Hanoi!

I am used to the temperature reaching the mid 30s every day. I don’t like it, I will never acclimatise, but I am accustomed to waking, putting on skirt and t-shirt, flip-flops and sunscreen. Unfortunately this mindset also influenced my packing when preparing to leave Phnom Penh for Siem Reap, and then on to Viet Nam. I knew Hanoi was cooler, however it is ‘close’, so can’t be too bad… I checked to weather a few days (or was that weeks…) ago and it was nice, sunny, mild….. I can’t imagine why I didn’t realise that thought was a little lacking in fact. Fact: Hanoi is also close to CHINA, which is COLD right now, SNOW cold.

So, imagine the chill that shot through my body as we disembarked our airplane in Hanoi at 8pm in the evening to be greeted by 15’c, cold wind, and rain…. Brrrrrrrr! It was at this moment that I realised I really have begun to feel at home in Cambodia, as I had completely forgotten what it was like to be cold! The warmest outfit I had packed was a pair of cotton cargo pants and a light ¾ sleeve cotton. And putting shoes in my pack had not even crossed my mind! As we drove in the taxi through the cold night into the city, I realised my wardrobe was going to need to change, and quickly!

Our first night in Hanoi was spent at the Sunshine Hotel, a place with cold floors, damp bathroom, and very funny bright blankets. And to my poor mum’s horror, up about 10 flights of stairs, which do not go well with worn out, arthritic knees!


As we woke the next morning, we finally got a chance to survey the old city. A very beautiful and chaotic jumble of tall, thin houses, shop fronts, markets and street vendors. The difference between this city, and those in Cambodia, or the rest of Viet Nam for that matter, reminded me again of the beautiful contrasts and constant changes you find in South East Asia. After a quick check-in online with my brothers back home, and organising dinner plans with a lovely Dutch couple staying in our hotel, we headed out to find me some shoes! We managed to find Dong Xuan Market, and a pair of very groovy blue and white stripe converse all stars and socks. We then set off exploring the winding streets and shops of the old town, while I adjusted to the very strange sensation of having socks and shoes on for the first time in six months.










(Discovering the Old Town, in new shoes!)


We had an amazing lunch at ‘Little Hanoi 2’, including delightful Nêms and an amazing dish of caramelised stir-fried pork with sesame seeds. I then stumbled on the outrageously pretty clothing store called Kén, which took up some time trying on all their outrageously colourful and exquisite silk clothing. Finally warm in a new jacket and shoes, we met up again with Mai and Ron from Sunshine hotel, and they took us out for a fantastic dinner at Ladybird, the highlight being an amazing fish and vegetable stir-fry cooked at our table, and some delicious grilled minced pork skewers with Vietnamese mint and garlic. Yummy!













(Beautiful Kén, and yes, I now own that brilliant fairy skirt!)

(dinner at Ladybird, delicious!!)

The following days in Hanoi were spent exploring markets and small allies that criss-cross the old town; visiting the Ho Chi Minh museum, house and mausoleum; the women's museum; the water puppet theater; and, the Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son (jade mountain) temple. Oh, and eating, lots and lots of eating - street stalls, restaurants, Koto (hospitality training restaurant) etc etc

(chaos and calm)

(Rhonda contemplates a road crossing)

(Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Stilt House)

(Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple)

(Dinner at Koto, a hospitality training restaurant which works with trainers from Australian TAFE colleges, similar to the one my mum taught at, obviously my mum got into the kitchen in no time! And we gave a donation to help them with the building of their new restaurant... a wonderful training institution with great students!)