Among the things to do in Hanoi, the only thing that beat roaming around the Old Quarter was having the same walk in the area early in the morning. Strolling around this old part of town just as the city woke up was a mesmerizing experience — ladies washing leafy vegetables by the storefront, old…
Author: Karen
Hanoi Day 2: Old Quarter, Banh Mi and Coffee
From the Temple of Literature, it was an easy Grab ride to go back to my favorite area in Hanoi, the Old Quarter. After a quick stop at our hotel, we took another ride to Dong Xuan Market, thinking that it was another tourist attraction. The hotel staff on duty initially expressed her concern as…
Hanoi Day 2: Temple of Literature
Armed with a ride-hailing app, I felt ready to leave the “walkable” confines of the Old Quarter to discover more of what Hanoi had to offer. We ventured out to the Temple of Literature, one of the most iconic tourist attractions in the city. From the roadside, the complex’s white gate was shadowed by trees…
Hanoi Day 2: Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan
It was an unexpected early start forĀ us on our second day in Hanoi. It was still dark when we started treading towards another food institution in the Old Quarter. This bustling part of town was eerily quiet in the morning, but life was already coming about. Ladies were washing vegetables by the curbside, and…
Hanoi Day 1: Bun Cha Dac Kim and Hoan Kiem Lake
After checking into our hotel in the Old Quarter, we decided to grab some lunch before getting some rest. Though navigating Hanoi’s Old Quarter was tricky for first-timers like us, we were lucky that an iconic food place was not even a hundred meters away: Bun Cha Dac Kim. Bun Cha Dac Kim It’s still…
First Time in Hanoi
The sun was just rising by the time we were to depart Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, and it was a little past ten in the morning by the time we got out of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. Our driver was nowhere to be found, something that irked me instantly. I was not…
Bangkok Day 3: Chatuchak Market and Terminal 21
The weekend had befallen in Bangkok, a lucky day I must say. It was time for the city’s biggest weekend market, the one situated in Chatuchak. It would be my parents’ first time to go; mine, second. It had been years since my first visit and I was excited to go back. I felt uncertain…
Bangkok Day 2: Khlong Toei Market, Pratunam and Ban Khun Mae
“What are we going to do today?” was the question my parents asked me over breakfast on our second day. We had no concrete plans on this trip, so between visiting another temple or exploring a market, they chose the latter. I was unsure what was in store for us, having never been to the…
Bangkok Day 1: Or Tor Kor, Yaowarat and Som Tam Nua
After having just landed in Bangkok, we continued our morning with a ride to Or Tor Kor Market. It was a market we enjoyed the previous year not only for the abundance of its fruits but also for the ready-to-eat food the food court offered. Or Tor Kor Market “What are you going to do…
Back in Bangkok
It was still dark when our flight landed in Bangkok. I still couldn’t believe that we were here, merely over a year from our last visit. Our previous trip was thoroughly enjoyed by my parents, that they were eager to go back soon as an airline seat sale became available (which coincidentally happened just a…