First Taste of Hanoi

Along with seven other co-workers, I flew to Hanoi a few days earlier prior to the company outing in order to visit Central Vietnam. We arrived in Hanoi early at dawn. The bus to Hue wasn't scheduled until the evening so we checked into a hostel first, slept, checked out at noon and then had a little taste of Hanoi-- literally.

For lunch, we went to Cha Ca La Vong which serves grilled fish tossed in a pan with vegetables and peanuts and then eaten with noodles and sauce made of vinegar, fish sauce and chilies. It was good albeit a bit pricey at VND170,000 (~USD7.87 / PhP351.40). It was worth a try, though.

In the afternoon, we had work to do so we went to Highlands Coffee near Hoan Kiem Lake. It was a really great place to work because it's spacious and comfortable with just the right amount of background noise. They have free and fast wi-fi as well as power outlets. It's not air-conditioned as are most cafes in Vietnam but it didn't really need any because it's quite cool in Hanoi (at least compared to Manila).

I had iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk (ca phe sua da) and it was really good! To be honest, I never understood the deal with Vietnamese coffee before. I mean, we have good coffee beans in the Philippines anyway. However, I learned that it's not just about the coffee beans, it's also the way they prepare the coffee (using a metal filter called 'phin'). Vietnamese coffee is very strong and condensed milk is quite a good way to balance the bitterness. To be honest, I got hooked with it.

Iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk (VND 29,000 or ~USD1.34 / PhP60.00)
Tiramisu cheesecake (VND35,000 or ~USD1.62 / PhP72.40)

That's pretty much how I spent my first day in Hanoi. Though I wasn't able to see many places, it was a great one, especially for my tummy lol.

Vietnam: First Adventure of the Year

I've been in Vietnam for two weeks with my co-workers for a company outing. We started out with eight people in Hanoi, went down to the central region and then went back to Hanoi to meet the rest of the company. All the while, we're working full-time. I guess it's one of the perks of working remotely-- we can travel while working (even though it's not entirely convenient). 

Hue's Imperial Citadel

Hoi An Ancient Town

Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi

Boating in Tam Coc river in Ninh Binh (Yes, the man uses his feet to row.)

Cruising in Ha Long Bay

I've slept at seven different places the past twelve nights (that includes sleeping in a train, in a bus and in a boat), ate at the roadside more times than I can remember and have drunk liters of amazing Vietnamese coffee. Even though I have horrible eyebags and odd tan lines, and my skin is breaking out, Vietnam has been a great experience. I'm leaving later at midnight and I'm pretty sure I'll miss this place. I'll share more about my trip during my next posts.