There was a king named Ly Thai, who built his palace in Thang Lo, and there skilled craftsmen gathered, once upon a thousand years ago.
The French came then the tube houses, modern Ha Noi rising from ancient Thang Lo, 36 guild streets evolving into bars, hotels, shops and a Beer Street.
Meanwhile at the Temple of Literature, short skirts clash with lengthy Ao Dais, a stern Confucious stare at curious unbelievers, Richa shopped as we posed for a selfie.
But the Temple is boring so I took off to the Old Quarter on a Grab bike where I whiled time nursing a cup of coconut coffee that tasted more like a slurpee.
I signed up for a 3-hour walking food tour of the Old Quarter to kill the rest of Saturday, not for the food really but to get to know more of its historic 36 guild streets and what's inside them tube houses.
And yes, because the food I already had during our scooter tour in Ho Chi Minh, like the fried rice pancake (Banh Xeo), wrapped in a thin rice paper, better than my first one although what got my eye are the slabs of meat being prepared at the restaurant entrance;
then steam-rolled cake (Banh Cuon Thit) which is again better than the previous, my first foray inside a tube house through two flights of narrow concrete stairs into a tiny room crammed with small tables and chairs, the ceiling touching my head, my phone camera focused on the white haired lady chef rather than what we were eating;
and of course, vermicelli with grilled pork otherwise known as the famous Bun Cha right on a busy sidewalk, Vinh the Guide pointing out that it's the charcoal grilling that makes a good Bun Cha, my fourth overall in Hanoi actually;
then dessert that was a treasure hunt through a smorgasbord of street sights and smells into a narrow alley to a hole-in-a-wall with two sets of the usual small chairs and tables, a tarped menu displaying an extensive selection and I going for mixed fruits (Hoa Qua Dam) --- shaved ice and yogurt on jackfruit, water chestnuts, tapioca pearls, gulaman and what can be coconut strips;
and finaly the coffee shop that seemed not there, unsigned, the entrance surreptitiously barricaded by the ever present motorbikes, two flights of narrow stairs leading to a dingy room of the usual small tables and chairs, run down and resembling an opium den rather than a cafe, good music wafting from ancient speakers, packed with an eclectic crowd, there where Hanoi's famous egg coffee (Ca Phe trung) was invented, so ornate it's almost a shame to disturb the foamy art.
What was amazing is I got the tour free through my Klook credits, that I had enough for both lunch and dinner and a long walk to my hotel through the shores of the Lake of the Returned Sword and the gate to the Temple of the Jade Mountain, pausing a bit to watch a sexy street dance and wonder at the irony of a candy peddler on bike at the entrance to the affluent Trang Tien Plaza, then moving on to a disappointing Banh Mi sandwich dinner.
The French came then the tube houses, modern Ha Noi rising from ancient Thang Lo, 36 guild streets evolving into bars, hotels, shops and a Beer Street.
Meanwhile at the Temple of Literature, short skirts clash with lengthy Ao Dais, a stern Confucious stare at curious unbelievers, Richa shopped as we posed for a selfie.
But the Temple is boring so I took off to the Old Quarter on a Grab bike where I whiled time nursing a cup of coconut coffee that tasted more like a slurpee.
I signed up for a 3-hour walking food tour of the Old Quarter to kill the rest of Saturday, not for the food really but to get to know more of its historic 36 guild streets and what's inside them tube houses.
And yes, because the food I already had during our scooter tour in Ho Chi Minh, like the fried rice pancake (Banh Xeo), wrapped in a thin rice paper, better than my first one although what got my eye are the slabs of meat being prepared at the restaurant entrance;
then steam-rolled cake (Banh Cuon Thit) which is again better than the previous, my first foray inside a tube house through two flights of narrow concrete stairs into a tiny room crammed with small tables and chairs, the ceiling touching my head, my phone camera focused on the white haired lady chef rather than what we were eating;
and of course, vermicelli with grilled pork otherwise known as the famous Bun Cha right on a busy sidewalk, Vinh the Guide pointing out that it's the charcoal grilling that makes a good Bun Cha, my fourth overall in Hanoi actually;
then dessert that was a treasure hunt through a smorgasbord of street sights and smells into a narrow alley to a hole-in-a-wall with two sets of the usual small chairs and tables, a tarped menu displaying an extensive selection and I going for mixed fruits (Hoa Qua Dam) --- shaved ice and yogurt on jackfruit, water chestnuts, tapioca pearls, gulaman and what can be coconut strips;
and finaly the coffee shop that seemed not there, unsigned, the entrance surreptitiously barricaded by the ever present motorbikes, two flights of narrow stairs leading to a dingy room of the usual small tables and chairs, run down and resembling an opium den rather than a cafe, good music wafting from ancient speakers, packed with an eclectic crowd, there where Hanoi's famous egg coffee (Ca Phe trung) was invented, so ornate it's almost a shame to disturb the foamy art.
What was amazing is I got the tour free through my Klook credits, that I had enough for both lunch and dinner and a long walk to my hotel through the shores of the Lake of the Returned Sword and the gate to the Temple of the Jade Mountain, pausing a bit to watch a sexy street dance and wonder at the irony of a candy peddler on bike at the entrance to the affluent Trang Tien Plaza, then moving on to a disappointing Banh Mi sandwich dinner.
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