10C Khuc Hao St

One of the “other” cafes next to the popular Align 3D Graphics Cafe is similarly tucked quietly off the street. There are many searing options both indoors and outside of the old colonial house.
The menu is in Vietnamese only but fairly easy to use. Many food options and booze is in the mix. Prices are standard this sort of location. A meal will set you back $3-4.
Like has weekly live music and a fairly artsy crowd. I ended up chatting with a guitar instructor and his date for a while on my visit. Certainly a more relaxing atmosphere than Align. The staff seems a bit inexperienced but can easily be flagged down.

10A Khuc Hao Street

Yeah, it’s really named that. The place seems to have been quote popular for a while. Front outdoor seating faces a pool. Water trickles down the sloped patio cover and falls into the pond with fish.
The interior is fairly well worn and the shop stays busy. It’s nicely lit with exposed brick on the inside. Their Internet service wasn’t working eithe time I went. Routers appear to be on each level but devices can’t access the web. Smoking is allowed inside.
Food and drink are priced competitively with like establishments but Align has a nice selection of generous side dishes for 10,000 ($.5). The breakfast beef soup I ordered was very tasty an hearty. Staff is a bit disinterested.
Two quieter, cleaner shops are right next door.

Much to my surprise, someone called out “soup” as I walked by a little restaurant. This NEVER happens in Hanoi. Intrigued, I looked over to find two of the oldest ladies I’ve seen in Vietnam beckoning me to sit. Okay, I’ll bite. I won’t even ask the price. Yeah, that meat has probably been sitting out for a bit but my body has seen that before. I’ve got plenty of Cipro back at my room.
The one woman sat me at the end of a table, turned the fan on, and pointed it right at me. She went right to work and put her friend to work helping her.
A couple minutes later, her friend brought out a very large bowl of pho com - soup with rice noodles. Additionally, she brought out a standard plate of greens, bowls of spices and seasoning, and a big heap of chicken to supplement the chicken already in the bowl.
Her friend mixed the soup up or me, pushing the chicken under the broth. I dug in.
The broth was a bit bland. After about two bites, the woman came over, dipped her pair of chopsticks into the broth, and gave it a taste. She then proceeded to spice it up with salt, a bit of pepper, what looked like powdered crab broth, and what may or may not have been MSG. Next, she mixed some spices with lime juice on a little plate.
I barely got a bite in my mouth when she started shoveling chicken into my spoon! After filling the bottom of he spoon with chicken, she would dip one piece in the lime and spice mix, put it on top, put a bit of hot pepper on top of that, then place a chopstick of pho on op of that! I had to hold the towering bite in place with my chopsticks lest it fall back into the broth.
She would hardly let me take a bite on my own, preparing spoon after spoon with more meat than noodles, a proportion that never happens here. Two months in Asia has shrunk my stomach capacity so I was getting a bit full.
Pulling out all the stops, she even cut the long noodles up for me, dipping a fairly sketchy pair of scissors into the broth and snipping away.
I have to admit, by this time I was wondering if she was poisoning me, insane, going to stab me with the scissors, or thought I was someone else. Was she simply trying to fit a huge amount of food on my table and then demand I pay some exorbitant price for it?
As my belly reached capacity out came the spring rolls. First two rolls each cut in half. Then two more cut into quarters. Those were accompanied by a dipping concoction that she made on the spot and placed a small bowl of rice noodles in. I had to find a way out. I ate as much as I could, even taking bites when I thought she wasn’t looking.
Finally, I jumped up as she went to prepare yet another dish! She turned around and, much to my relief, smiled warmly. I thanked her in Vietnamese and handed her a 100,000 ($5) note, my body language making it clear that I didn’t want change. Pho tends to run between 20,000 and 45,000 here.
On my way out she stopped me! Her friend gathered three bananas while she picked out three perfectly ripe pieces of fruit, placing them in a bag and sending me on my way.
It’s been 90 minutes and I’m still alive. I think I’m in the clear.

In Hanoi, the only people hawking goods and services to you are moto drivers, scammers, and kids with boxes of pirated books or cheap lighters. Be wary of anyone who approaches you.
Merchants in Ho Chi Minh City will vie for your business, Usually initially trying to sell you something of inferior quality for more money than you’d spend on it back home. The price quickly decreases to something reasonable.
Merchants in Hanoi would rather lose your business than sell you the same product they just sold to a local for the same price. I bought a shirt in Laos for $2, around Luang Prabang no less. Shirts of the same caliber are sold in Hanoi for a take it or leave it $17. The difference? In Vietnam the shirt will have a designer tag on the inside and may have some garish accents on the outside to be cut off before wearing.
I found Phnom Penh is the place for shopping. Higher end items are best bought in Laos.
Food is cheaper in Vietnam but only with diligence. Many food joints will post prices. The busy ones don’t seem interested in ripping people off. Always ask for the price at the small food or drink stands. Always check the prices in the menu. One trick is to offer a menu without prices. Big red flag.

Hoan Kiem Lake location

Hanoi’s most visible coffee shop inhabits the third floor of a large building on the tourist hub of Hoan Kiem Lake. Highlands is a chain with several locations catering to tourists and Hanoi’s middle-class as well as bagged coffee sold in most stores.
The Hoan Kiem Highlands is a large space with a wrap-around balcony and plenty of comfortable seating. The balcony offers views of the lake and the hectic street scene below. Just watching pedestrians cross with motorbikes and cars zooming around at every angle is quite entertaining.
The young staff is large so service can be spotty. Food or drink may be forgotten. One male server chose to ignore my request for water because I already had a lime juice.
Coupons for buy one get one free drinks and a free pastry with a drink were handed out as I left almost every time. They aren’t handed out to everyone. I may have received them because I tip, an uncommon practice in Vietnam.
A note on tipping: staff at some shops (usually independent) will refuse tips. They won’t touch the money. I choose to offer the tip and politely put it away with a smile if refused. Staff at chains that cater to tourists often have tip boxes or jars out. Many independents are operated by family so the money from your purchase will go to them anyways.
The coffee at Highlands is fine but not extraordinary. Unfortunately, it is served sans metal filter, a touch that I like at the roadside spots. Western style blended drinks are offered and didn’t disappoint. I tried their caramel espresso blended drink ($3) and it was indeed like the mega-coffee calorie bomb back home.
Highlands also makes for a nice nightcap of a drink and cheesecake after a meal at either the Korean or Japanese restaurant on the two higher floors.

89A Ly Nam De

Chillout is a cozy, warmly decorated spot with a larger, comfy upstairs and a friendly staff. Their menu is in both Vietnamese and English, featuring excellent strong coffee and egg coffee if you’re so inclined (try it!).
I started with an egg coffee and finished with a mango smoothie. The smoothie was buttery with sweet, fresh mango and among the best I have tasted. The egg coffee was frothy, rich, sweet, and strong: a decadent, effective start to the day.
The interior is dimly lit with low hanging lamps above natural wood tables, a cushioned bench, and wood chairs. The theme is western antique, sort of like grandma’s house.
The food menu is affordable and uncomplicated. A nice assortment of shakes and juice are available as well as some frozen treats.
The staff is friendly, welcoming, and service is prompt. Music tends to be contemporary mellow American hits and the TV is silently broadcasting Discovery.
Prices are very reasonable. A coffee is less than a dollar. Fruit smoothies are under two. My egg coffee and mango smoothie ran a combined 63,000 VND ($3). The quality of drink and overall experience is phenomenal for the price.
This quiet spot is located on the northwest border of the tourist-centric, cold bustle of the Old Quarter but you’d never know it. Ho Truc Bach Lake and a Hanoi’s cluster of museums are about equidistantly walkable to the north and west.

Hanging at Chillout Cafe in Hanoi. The owner and waiter just popped out back to rip their bamboo opium pipe! I enjoyed my first egg coffee this morning. It’s a strong, sweet, frothy mixture. Like an egg cream with coffee.
Hanoi has a fantastic coffee scene. Most shops are simple corner locales with foot-high plastic stools spilling out onto the street. Hanoians love to sit and slowly sip their coffee anytime of day.
Vietnamese coffee is brewed with finely ground beans in a single serving metal filter. We bought four stainless steel filters to bring home for 160k VND (less than $8). It’s always sweet and almost always iced. Ca phe sua contains sweetened condensed milk, ca phe den is black with sugar. Add a “da” at the end and it will be iced! My drink is ca phe den da, Christina likes ca phe sua da.
Middle to upper-middle class Hanoians also frequent the more western stye coffee shops with nice interiors, cushioned benches, menus, and usually music, AC, tv, and a few employees. These shops tend to be in front of or below an attached, nicer dwelling for the owner and have nice bathrooms.
Highlands and Illy are the two most visible chains of this type but I’m going to seek out the independents over my last few days here.

We trekked away from the tourist hub of Sapa and into two days and a night of spectacular scenery, the kindest people we have yet encountered, and an experience we will never forget. We would have liked to spend some more time in a few other places, but this is the first time that I will truly miss a place.
Sapa O’Chau (o’chau means thank you in Hmong) is the only truly Hmong owned trekking option in Sapa. They run a free school for students that have finished their primary education and would like to continue learning practical language skills for greater employment opportunities. Most of the 60 students are between 17 and 25. 30 students live at the school. Additionally, Sapa O’Chau supports kindergarten students with food and mild and gives warm clothing to poorer families among several other things.
Their guides are all local women who have been through or are attending the school. At least one guide will speak near-perfect English and there will be at least one more woman who is learning how to be a guide and practicing her English with native speakers. While the scenery is uniquely beautiful, the heart of the experience is spending hours a day chatting with local women as they show you the ins and outs of daily life and learn about your life back home.
We would often stop to look at things such as indigo plants for dye or a hemp spinning wheel. Unlike a typical tour, our guides enthusiastically showed and told us about the things that interested us. We were never hurried along and never felt intrusive.
Additionally, Shu from Sapa O’Chau had some local students guide us to Cat Cat village at no charge on our first day. It was an opportunity for us to see yet another beautiful place while allowing the students to practice their English with us as guides.
All in all it was perhaps the best experience of our trip. We’re due to catch a ride to the train station soon but will add more about the trek an homestay later!

The terraced landscape on the drive from Lao Cai to Sa Pa looks like something out of a storybook. It’s green and dense like the Laos mountains with layers of mountainside carved out for agriculture.
The city is easily navigable with plenty of accommodations for every budget. Food options are similarly diverse. A room with a view of the valley should be standard. We got a higher, more comfortable room with a private balcony for $18. $15 seems standard for a comfortable room in a good hotel. As with most other places, $35 is the starting price for more luxurious accommodations.
We’re going on a two-day trek with a homestay in a local village through Sapa Ochau Tours. The organization is slightly more expensive than the run of the mill, tourist track tours but the money stays in the community for education and we get a personal guide to take us to some less traveled villages.
More on Sapa Ochau after the trek!

Halong Bay is stunning. There is no place like it on earth. Boat tours of the bay can be very hit and miss, most accounts lean toward miss. Our two night package (one on the boat, one on Cat Ba Island) was so bad it was comical. Sparing too many details, it all came to a head during our first night on the boat. Tempers had been rising as passengers weren’t allowed into their rooms for hours. A crew member was caught trying to sneak into a room shortly after we received our keys. The AC remotes had all been removed, rendering the units useless.
Meals went steadily downhill after our first lunch. Dinner was a few bites of meat and a ton of rice while the crew sat nearby eating a mountain of fresh oysters, hot soup, and many other dishes. A parade of frustrated passengers laughed while snapping photos of the crew eating their feast. Breakfast was four pieces of white bread and a sliver of egg.
Finally, a quartet of gay men pestered, prodded, and indignantly interrogated our now-drunken guide, his belly full of beer and oysters that our dollars had paid for. Things got ugly - and a bit too personal to be humorous - as frustrations flared so I excused myself to my quarters.
The whole experience galvanized the passengers against the crew and they couldn’t wait to be rid of us. Unfortunately, this sort of experience is more the rule rather than the exception on Halong Bay. Our hotel wasn’t much better though we were adequately fed.
N. Vietnam has been a stark contrast from S. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in particular. Visitors tend to be tolerated rather than welcomed though we have met many, many helpful and friendly locals here.