It's not goodbye...it's see you later, Hanoi!

I can't believe a month has already flown by and I'm about to leave the city which has become my home. Even though I've only been here for a month, I feel like this place has changed me.

Thao, one of my coworkers at IPMax, told me that in Buddhism, they believe that someone comes into your life not by accident, but because you have met in a previous life. She told me with absolute certainty that I came here for a reason - because we have met before, and that we will likely meet again in another life. That was one of the most touching things someone has ever said to me. Looking back on it, I wouldn't be able to tell you why I chose Hanoi as my home base for my trip, but can only say that it was meant to be.

I will keep my IPMax family, all the friends that I've made, and all the people in this city forever in my heart.

Until we meet again, Hanoi.

Now on to another adventure: Thailand! 

Hanoi Street Food

Ok so I think that this topic deserves a post all to itself: Hanoi street food. Simply put, Hanoi is a foodie's paradise. And I, being the food lover that I am, quickly set out on a one-woman mission of trying as many different types of Vietnamese dishes during my quick stint in the city. While street dining seems tempting and adventurous to tourists, it can be very intimidating once faced with the fact that you actually have no idea of what is going to be served to you. However, I quickly learned the trick to navigating the different food stalls: shut up, don't ask questions, and eat! And eat I did.

In this post I'm going to talk about some of my favorite vietnamese dishes that are easily found on almost every street in Hanoi: Bun cha, Pho bo, Bun bo nam bo, and Banh mi.

The thing with most street restaurants in Hanoi is that they have a very limited menu, usually consisting of just one or two dishes. So once you take your place on one of the mini plastic red and blue chairs, it is a signal that you are ready to eat, and a vietnamese woman will begin bringing you food - without even having to order a thing. So that is exactly what I did. Walking down the streets of Doi Can street, I found a teeny little restaurant wedged in the alley between two buildings. The sign on the stall said "Bún chả". Having no idea what I was in store for, and it being my first experience with street food in Hanoi, I took a seat and anxiously waited to be served. I think the food gods were on my side that day, because what appeared in front of me two minutes later was the most glorious dish, which soon became my absolute favorite. Bún chả is a delicious bowl of grilled pork balls (chả) served over white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. 

My first taste of Hanoi Street food: Bún chả on Doi Can street

Bún chả from Doi Can street - unbeatable. A basket of noodles, a steaming bowl of pork patties soaked in nuoc mam cham, and a side of greens to add in to taste. 

Next up is everybody's favorite: Pho Bo (beef noodle soup), which will put you back on average between 20,000-40,000 VND (approx. US$1-2). One Vietnamese chef and food writer once said "Pho is life, love and all things that matter" - and I couldn't agree more. Pho is probably the most emblematic of vietnamese cuisine, and the most widely recognized worldwide. This popular soup consists of rice noodles (thin or thick), paper thin slices of beef which are cooked by the steaming beef broth, and topped off with onions, coriander, and chili to taste. This traditional soup is primarily served with either beef (bo) or chicken (ga). 

Perfect bowl of Pho Bo

Pho Bo with a side of Nem

 Giving in to a little late-night pho craving

Another dish that you absolutely must have when visiting the city is an extremely popular street food which originated in Hanoi: Bun bo nam bo. Bun noodles (thin, spaghetti-like rice noodle) are served in a bowl on top of a bed of fresh lettuce and topped with a stir-fry of beef and bean sprouts. Then, a broth is poured over the mixture and chopped peanuts and shallots are sprinkled over the top. Sometimes, fresh mint leaves are also added in for some extra taste (not that it needs any more). When you get the plate, give the noodles a good stir to mix them in with all the broth that has seeped to the bottom, and enjoy! 

Bun Bo Nam Bo on Ta Hien

Bun Bo Nam bo on Hang Dieu

Another must-try street food find that I have discovered in Hanoi is Banh mi (or banh my), which is considered to be more of a snack as it is probably not filling enough for most to be an entire meal. Banh mi is pretty much as close to fast food as it gets in Hanoi (no wonder the Vietnamese are all so thin...North American's should take a hint!). 

So what is it? Banh mi is a sandwich - the product of French colonialism in Indochina - which combines ingredients from the French (baguette, pâté and mayonnaise) with native Vietnamese ingredients such as cilantro, chili peppers and pickled carrots. But don't be fooled by the use of the term "baguette"! Although they borrowed the term from the French, it is nothing like your traditional French baguette. This special kind of bread is baked a certain way, making it crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! (Are you drooling yet?) What also makes it very different than our sandwiches in the western world is the fact that the banh mi bread is made with half wheat and half rice flour. The result is a bread with a light and airy feel, not as filling as a traditional baguette - making it the perfect on-the-go snack! 

The toppings of the famous street food can vary according to the different stalls and according to your preference. The most common toppings are pâté, cold cuts, or grilled pork. Another option is the breakfast version of the banh mi, which replaces the meat stuffing with an egg sunny-side-up and onions. Any way you choose to have it, it is absolute perfection. 

Banh mi stalls in Hanoi 

Banh mi with grilled pork

Breakfast version of the famous Banh mi sandwich with egg

Over the clouds in Sa Pa

I just got back to Hanoi after the most incredible weekend in the quiet mountain town of Sa Pa in northwest Vietnam, near the Chinese border. My friends and I spent three days trekking to different villages in the mountains (in high 40 degree weather). Despite the extreme heat and humidity, which at times made the hike almost unbearable, it was definitely worth it because the views were out of this world! The steep ascents were made a bit easier with the help of the 5 local hilltribe women who followed us (the entire way!!) just to sell us things (which we later discovered, of course). It's hard to image that these women have to walk miles and miles through the mountains and rice paddies just to get to and from their homes every single morning and night. It was hilarious to see me and my friends slipping and sliding through the mud when we were fully equipped with high tech running shoes with grips and support, while the local black H'mong women could manoeuvre perfectly down the steepest slopes in nothing but plastic slip-ons!! I was obviously the first to fall on my ass in the mud....but then it wasn't long before the others were following suit. 

On the first day we trekked to the YlinhHo and Lao Chai villages of the black H'mong people, and after a picnic lunch in the village, we kept trekking alongside the Muong Hoa stream and over suspension bridges (!) to Ta Van village, home to the Dzay people. Finally, after a 7 hour hike, we arrived at our overnight homestay in the Giang Ta Chai village, home of a Dzay family with the two cutest little boys ever! Their house was in the middle of nowhere, right near a river (which we immediately dove right into!) The homestay was one of my favourite parts of the trip. We helped prepare the meal, feasted, and then spent the night making our own little party in the middle of the mountains. Our homestay "father" was a cool cat - all throughout dinner, he kept on pouring us shots of his home-brewed rice wine, which, if I had to guess, had the alcohol percentage of something more along the lines of Bacardi than wine. Once we were all pretty tipsy and having a good time, he started playing some tunes for us...with nothing but a leaf! All in all, it was a pretty good night. 

The next morning, we woke up and started off on another 6 hour hike into Hoan Lien Son National Park and Giang Ta Chai village of the Red Dao minority. In the middle of a clearing at the top of a mountain, we were met by a bunch of kids trying to sell us bracelets. The young girls, who couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old, even had indigo-stained hands from dying the traditional clothes worn by the women. They surrounded us from every corner and whispered in tiny hushed voices "buy from me...buy from me..." How could you say no to those faces?! I immediately did promise to buy from every single one of them. 

After having bought about 20 bracelets in all, I later found out that buying from these children actually brings more harm than good. By buying from them, we are directly encouraging them to not go to school and to sell items to tourists instead, hoping to make money for them and their families. It was absolutely heartbreaking seeing these poor children up in the middle of nowhere so desperate to sell you a bracelet for 10,000 VND (50 cents), which represents, to them, an importance income for that day. 

We continued on our trek to Su Pan for lunch, after which we took a car (thank god) back to Sapa, where we got to rest our feet after all the hiking. That night, we went out into town and had time to have a couple of beers before the entire town suddenly had a power outage and went completely dark. 

The next day was much more relaxed - we spent the morning in the Sapa market, and then made our way down to Cat Cat village, where we saw the beautiful Cat Cat waterfall and the water power station built by the French in the early 20th century. We had a free and easy day motorbiking through Sapa and the surrounding villages until 6 pm when we transfered down to the Lao Cai station for the night train back to Hanoi, where I had 8 hours to rest before coming straight to work the next morning! 

Kids selling bracelets at the top of the mountain 

Beautiful rice terraces 

Above-mentioned homebrewed rice wine

Playin' the leaf

Lieu!!

Making our way to Cat Cat village 

Cat Cat waterfall

Feeling at home in the Sapa markets

Water stream near our homestay where we went for a little dip after the long hike

Unspoiled nature in Mai Chau

How many people can you fit on a 28-seater bus in Vietnam? – 42…and 4 birds. I learned that the hard way, squeezing myself onto an overcrowded bus whose destination was more or less unknown. Trying to figure out the bus system in Vietnam is one of the most confusing and frustrating endeavours I have encountered thus far. As soon as we arrived at the station, every bus driver began shouting at us, promising that their bus was the one heading in our direction ("yes, yes, I take you!!!). However, once aboard - and still skeptical of the trustworthiness of the driver - I (thankfully) asked another passenger where the bus was actually going, only to have them point out a spot on the map which was in the complete opposite direction. After two failed attempts, the third bus was a charm! Three and a half hours later, I was in Mai Chau, a mountainous region in the Hoa Binh province, and home of the White Thai, Muong and Dao ethnic minority people.

A world away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, Mai Chau is a paradise of rice fields and rural villages, completely unspoiled by mass tourism or industrialization. Our group of 7 showed up, without reservation or notice, in front of a family’s stilt-house. We soon discovered that our hosts were in fact part of the ethnic White Thai minority, distantly related to tribes in Thailand, Laos, and China. Immediately, they took us into their home and served us hot tea and a seemingly endless amount of noodles. After settling our belongings on the upper level of the bare house (built on stilts to prevent from flooding), our host father's neighbour offered to take us on a tour of the village. We embarked on a 3 hour bike tour through the rice paddies and through the muddy and rocky dirt roads of the town. Along the way, we saw farmers harvesting their crop, kids playing in the narrow streets, and water buffalos going about their daily farming routines. 

That evening, our host family prepared a delicious Vietnamese meal, and by night, we had the chance to watch a traditional performance of song and dance, each act representing the different tribes and minority groups of Mai Chau. After the show, we walked up to the single-room of the house, and took our spots on our respective bamboo mats, falling asleep immediately after the long day.

The following morning, we woke up at 4 am to climb to the 1000 Steps Cave and watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain. Although it was too foggy to see the sun rise, we ventured deep into the cave and then made our way down the steps. We came home just in time for breakfast – bread (banh) with a fried egg in the middle. Fueled up, we then went kayaking in the Black River, surrounded by all the beautiful mountains of the region. Already having experienced a full-day’s worth of activities by noon, we said goodbye to our host family and grabbed lunch at a street restaurant serving bun cha (rice noodles with minced pork balls) on the main road of the village before taking a bus back to Hanoi - a bumpy (and frightening) ride.

The whole weekend was an adventure and a nice change of pace from the motorbike traffic and incessant honking of Hanoi. 

 Traditional vietnamese meal prepared by our host family

 Locals performing a traditional chop stick dance

Climbing to the 1000-steps cave 

 We made it! 

Farmers harvesting their crop

 The stilt-house in which we stayed overnight 

 Our homestay parents