Bia Hoi in Hanoi!

Tara and I had teamed up with American Ex-Pat Ethan Lieberman in an attempt to get tickets on a train to Sapa the same evening arriving back to Hanoi from Cat Ba. We had a ridiculously difficult time trying to get help from anyone. Most, sorry ALL, of the trainstation staffs attitudes ranged between "I can't really be bothered trying to help you" and, more bluntly, "Piss Off".  It was very frustrating and tied us up at the train station for several hours while we all ran around trying different ways of getting information. In the end we gave up and had to grab a hotel as it was late and we were hungry, and it was pretty clear we weren't going to Sapa that night. We sadly would discover the next day that there were no tickets available to Sapa for several more days, meaning that if we did go, it would be for one night before we had to return to fly back to Bangkok. Faced with spending more time on the train getting there and back than what we would have in Sapa, we made the call to stay in Hanoi for the next 6 days. To this point, the longest we would stay anywhere without moving on.

We grabbed another hotel which was much better value, and didn't stink like a mouldy basement, and on the first evening we set out to see what happens in the evenings in Hanoi. Just up the street from our hotel we had already discovered a highly regarded but very simple restaurant called "Bun-Bo Nam Bo", who craft an excellent noodle/soup meal that is very different from the typical Pho. As we went past it on our way, we looked across the street to see a British couple that we met on our boat trips in Cat Ba, walking out of dining area!

Jess and Sam had one last night in Hanoi before continueing on into Laos on their trip, so we teamed up to find some street meat for dinner and a suitable location for some Beer Hoi. Beer Hoi is a cheap draught beer that is sold by various private vendors that set up small tables and chairs (about 8" high, so kind of awkward when you are tall) along the streets and keep the masses happy until the police sweep the streets shortly before midnight shutting everything down. At the equivalent of 25c a glass, its hard to say no to, especially with the heat and humidity that continues on into the evening. 

As the four of us wandered a street looking for some spare chairs (the streets are thronging with punters both local and foreign) when I could have sworn I heard someone shout my name. It took a few seconds as I continued to walk before I finally made myself stop and actually look, and when I turned around I saw another couple from our Cat Ba adventures, this time Kim and Nadine from Denmark! They had a seat already so the 6 of us ended up siddling up with pretty limited space but all with access to the keg of glorious street beer.

We sat and chatted about our experiences and where we were all going next, and then met up with Kim and Nadine the next evening for a meal and couple more beers to send them off, their journey had come to an end and it was time for them to go home.

The next few days in Hanoi were spent exploring the streets and markets, walking the lake and getting Ice Cream at a rather spectacular ice creamery that attracts thousands of customers in the evenings. Thanks Kim and Nadine for showing us!! The traffic in Hanoi is intense, there seems to be an endless hoard of riders on scooters at some intersections, stretching as far back as you can see down the road. The many streets of the old quarter are organised by the product category that is being pedalled. Coffins, Flowers, Hats, toys, shoes, pots and pans, grinders and mincers, motorbike seat covers, gold, silk, I could go on and on. Each street you walk down just has store after store selling almost the same thing. It's hard to understand how they can operate and compete like that, but apparently it works.

We spent some time chilling out and just watching the sudden midday downpours that would come bucketing down out of nowhere, and visited a few places of interest such as the museum of literature which had some impressive temples, Bonsai gardens and incredible big trees.

Before we new it we had arrived at our flight date back to Bangkok, our next adventure involved cramming 18 people (and all there luggage) in a 12 seater van to get to Hanoi airport, followed by racing to Mo Chit bus station once arriving in Bangkok, hoping to get a same day bus to Chiang Mai. This worked out and we caught a bus with Nakonchai Air, it was impressive service, with big, massaging seats, loads of leg and recline room, and even a meal. 

We couldn't wait to dive into a Thai cooking class, go and visit the acclaimed Elephant Nature Park, and most excitingly, feed Tiger cubs.