here would cost hundreds. My skin was left feeling rejuvenated and silky soft and I slept like a (well rested) baby!

Xôi Yên
35b, Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem Ward, Hà Nôi City Province
(04) 3934 1950

Sun Handicrafts
46 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem, Hà Nôi

Ca Cha La Vong
14 Pho Cha Ca Old Quarter
Phone 04 3825 3929
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/hanoi/restaurants/seafood/cha-ca-vong

Green Tangerine
48 Hang Be Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hà Nôi, Vietnam.
Tel : +84 4 3825 1286 Fax :+84 3828 9167.
Email: enquiry@greentangerinehanoi.com
http://greentangerinehanoi.com/

SF Salon and Spa
16 Hàng Buồm, Hoan Kiem District Hà Nôi, 
Vietnam‎+84 4 3926 2032
http://sfcompany.net/

day eleven: dec 26 Hà Nôi

On the morning of our eleventh day we took a tour of Bat Trang - a pottery-making village. We now have a real appreciation for hand-painted pottery. Once, I would have been dubious if I'd seen identical pieces and they'd been described as hand-painted but the artists at the studios create beautiful designs - over and over and over. One studio we visited made thousands of teapots each day. Each one had to be sponged so it didn't dry out too quickly, and crack. Bat Trang artists make (and sell) everything from crockery to coffins to vases as tall as a tall person.

We stopped for lunch not far from the Museum of Ethnology and tried, something I wouldn't have naturally attributed to Vietnamese cuisine, Bít Têt. The meal was served on a steaming hot plate - steak, meat balls, potato chips, onions, tomato and an egg. It was the perfect meal in the cool, drizzly weather. Here's a great visual menu (and written, if you can read Vietnamese).

What an amazing teaching tool the Museum of Ethnology is. The gardens of the museum have been transformed into a display of various forms of housing in traditional Vietnam. They include the use of original materials, design and layout suiting the purpose of the tribes of people who would have inhabited the houses and the environment in which they lived. The kids particularly loved running around this display and climbing the pole ladders attached to houses perched on stilts.

Bánh mỳ bít tết

54 Hoàng Quốc Việt, Cổ Nhuế, Cầu Giấy

Hanoi, Vietnam
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Cau Giay Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Telephone : (+84-4) 37562193 - Fax: (+84-4) 38360351
http://www.vme.org.vn/aboutus_history.asp

day ten: dec 25 Hà Nôi

Our children drew the curtains and let the sunlight in. It was seven in the morning and today Christmas wasn't about waking early for presents or checking to see if Santa had been. This was Christmas in Hà Nôi.

A buffet hotel breakfast in a gezellig dining room was followed with a walk through the old quarter. This morning I was on a mission to find the man who could make a two-dimensional logo into a timber stamp. We found him near Ma May street and the children had their own stamps personalised for a mere (80,000VD) $4 Australian dollars each. The logo was left with the gentleman who promised a 6pm collection time (with a heftier price tag - $25AUD.)

B's tyrannosaurus rex. 

 P's chook.

After ten days travelling through Vietnam and mostly eating in street stalls we decided on some Western Christmas fare for lunch. Having read about the Green Tangerine and realising we'd have to be prepared for an increase in the lunch bill by tenfold, we had high expectations.

Green Tangerine serves Vietnamese food with a salute to the french influence on the country. We were not disappointed in the slightest. Our children were given a kids menu (with three choices for main) and we decided on the three course banquet. You can choose two of three courses (entree, main or dessert) for 198000 VD or all three for 275000VD each.

Duck in crumble mixed with currants and apples and cooked in cinnamon and cognac.

 Sliced beef cooked in oven with two types of chutney: 

red pepper and pineapple in curry, served with homemade pastas and Gouda.

Sliced duck fillet in thyme, forest mushrooms sauce with eggplant puree in white wine.

  Pyramid creme brulee with lemongrass served with iced yoghurt mixed with raspberry.

Frozen green tangerine in yoghurt and Cointreau

The Californian couple next to us couldn't stop boasting about their dessert: chocolate truffle fritters perfumed with tamarind and the red fruit flower sauce. So much so that we had to go back for dessert on our last night in Hà Nôi! I was very interested to taste the dessert for myself. The cake was crispy on the outside and the sweetened tamarind oozed out through the chocolate. You just had to *pop* it in your mouth! The dessert wasn't overly sweet at all but it made a great combination that I would never have thought of.

Lunch was followed by a stroll through the streets.

Funeral shops on the aptly named Hang Man street.

So, we covered French cuisine at lunch and it was time, again, to branch out in Vietnam. Namaste Hà Nôi served some of the best Indian I've ever eaten. Possibly the best. The restaurant is simply furnished with images of Hindu dieties which fascinated our children.

The poor waitress was grilled by B and he quickly realised she, too, didn't know why Ganesha looked like an elephant. Fortunately some other guests came to the waitresses aide and explained. The rest of the full dining room listened with interest.

Our entire feast cost us $25AUD.

Butter chicken, fish masala, garlic naan, mango lassi, coconut rice, steamed rice. 

Green Tangerine
48 Hang Be Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Tel : +84 4 3825 1286 Fax :+84 3828 9167.
Email: enquiry@greentangerinehanoi.com
http://greentangerinehanoi.com/

Namaste Hà Nôi
47 Lo Su str. Hoan Kiem District. Hanoi.
Telephone: 84.4.3935 2400/ 84.4.3935 2401 Mobile: 0903266997
Email: Gobi@namastehanoi.com
http://www.namastehanoi.com/

day nine: dec 24 Huè to Hà Nôi

With a couple of hours remaining in Hue we visited the War Museum (a stone's throw from the Citadel) and took up one of the many offers for a tour of the Old City by rickshaw. As I mentioned we should have done this on our first day. It was an insightful tour of relics of the war and added an incredibly sobering element to our final hours in Huè.

The strangest things we saw on the back of a rickshaw in Vietnam:

an industrial air conditioning unit

a wardrobe: the rider had to pop his head up over the top of the 'robe at regular intervals to make certain he was still going in the right direction.

four enormous boxes of OK condoms. If you didn't know the contents of the boxes were so light you'd think the rickshaw would topple.

Dinner in Hanoi

I avoided the pig's blood. Front and centre of photo.

We flew to Hà Nôi on the final leg of our tour of Vietnam. We checked in at the Golden Silk Boutique Hotel, which is as it sounds - a boutique hotel (only lacking a pool, spa) nestled among silk shops on Silk rd. which is a bonus for those interested in buying clothing (plenty of scarves) made in Vietnam with Vietnamese silk. It's also a five minute walk from the lake and in the heart of the Old City.

Our guide, the lovely Ton, organised a rickshaw ride through the Old and French Quarters past luxurious hotels dripping with Christmas lights. The atmosphere on the streets of Hà Nôi was unlike Saigon especially in the day leading up to Christmas. Hà Nôi is a city that never sleeps, where car and bike horns are constantly blaring. Rickshaw was the best way to see the city! And we developed a real fondness for Hà Nôi.

After the rickshaw ride we saw the famous water puppets which the children loved. A short walk back to our hotel was as much as we could manage (we were exhausted) and we'd cancelled our tour to Halong Bay the following day. We decided to stay in Hà Nôi for Christmas and take a day of rest.

Thanglong Water Puppet Theatre

57b Dinh Tien Hoang Str.,
Hà Nôi, Vietnam
Tel : 84 4 39364335 – 39364334 - 38255450
Fax / Tel : 84 43 8 245117
E-mail : thanglong.wpt@fpt.vn
www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org

Golden Silk Boutique Hotel

Hàng Gai, Hoan Kiem District

Hà Nôi, Vietnam

Tel 84-4-3928 6969
Fax 84-4-3928 6999
Email info@goldensilkhotel.com
Website www.goldensilkhotel.com