Vietnam
Hoi An: More than pretty lanterns and cheap tailors
We didn’t plan to go to Hoi An, a beachy town in central Vietnam, but we needed to get to Laos via Hue, not far from Hoi An. So it made us think, before skipping out on Vietnam, maybe some due diligence on Vietnam was needed. After all, we had seen only the north. Why … Continue reading
Hanoi food porn: Our 3 favorite meals
In Argentina, we (mostly Eaman) were excited for the steak. In Asia, we (again, mostly Eaman) were excited for the street food. Besides being mostly vegetarian, I generally err on the safe/boring side thanks to a sensitive stomach, but there was no better way to build immunity for the remainder of Asia than with street … Continue reading
Homestays, motorbiking and chugging rice wine in Mai Chau, Vietnam
Our most enduring memory from Vietnam was, hands down, a three-day trip to Mai Chau, a mountain village town southwest of Hanoi known for its ethnic minorities, rice farming, bamboo production (lots of chopsticks!) and most crucial to us, an experience similar to the popular Sapa trekking in the northwest without the commercialism. Though gaining … Continue reading
DIY pottery in Bat Trang, Vietnam: good, cheap fun
I aspire to travel like Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations, eating as the locals do, visiting anything but the touristy spots and doing it all with a fixer, a local who can navigate us across language barriers and through the inner workings of a place. And finally, in Hanoi, we founds ours. Meet Daisy.
Halong Bay: Touristy? Yes. Worth it? Yes.
You can’t really talk about Hanoi without mentioning Halong Bay. And you can’t really walk around Hanoi’s Old Quarter without seeing a tour ad for it. We weren’t sure we even wanted to go to Halong, a bay of 1,969 limestone karsts that were recently added to the Wonders of the World list. It seemed … Continue reading
Getting to know Hanoi, Vietnam
Things locals in Hanoi like: Riding motorbikes, street food, drinking Bia Ha Noi (the local draft beer), sunflower seeds and Apple products. These are the concrete observations I’ve made after about a week in Vietnam’s capital. They’re random and scattered, much like the city itself. Hanoi is a wild place, and it’s much different than … Continue reading
On adjustment issues and becoming (a little) jaded
Before I delve into stories about our Vietnam adventures — FYI we have had some really rad ones so far — I have to admit something: Adjusting to Asia has been hard. Asia is much rougher around the edges than South America, and as it turns out, I’m having a little more trouble getting into … Continue reading
