June 21st - 24th, 2024 - Hanoi, Vietnam

June 21st to 24th, 2024 

June 21st, 2024

Caught the train to Hanoi and the checked into my hostel called the Hanoi Central backpackers hostel. They gave me some ideas on what to do for the day. I went and got some Bun Cha which is a famous dish in Vietnam. It was very good. Probably my favourite meal in Vietnam up until this point. I then went to the train street. Where a large train passes right through a market. Sadly I wasn’t there when I train was going through so it was pretty underwhelming. After that I went to the war prisoners museum. It was pretty cool but I’m not much of a museum guy. It mostly talked about political prisoners that were impounded by the French occupation of Vietnam and then American prisoners during the Vietnam war. I then went to the pagoda on an island on a lake in the Center of town. Then Harrison and I went to the water puppet show. It was pretty cool. I got a translator but it only explained the theme of the act that was about to play. It didn’t actually translate word for word. But that’s ok it was still a nice production. That night we participated in the pub quiz put on by the hostel we were staying at. At the end of it we played musical chairs and I won. 

June 22nd, 2024 

This morning we went on a walking tour. It was only an ok walking tour. There wasn’t really anything special about it. The guide was really nice but she talked about her personal life rather than what she was taking us to see. We did however stop at this really cool coffee shop I wanted to check out on my own anyways so that was helpful at least. It was called the note coffee shop. If you bought a beverage they gave you a sticker to write on to plaster anywhere you see fit in their coffee shop. It said “ this trip is going to revolutionize and revitalize my life. No more being complacent.” After that I went and mailed my parents a post card. It only cost 1.50$ to send it Next I went to the war museum with a nice South African woman I met the night before. She was really cool. She’s been living in Vietnam for 5 years and she was very cautious about the sun and the smog in Hanoi. I didn’t care that much but maybe I should in the future. We also went to the palace, the outside of the Mausoleum and the big park near those buildings. It was really cool. Again not much of a museum guy but it was nice to go with someone else. For dinner I had what was basically a pepperoni stick that was cut up and grilled and was sweet instead of spicy. I didn’t like it very much That night was much chiller. We played beer pong and I called it an early night. 

June 23rd, 2024 

I missed free breakfast at the hostel this day so Harrison and I went for breakfast somewhere else. I ended up having a bacon eggs Benedict. It was really good. Hit the spot for sure. I also had my first coconut coffee. That was good too. After that Harrison and I went to the museum of fine art. This was probably my favourite museum out of all the ones I’ve been to in Hanoi. I got some photos of some cool paintings and sculptures. Next Harrison and I went to a restaurant where president Obama had been in 2016. To my delight the meal Obama had was bun cha. This would be my third time eating bun cha this weekend. I don’t know how soon I can eat it again though, no matter how good it is. While walking to our hostel we ran into some street artists. I had two separate artist draw me. One realist and one cartoonist. I like the realist the best. It was super cheap too only 16$ for both they did it in about 15 minutes too. We ended up staying at the buffalo hostel instead this night as we had already checked out of our other hostel. We ended up staying an extra day which so we needed somewhere else to sleep. I liked the buffalo hostel better. It had comfier beds, a pool and a more welcoming public area. I called it an early night this night as well rather than going in the pub crawl. 

June 24th, 2024 

Today Harrison and I went to the zoo. It wasn’t a very good zoo but I haven’t been to a zoo in ages so I still found it fun. You’ll have to check my photos to see all the animals I saw. Mostly monkeys and birds, some elephants. Deer. We had some Thai food for a late lunch and it was the best food I’ve had since I’ve been here. I realized I don’t really like Vietnamese food that much. Harrison thought our train left at 3:50 pm and not 3:15 pm so we almost missed our train. Had we of been 5 minutes later, we would have missed it. Lastly, Harrison and I went to a restaurant recommended by Melody the South African girl, but I didn’t like it at all. I still finished what I had ordered because I was hungry, but I won’t be back.