Another train--this one was only a couple of hours long--thus completing our trip up the coast of Vietnam, Saigon to Hanoi via the Reunification Express. We've experienced some crazy hotel bathrooms on this trip, but the shower plumbing above was extreme and needed printed instructions.
If you turn the top valve, like you think you might to get the water to come out the rain faucet, water instead shoots out of the three vertical circle in the middle. Chest height. Startling.
Fish in the hotel lobby pool.
Dinner: the famous Hanoi banh cuon that I love. This place was ok--mentioned in our guidebook, so it was easy to find after landing, but the service was not so good. Somehow our waiter ignored our request for bia, so we just wolfed down the food, paid, and made a quick exit.
I'm not a big fan of chains, but Cong Caphe has become one of our go-to places, especially if we need quick wifi or a caffeine injection. We first went to a Cong in Danang, and it was good for coffee and for cocktails. "Cong" as in "Viet-Cong", so it's got a late-60s wartime theme, kitchy, but the coffee and wifi are good and no one urges you to leave. This concept actually occurs all over Vietnam--lingering in cafes over a single cup of anything is definitely encouraged, and cafes are numerous. People just hang out for at least an hour, maybe more. No one cares how long you stay there. So civilized!
My first sua chua ca phe: yogurt and coffee. Yum. Lauren's drink is a salty preserved lemon.
Overlooking a cathedral square--wires and flowers and trees
Another classic Hanoi dish: bun cha! this was really delicious. Grilled seasoned pork, green herbs, sliced crisp vegetables, rice vermicelli, in a hot spicy sweet fish sauce broth. It *is* a little like bun thit noung, with more of an emphasis on lots of broth.
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