Day 17: Hanoi and Hoi An, a tale of two anagram cities

We kicked off our last day in Hanoi with the standard hotel breakfast, before plunging forth into mid-morning traffic in search of S****ucks, so L could add the special Vietnam mug to our collection (I was also tempted to get the Hanoi mug, as it’s bright orange on the inside, and we don’t have any that colour, but I’m not sure I’d want a coffee in a mug that colour, either). Mug purchased, we meandered back through a few stores to see what we could find (obligatory Vietnam pun: in Hanoi it’s okay to Hang Bac, hyuk hyuk hyuk).

We’d kind of discussed the whole Hanoi egg coffee thing, and then convenience got the better of us when it turned out that Cafe Giang, who claim to have links to inventing the whole thing, was only around the corner. So we did the check out thing, leaving our bags as we had an airport pickup coming at noon, and decided to check out the hype.

It’s easy to miss Cafe Giang if you’re not looking, or used to Hanoi. While the maps seem simple, the entry is down a little alleyway, that opens up into a two-storey cafe. We were pointed upstairs, where we fought our way through German tourists to a simple short table and stools. The menu, sans prices, was stuck to the wall. When we found someone to take our order, it was a hot egg coffee for me and an iced one for L. The hot (well, warm anyway) coffee was presented in a small glass cup, that rested in another cup of warm water, I don’t know why. The iced was in a tall glass. The taste was, well, okay. I didn’t find it rich and eggy like some have said, it was more like a meringue-flavoured coffee, where the sweetness and egg white were among the dominant flavours. Fortunately, for all the hype, the coffees were under $2 each.

Our final stop in Hanoi was Mekong Quilts, basically a fair trade quilting business. There were many beautiful quilts and other sewn items to choose from (I’d tell you what I bought but some may be earmarked as gifts, and I’d hate to ruin the surprise). Even with the whole fair-trade thing, the prices were generally pretty good.

Then it was in the car to the airport. Maybe because it’s Wednesday, but Vietnam Airlines didn’t have a lot of people on their counters, so it took a while to get our boarding passes. Security was similarly busy, so we got to our gate just after boarding was supposed to commence. VN clearly mark on their tickets that boarding closes 15 minutes before departure, so don’t be late on pain of death etc, though in our case, it only opened 16 minutes before our scheduled time. The flight to Da Nang was a little over an hour, so no big drama. I spent a chunk of it entertaining the child in the row ahead, pulling all the silly faces I could think of. He seemed to find me funny. He also knew the happy birthday song, so when we landed I told him it’s L’s birthday in 4 days, and he sang for her.

No drama with bags, and our car was waiting. Unfortunately, so was the rain, so it was a wet drive to Hoi An. Along the way our driver stopped us at a sculpture factory, I’m not sure if it was him trying to be helpful and overhearing me point these out to L, or because it was a place that pays the drivers kickbacks if their passengers stop and buy. Either way, we got out for a minute, stretched our legs, and waited for the driver to come back to the car.

L at the sculpture factory

Hoi An was flooded a couple of months ago, something that happens semi-regularly, so we were a little worried about the rain, but it’s due to stop tomorrow and be fine by Saturday. The town is mostly as we remembered it, full of tourists, storefronts, and old buildings. Tomorrow our shopping begins in earnest, getting clothes made etc, so this afternoon was just a refamiliarisation stroll.

nachos!

It was also to get food, as we skipped lunch. After a bit of wandering, L found a Mexican place that looked pretty good — L is hitting saturation point for rice noodles so wanted something else. Apparently it’s too difficult to get the ingredients for corn tortillas in Vietnam, so there were no gluten free tacos or nachos, but some good meat and rice options. I had the pork nachos, and the special recipe coleslaw. It has pineapple, and is spicy, and tastes pretty good. The nachos were good too.

Then it was back to our boutique villa, which is apparently marketing-speak for smallish hotel. The place has decent sized rooms, a balcony, and a bath tub. It’s a little out of the main part of town, but not too far.

Tomorrow we shop!