I already know in full anticipation that one day I want to return and eat-see-do-venture through southern Vietnam. Too bad I didn't have enough time this time around, but when is there ever enough time? The more you travel, the more people and discoveries you make and there's just so much to explore through each country. Plus, it just gives you another reason to return in the future.
Northern Vietnam has educated me that there's more than just pho on menus and that motorcycle bike rides are dangerously fun even though being in the shoes of a pedestrian is life or death (I have master the art of crossing the street though!). I'm accustom to the Vietnamese language in Hanoi as it is much more soft spoken than that of Vietnamese back home (which I was informed those are Southern Vietnamese people who are loud and sounds like they are "arguing"). Most of all, having Vietnamese friends really helps you to be inform on the best of the best in terms of locality and hidden gems!
My local friend whom I met on exchange is a food enthusiasts, so when I first told her I wanted to join one of those motorbike food tours that are common here, she abruptly said I was with the best candidate ever. Turns out, this whole trip with her has felt like a scrumptious and perhaps slightly gluttonous time besides on the Sapa and Halong Bay tours.
Our last full day together, she took me to
Nha Hang Ngon Restaurant (ngon means delicious in Viet) and there's also a location in Saigon as well as in Phnom Peng, Cambodia. Walking in it, I realize this was one of the fanciest places my has taken me seeing that we've literally been eating on the streets in Hanoi so often. The decor, open air atmosphere and also indoor air condition spots if you prefer made it somewhat feel like a grand and exquisite atmosphere. The concept of the food here is pretty neat as well, it's a mix of food court/hawker stall and restaurant ordering style where you can go straight up from the menu or visit any of the open kitchens to see what you like (for me, what looked the tastiest!) and order there. It felt very interactive as there's about 6-8 different mini kitchens that are designated to cook specific types of Vietnamese dishes. I finally got to try
banh xeo (a thin and crispy pancake filled with bean sprouts, pork, shrimp and onions) and it is THE BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN. I actually wasn't to excited for it initially because my grandma knows how to make this, but it's quite oily and unhealthy. Though eating it in its homemake country is such a delight to my senses and so much crispier, lighter and bigger than what my grandma can wok out. My friend said this restaurant wasn't even the best place to have it either as eateries that make it 'thy best' would sell only one specific item on the menu and not offer such a diverse selection on their menus like here.
On another note, I've never drank more Vietnamese coffee in my life, and coffee in general, but I'm having cups daily here, even multiple shots. One person even said coffee here is better than coffee from Brazil, one of the largest productions of coffee beans in the world. It only made sense that the innovative idea of mixing egg and coffee would arise, commonly referred to as "egg coffee" to the locals and intrigued tourists. When my friend first told me, I thought it sounded disgusting like a raw egg mixed with caffeine, but its nothing like that at all. Its more like whipped egg white mixed with sugar so it resembles a creamy foam over a shot of Vietnamese coffee. I cant even rave enough about how good it was, its almost like warm gelato in the mouth! We also tried other versions like egg coffee and beer/rum but it was gross and not a good mix at all, so please don't try that! Also on the topic of drinks, load up on the abundance of fresh fruit smoothies, iced teas and exotic fruit in general all over Vietnam to quench your thirst as fruit here are super sweet, cheap, and helps to refresh your electrolytes when you are sweating buckets.
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| This display is made from traditional Vietnamese hats |
Next on our eventful itinerary was the
Vietnamese Women's Museum. It's rare that I haven't visited as much museums as I usually do as I like being educated in the history of the place I'm visiting, but I knew I had to come here as having a museum focus just on women spurred my interest upon reading recommendations about this place. Basically it revolves around the history and settlement of Vietnamese women as well as their traditional religious beliefs, marriage, hard working lifestyle, and finally their fashion and what modernity means for them in today's day. I really appreciate and enjoy learning about the work ethics of Vietnamese women and especially all the sacrifices they've made during the Vietnam war. There is such a sense of empowerment, unity and strength when women come together and it inspires and propels me to never be stagnant whereever I am in life.
So the most spontaneous and one of the best thing I've done on this whole SEA trip was getting new glasses. I had not planned for this at all, but because I noticed one of the "nose tabs"(don't know its technical name) fell off from my glasses, I thought getting it fixed in Hanoi would be cheap and easy. However, they didn't have the tabs my glasses have, so I couldn't say no to $25 glasses. Yes, you read that right! For the price of one pair in Canada, I can get like ten pairs of lens AND frames here. Of course I'm not sure how different the quality is, and the frames are unbranded (though mine aren't either, but if you honestly think about glasses, they are one of the most jacked up items in North America because you are literally buy two pieces of glass and plastic frames typically made in Asia anyways, but mine does have"Swarovski" printed on the inside-don't know how true that is. Anyhow, thirty minutes later, I was a happy four eyes and the frames and lens turned out really well. In Hanoi, it's common to have each street selling only one category of consumer goods, so there's a whole street of glasses frame shops in the Old Quarter area, but the most popular (and this was obvious with the amount of people surrounding her booth) is called
Thanh Luan. The owner is a friendly and smiley lady who isn't bothered even if you don't decide to buy after trying on multiple styles (she definitely knows how to provide the right service and does her business right!). My friend told me they have the best prices on the block and you can definitely bargain as well.
Of course I had to get my nails done, it's what Vietnamese people are known for back in Canada! For $10, I got a manicure with nail polish and nail art done. I don't normally wear nail polish travelling, but seeing that this is the last leg of my SEA journey, I might as well pamper myself before returning to Korea for a while. There are spas everywhere just as with Bali and Cambodia, but do shop around to compare prices and be willing to pay more for better treatments ands spa atmospheres.
Vietnam has truly fascinated me. Not only that, but the people have been fascinated with me as well. I joked I never felt so attractive and questioned before as I am use to being asked about my ethnicity and all, but being in Vietnam is a different world. Almost everyone I've met or looks at me thinks I look Vietnamese, but they are confused when I don't speak Vietnamese when they talk to me. Then they are lost when I say I'm Chinese but born in Canada. Random people on the bus or stores would try to talk to talk me because they are so curious I speak English and they even mistaken my friend as a foreigner because she's with me! One really sweet girl even said I must have Vietnamese blood somewhere in my family tree because my eyes looked so "Vietnamese". While on the tour, I was the joke of the day as my last name is 'Pho' and I always had to explain the story behind my fake last name (if you don't know, I love to tell you!). By the end of this viet-venture, I've learned some Viet words, so next time I will just say I am Vietnamese. Lets see what happens then!
Jiao Hanoi!
Posts
Seoul Forest: a station I didn't know existed (on the newest yellow subway line) and a place where you can picnic, hangout and even rent bicycles at. If you get out of exit 3 and immediately U-turn in the reverse direction of the exit, you will get to a pedestrian crosswalk where across the street you can rent bikes for 3$/hr or a tandem for $6/hr (you need to bring your passport), From here to the Hangang River is quite a distance to find your way around but you can get free maps for your perusal at the entrance of the Seoul Forest information booth and I promise you it will be worth it! The hangang river that runs through Seoul was one place I wish I got to spend more time at two years ago so it was awesome to be able to see so much more this time by bike!
Bugaksan Mountain & Seoul Fortress Wall- at the most northern peak of Seoul where you can supposedly sight North korea, this trek is highly secure besides the fact that it is near the Blue House aka where the government lives. Security and police officers are sighted once you get off the subway, but surprisingly there isn't much on the trek- I assume that they don't want to scare away all the tourists hiking? Anyhow, I thought I be fit enough to do this trek as it was paved with stairs but for some reason I kept huffing and puffing with a tomato red face like no tomorrow. My friend was perfectly fine so I think it was just my lack of fitness that hindered me, but I'm glad I pushed myself as you do get a refreshing, tranquil, and different view of Seoul from the top. Plus it's free, just that you have to register your name before starting and you must return to the office by 5pm.
Gwangjang Market- another unni introduced us to this place which is apparently the largest outdoor market in Seoul. There's actually a lot of intersecting markets in this area as well (get off at Jongro-5-ga subway station) including Bangsan Market where u can find lots of baking supplies and wholesale goods. Gwangjang has a lineup of clothing stalls (mainly adjumma style), random supplies, household items and even a vintage shopping area that's quite hidden on the upper inner level of one building (if u spot a map of Gwangjang Market in this area it will tell you it's exact location as it can get confusing to locate (make sure to bargain as prices are jacked up)). Though the best and most popular thing to do here is to eat! People literally come here to eat through the market and I was informed that the most popular dishes are the mung/green bean pancake, handmade ddeok (rice cake) selection and sundae (intestine sausage that is super thick here-only for the brave hearted). We tried the first two and I have to say the lineup to get to the pancake was quite worth it. The texture was grainier as it had mashed up green beans in it, but the flavour and freshness of it was delicious. I'm not a fan of the doughy type of ddeok so for me that was mediocre.
Jeonju- one of the buzzing hotspots of Korea famously known for the origin of bibimbap. However I was recommended not to eat it here as it's popularity resulted in overpriced menus and with the abundance of traditional snacks and unique localities found in the Hanok Village, you probably would want to save your stomach for all that your eye hungers for. Jeonju is actually about a three hour bus ride from Seoul, but fortunately my name got drawn to get two fee tickets thanks to jeonju's tourism initiative to promote its name to foreigners (enter here). I never win anything and I was up against like three times the amount of people the bus could allot for so I was thankful to God for his providence and blessing. Jeonju is definitely worth a day trip (a day trip is usually enough unless you want to experience staying at the traditional Korea homes (Hanok) for a night)!
