Hanoi

While we were in Hanoi, it was Tet. Tet is the Lunar New Year’s celebration; it is the biggest holiday in Vietnam.

Tet traditions

Before Tet, it’s a mad house. It’s chaotic, and it’s probably the busiest time in the year for Vietnamese people. All throughout the day, you see people carrying clementine and pommelo trees on their motorcycles. Occasionally, you will see all of this on a bike: a baby, mom, tree and a toddler. Sometimes, you see bundles and bundles of flowers on one bike. Not bundles like the size of your fist, but bundles the size of a young elephant. Some streets are completely decked out with red and gold decorations and Year of the Rat balloons. On Tet, people burn real money on the street because they believe this will allow their ancestors to have it. For Tet, people will usually dress up in their fanciest and newest clothes.

The Streets

The pollution in Hanoi is crazy. There is a lake in Hanoi that we went to see, but we couldn’t even see across it because of the pollution. There is no word to describe the streets in Hanoi, but here are a few I can come up with: chaotic, loud and insanely crowded. It seems like the only requirement to get your driver’s licence is to have a horn. It is gridlock on every intersection. Motorcycles are wedged in every corner, in every way. Horns beeping are almost a constant, and no one stops for you. They seem like they would rather run over you than to stop.

Food

We all agreed that we had the best noodles in Vietnam at our first restaurant in Hanoi. The restaurants in Hanoi have an interesting style, you could call say. First, they are all outside; two, you sit on tiny plastic chairs and another plastic chair is your table; and three, let’s say it’s not all sanitary. The first time we squatted awkwardly on the tiny chairs, unsure what to do next. A lady came over and my dad motioned toward all of us and said, “Three.” A minute later the lady came out with three bowls and a tray. On the tray were fresh vegetables that we avoided like the plague. We poured broth into our bowls with noodles, and herbs that we couldn’t avoid. The noodles were delicious! One day we had another delicious meal. It was like a rice crepe. The rice crepe was wrapped around ground beef and some herbs. You also had a bowl with broth that you dunked your crepe into. This was my favorite meal of Hanoi. One afternoon we were walking down a street when a amazing smell drifted across the road. We looked up and on the other side there was a bakery called King Roti. They were selling something brown and roundish. We crossed the street and bought one. You picked your middle flavor: cream, custard, Nutella, and coffee with chocolate. We chose coffee and chocolate. The outside of the roti was crunchy, but once you bit through the outer layer, a soft bread was in the middle. The middle bread’s texture was like clouds and tasted sweet. Deeper, the chocolate oozed out dampening the soft bread. It was so delicious.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•