Hanoi - Part 3

July 16, 2016

After ending up back in Hanoi on our local bus trip from Ha Long Bay we took the morning to wander around the Old Quarter in Hanoi and soak up the atmospheric chaos with many beautiful sights to be seen.

Beautiful flowers everywhere.  In the early morning the streets of Hanoi are filled with ladies selling flowers.  There is a large flower market in Hanoi, which is supposed to be very beautiful.  We did not get to see it on this trip, but hopefully we will get to visit again in the coming year and not miss it this time.

A day in the life of a pineapple vendor.

This lady knows how to sell her pineapple...she gets you to take a photo and prepares some pineapple for you...good thing I know what the prices should be...otherwise I'd be paying waaay too much.

Had to go for more egg coffee. Almost passed right by again...the entrance is through this long corridor.

Hanoi,  Old Quarter

Evi and the Viet Jet girl cutout...

Watermelon, the perfect snack.

A street full of bamboo ladders and other items.

For our late lunch we headed off to Bun Cha Huong Lien, the restaurant where Anthony Bourdain took President Obama for their meal in Hanoi.  David really wanted to try the place and we were glad we did.  The meal was delicious. Stepan had the Combo Obama, and the rest of us had just the Bun Cha.  It was a large portion and more than enough for one person.  It was kind of funny to see huge pictures of Obama plastered on every wall, but I guess it was a pretty big deal to have the President dine here, and it was obvious that this restaurant would capitalize on that for some time.  We had been a little worried about whether or not we could find the place, because many of these local restaurants are very inconspicuous and some are just a hole in the wall, but as soon as we showed the address to the taxi driver, he laughed and just said "bun cha Obama"?  We nodded, and knew, that we were not the first ones going to look for this place.  We were surprised that this restaurant was quite large.  It had about three levels (maybe more?) and space for a lot of patrons. It was quite busy when we arrived, even though it was well into the afternoon.  Soon after us, another group of tourists arrived, and we just smiled and laughed at each other, because we knew why we were there.  We were here to dine like Anthony Bourdain with the President.

As we were leaving the hotel in the afternoon for our evening flight to Da Nang, there were are group of ladies selling fruit, all taking cover in the shade under the trees. It had been another really hot day.