Be ready to get into Ha Noi’s hectic street life, then find moments of pause and reflection while cruising Ha Long Bay with Broadsheet.
An extraordinary trip in Ha Noi
Australian visitors shared that, during their tour in Ha Noi, their safe word is “Sticky rice”, which means, in definition of Vietnamese is Xôi, in other meaning is to strictly stick to the tour guide in order not to get lost and stay safe when crossing the jamming roads in Ha Noi. Visiting Ha Noi, especially, paying a visit the Old Quarter, it is a must to pass through a torrent of honking scooters, which rush past in a thousand random vignettes: a motorbike smothered in ladders, a bicycle doubling as a mobile flower shop, a pop-up barber shop.
With the kaleidoscopic background of French, Chinese and Vietnamese architecture, there are so many things to see, it seems like the world comes in one place.
Australian visitors were welcomed with a Vietnamese tea ceremony, full of conversation and contemplation. They were led to an apartment block wrapped in webs of power lines, which, according to them, is not the kind of place that can be found in any guidebook. The place where visitors enjoy their tea break is a small apartment decorated with teapots and ceramics. Under the sunlight streaming through pot plants on the balcony of her apartment, the tea master prepares the drinks in front of visitors’ witnesses. A beautiful intimate benefit in Ha Noi with warm grapefruit-flower tea fills the whole air.
After the tea break, visitors headed out for lunch in a cafe called Koto, which stands for “know one, teach one”. The social enterprise (which includes a vocational school) was founded in 1999 by Vietnamese Australian, to enjoy a rural village’s meal.
In the evening, visitors was taken to a street food tour and enjoy Vietnamese’s famous Banh Mi on a scooter, the fresh baguettes with pate, barbequed pork, chilli, coriander and cucumber, described the visitor. Banh cuon – steamed rice rolls filled with pork, mushroom and crispy fried shallots to be the next dish; followed by Banh ran – a Vietnamese doughnut made from rice flour and mung bean, with a soft centre and a sweet, toffee-like crunch on the outside. One of Ha Noi specialty is Bun cha, a dish of minced pork and noodles, lettuce, marjoram, basil, garlic and chilli, papaya and cumquat for the main course. As a perfect end for the night, visitors were seated on plastic chairs at stainless-steel tables set out on a street corner, drinking glasses of local draught beer, or bia hoi, filled from a hose.
Banh Mi (Photo: Vinpearl)
Bun Cha (Photo: TITC)
Banh Cuon (Photo: TITC)
On the following day, visitors had themselve a cup of “egg coffee” (a mixture of egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk and sugar whipped into a velvety consistency, with espresso poured on top) as a farewell to the capital of Vietnam.
Egg-coffee (Photo: TITC)
On the way out of town, visitors paid a visit the Temple of Literature-Quoc Tu Giam, the very first university of Vietnam, where educated hundreds of well-known scholars and mandarins. Nowadays, the Temple of Literature-Quoc Tu Giam is a place to hold graduation ceremonies and pray for an A in exams.
Temple of Literature-Quoc Tu Giam (Photo: TITC)
Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay (Photo: Collection)
Leaving the bustling Ha Noi, visitors took a two-hour drive east to Ha Long Bay – an UNESCO World Heritage Site – famous limestone islets rearing dramatically from the sea. With 1,969 islands and islets of hulking limestone and deep, green waters that are home to myriad floating villages, this is a place where time slows to a standstill. It’s described as a dreamy spot to sip cocktails on sun lounges on the deck and glide past towering, jungle-covered cliffs. At least until a locally caught lunch of stir-fried squid, fish cakes and shrimp are served.
Australian visitors spent their afternoon to explore Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave) on the island of Bo Hon. It is one of the biggest, most beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay. From the dock below, visitors must climb 50 stairs to the cave’s mouth, which is just 25 metres above the sea.
Sung Sot Cave (Photo: Collection)
By night, the surrounding bay becomes a floating city of boats strung with festoon lights. The following morning, visitors start their day with a Tai Chi session on the deck, then have breakfast while admiring the limestone pillars materialise in the sea mist and float past, their reflections quivering on the water. The rising sun, orange through the fog, floods the bay with soft light.
The cruise ship docked at a floating pearl farm for visitors to kayak and paddle close enough to these towering islands to see millions of years of erosion by the sea.
Hoi An
Their final destination is the ancient coastal city of Hoi An (Central Vietnam), another UNESCO World Heritage site. The gorgeous coastal town of Vietnam is famous for its handcrafted lanterns, yellow hue households which are rich in cultural experiences to dive into. Serving as a trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, it is easy to see the vibrant and lively atmosphere remains mostly unchanged in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hoi An is a walk of life, which is full of things to see, eat and do.
Visitors came to a bookish theme cafe on the outskirts of town. The place is a light-filled space with vintage furniture, a garden courtyard and an overflowing bookcase. They also tasted “salt coffee”, made with condensed milk, cream and salt, resulting in a sweet salted-caramel flavour.
At an alleyway restaurant, visitors filled their stomach with cao lau noodle, wrapping pork, kimchi, fresh greens, shrimp and chilli sauce in squares of rice paper.
Visitors said, it is safe to ride bicycles here. With the tour guide, the group rode on two wheels along quiet streets to a trail cutting through rice paddies at the edge of town. They passed wallowing buffalos, farmers fertilising their crops, and a group of boys barbequing clams on an open fire, before ditching our bikes at a house in a small village for a cooking class. This time, they learned how to make chargrilled fish in a banana leaf, learned how pepper vodka brings out the flavours of chicken, infused a tomato-garlic soup with tamarind, and got the lowdown on the secret behind Hoi An’s famous Quang noodles. Ending show with mango puree and Malibu rum is blended with rice and vanilla essence, then melded deftly into shape.
Their trip came to an end as simple and sweet.
