🗿Vietnam and Cambodia 2025 March/April
Vietnam and Cambodia 2025
NOTE: On this trip we traveled with friends. At times there were 4 of us, other times 6. Then Stephane and I traveled a bit on our own.
We planned it with a tour operator, which we rarely do. It turned out great! We spent more money than if we had planned the trip ourselves. But since we were all busy working, it was the right choice for us. Having someone to call for any issues was incredibly helpful, especially since there were six of us arriving or leaving at different times. It was a relief to let someone else handle all the logistics.
All the guides provided by the tour operator were excellent and contributed to a memorable experience.
TOUR OPERATORS:
https://www.jacadatravel.com
ROSANNA CONVEY
mailto:rosannaconvey@jacadatravel.com
YVONNE GREEN
mailto:yvonnegreen@jacadatravel.com
TIPS BEFORE I MOVE ON:
ARRIVAL: There is a fast pass to arrive and leave Vietnam. It’s worth it. I think it is 25$ each way.
CASH: We used cash much more than we usually do in other counties. So plan to get cash at the ATM on the 1st day. In Cambodia the ATM issues USD as well as Cambodian Riel. We paid mostly in USD in Cambodia.
BRING:
Bug spray. I used Murphys Balm. It smells good and is natural. I hate deet.
Don’t bother to bring an umbrella, every hotel has them for you…. BUT bring a good -long (that covers your but)- rain jacket and quick dry clothes.
Hair conditioner. Ok this may just be a me thing, but the water made my hair FRIZZY.
CLOTHES:
The North was significantly colder than the south. We brought thin puffy jackets and actually wore them.
I have a packing list I use for everything. -Click here to check it . 😊
CROSSING THE STREET:
This may sound ludicrous, but… to quote Bruce Lee ‘Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like water. Water can flow , or it can crash. Be water, my friend’
In other words, walk with purpose, don’t step in front of trucks that can’t and won’t slow down, and just go. You can do it.
We felt VERY safe everywhere we went. The bathrooms were clean, just remember the toilet paper may be in a dispenser at the opening of the bathroom.
DOWNLOAD: Grab. it’s like Uber and Uber Eats.
EAT/DON’T EAT: We made a point of eating yogurt every day. We do this on every trip we take. It has lots of probiotics and so we rarely get travelers stomach and if we do, not bad enough that we are laid out.
We brushed our teeth with the tap water but didn’t drink it- ever.
Be careful with fruits and veggies on your 1st few days. They are usually cleaned in water you won’t be able to digest.
In markets we ate at the most crowded stands. This way the food doesn’t sit around.
Some outdoor places even have a Michelin rating. yup
Getting there. 😊
🛫MARCH 14-16: OMG LONG FLIGHT
Yay we are off on vacation. We are traveling with friends Holly and Bruce. Their daughter and her husband live in Vietnam so we are excited to explore with a “local”. So far so good. We have stopped in 2 United lounges- the fancy ones with the private dining rooms. They make great old fashioned’s and pretty good food.
MAN the flight was long. We were delayed out of LAX but still made it to SFO in time for a cocktail and some snacks. Thankfully we splurged for the sleeper seats. Holly and Stephane seem to be the only ones who have slept most of the way. 3 more hours to go. Im pretty sure with 18 hours of travel so far, I smell. :)
Ho Chi Minh/Saigon
📍MARCH 16- 20: Ho Chi Min:
🛌 HOTEL: Mia Saigon
We were met at the airport by our guide Vu. I am sure I am misspelling it. But he was a great guide. He got us thru the crowds fast and into the van. It was definitely great to have someone meet us with a sign and help navigate Ho Chi Min airport. It’s pretty intense.
MARCH 16: Ho Chi Min: SLEEP
We finally arrived at the hotel after 31 hours of travel. Tired. We got here a few hours before check in, walked around a bit and had a beer. Our goal was to stay awake until dark. We made it until 6:30, but I got up at 4 am. So we tossed on our bathing suits and went swimming. Of course I swam with my eyes closed and smacked my face lol. Didn’t lose any teeth but spent the 17th with a a swollen lip. . Mia Saigon turned out to be our favorite hotel. It was a wonderful oasis from the city. Also they offered the best breakfast. MMMMM We all stayed in Jr suites.
MARCH 17: Ho Chi Min:
👥 TOUR: Saigon Walking tour
🍜 DINNER: Quan Bui Original
After a spectacular breakfast we got picked up by our tour guide (Vu) for a walking tour of District 1.
Coffee is a huge part of daily life here. They set up little plastic chairs on the sidewalks and people watch.
Saigon is split up like New York into different boroughs. We stay in the expat neighborhood district 2. District 1 is the downtown neighborhood. We Started at the palace with a bit of history and then saw some other historical buildings and local avenues and markets. Crossing the street in very intense, no one stops. You just wade thru and scooters stream around you. It’s hot as Florida in the top of summer with a ton of smog. But the chaos is part of the journey.
The style is fantastic. The women dress so beautifully.
For dinner we took a Grab - think uber- to dinner 🥘 the flavors were really good.. We are still learning what to and how to order. The restaurant is part of a chain and for once I was ok with the menu having pictures lol
MARCH 18: Ho Chi Min:
We woke up and had breakfast in the hotel again. Everyday they have different local dishes. Traditionally the Vietnamese eat Pho for breakfast. I tried that today.
After breakfast we jumped on a speed boat, in back of our hotel, and headed downtown to check out the local markets.
Saigon Square and Bến Thành Market.
The 2 markets are drastically different. Saigon Square sells mostly clothes, sunglasses, Purses, shoes… knock offs. Ben Thanh sells touristy stuff, but I like to wander the fruit stalls, coffee etc. It’s fun to see what is for sale here. Lots of Snake wine and Weasel coffee. (This is Kopi luwak- the coffee made from an animal eating the coffee beans and pooping.)
Super fun day. That night we did a food tour with our guide Vu.
👥TOUR: Saigon Food Tour: At night Vu, picked us up for a walking food tour. We started with Bun Mi…. I usually love this type of sandwich, but the Saigon version is made with Pate, so it isn’t my favorite… We then headed to a fruit smoothy place then a local tavern and finishing off with a rooftop drink.
I tried weird fried fish.. They were too moist for me… Nope.
MARCH 19: Ho Chi Min:
👥 TOUR: Mekong Delta
We got picked up at about 8:30 to drive south out of the city into the Mekong Delta. It was a long drive 2 to 3 hours each way. Surprisingly enough the freeway rest stop could have been anywhere. The food was distinctly Vietnamese but the layout and junk food felt the same. The biggest difference was the bathroom. It was clean and well stocked with toilet paper. lol.
Upon arriving in the Mekong area we stopped at a place that sold sticky rice next to the road. It was yummy. The rice is mixed with either banana or mung bean. We tried both. I prefer the mung bean but would have loved some hot sauce :) from there we went to a farm. We tried local fruits. They dip them in salt and hot sauce. We walked thru the jungle to arrive at a boat that took us to a bike to ride thru the area. There were no cars but we did have some scooters pass by.
The silence of the area is lovely. Wind and crickets, frogs, chickens. 🐓 then we headed to lunch. Yes lots of eating 🥣 lunch was good. At 95 degrees the cold beer was amazing. We shared fried fresh tilapia, chicken in tamarind sauce, garlic spinach and fresh pineapple. 🍍. It’s looked a bit off putting but tasted great.
After a long as shit bus ride back Steph and I ordered room service and crashed. Zzz
Cambodia
Cambodia
Seim Reap
MARCH 20-24: Siem Reap:
🛌 HOTEL: Treeline Urban Resort
MARCH 20: Siem Reap
🛩️FLY INTO CAMBODIA:
Today we headed to Cambodia. We flew in on Cambodian Airlines. Carly (Bruce and Holly’s daughter) set us up with a fast track to help us get thru customs. It made it super easy and we skipped the very long line. Whoo hooo. The airport looks just like HNL in Hawaii.
After arrival we met our guide Kenya who will be with us for the whole time we are here. He drove us to our hotel in Siem Reap. It’s a nice place right in the middle of town. This town is small and reminds us of Costa Rica??. Lots of restaurants - most set up for tourists. Markets etc. we had dinner at a traditional place Chanrey Tree after wandering around a bit.
Kenya always has fresh water to refill the metal bottles he gave us on arrival. As well as very cold wet towels in lemon grass to clean our hands and faces when we got in the van every time. The towels were wonderful. :)
That night we walked across from our hotel to dinner
Dinner was delicious… Cambodian food is great. We shared a few thing being a bit cautious on our 1st day and not knowing what to order.
MARCH 21: Siem Reap
👥 TOUR: Temples of the forest tour (you can look this up -it is a standard tour)
Start: 6:30 AM End: 11:00 AM
Breakfast at Urban Treeline is not as good as Mia Saigon in Saigon. However, if you order the local specials instead of sticking with the buffet- it was great.
After breakfast, We got to our 1st stop- Ta Prohm Temple- before the crowds. Ta Prohm is known for its Unesco site designation as well as the place you see where trees are growing out from within the ruins. The temple is pretty incredible. Tomb raider was filmed here. I can not imagine a movie crew in there. The spaces are tight. CRAZY. You can definitely spot the tourists. (see watermelon guy image) Kenya managed to get us in and out before the huge crowds arrived. That in itself was a feat. After the the 1st temple, Kenya had set up a small table with fresh juices and coffee. Some snacks, beer if we wanted etc. It was so lovely.
Then we headed to the 2nd temple - Ta Nei is one of the least visited temples in the region and it’s one of the reasons why you should go to visit. The temple complex is isolated and away from the main road. You will need to walk down a small track to find it.
Lastly we headed to Ta Keo and managed to get up the very steep steps without falling.
After all this we took a few hours off to chill at the hotel and have lunch. Then we headed to a massive temple complex. Angkor Thom
Did I mention Water Buffalos are afraid of Stephane LOL
👥 TOUR: Angkor Thom afternoon and evening tour
Start: 2:00 PM End: 6:30 PM
This part was also beautiful but so fucking hot. There were monkeys everywhere. Lots of babies. It was way too hot at this point for me and so I didnt climb up. It was beautiful, I suggest if you head to Seim reap you go to this one on a different day and get there early.
The day ended with a gin and tonic on a lake watching sunset. Nice and mellow.
MARCH 22: Siem Reap
👥 Sunrise Tour of Angkor Wat
Start: 4:45 AM End: 8:30 AM
We got picked up at the crack of dawn… 4:45 OMG the crowds were insane. Still a very cool place to go. I preferred the smaller lesser temples, but this was an incredible site to see. it’s hard to describe the crazy amount of people there for the spring solstice. After we came back and had breakfast. Steph had a nap, then we headed out to a very cool coffee shop (Kanmu: កាំមឹ កាហ្វេ KANMU #かんむ) and a walk thru a market…. It was again 94 degrees outside- so we had cocktails in the pool. :)
🍜 Dinner reservations at Mahob Khmer we went in a Tuc Tuc. The drivers waited for us to take us back to the hotel at the end. It was 10$ rounded trip with a small gratuity.
We didn’t take pictures at dinner, but had a wonderful time. I highly recommend it.
Steph had snake head fish. I think my nephew Jake catches them in the canal behind his house. But I didn’t think they were edible. Jake??
The manager is an expat from New York. He was great, very attentive and kind to his staff. He made wonderful suggestions and was thrilled we wanted to eat Cambodian local food. He even gave us a list of other local restaurants to try .
MARCH 23: Siem Reap
👥 Meachrey floating village and Tonle Sap lake excursion
This was really interesting. We drove out into the country and got on small boats on Tonle Sap lake. There are a bunch of people that live in houseboats along the River. It is set up with schools police bars etc. the people there seemed to be working hard. Fishing, cleaning, making mats and baskets with the reeds . They love tourists, we help the economy. I would NEVER swim in that river. It was muddy and gross. Also the toilets empty directly thru a hole in the floor. I bought a beautiful handmade basket for 20$. From some local women…. They let us use their restroom… :P Then We had snacks along the river with a local family. There was a public “happy room” (bathroom) set up on the river nearby.. it was super clean- considering.
They call the toilet the “Happy Room” :)
🍜 Dinner at the Le-cul-De-Sac in a Tuc Tuc
This is a French place recommended by the manager of Mohab Khmen. It was delicious. It’s down a random dirt road so we were a bit worried when we were on the way, but inside is so cool. We had a great time great food.
📍 MARCH 20-24: Siem Reap:
Kenya picked us up and took us to the airport.
Back To Vietnam: Hoi An
Hoi An
📍 MARCH 24-28: Hoi An
🛌 HOTEL: La Siesta Hoi An
MARCH 24: Hoi An
🛩️ FLY INTO DA NANG AND DRIVE TO HOI AN
The flight was uneventful. We landed and were picked up our guide and driver [Vu] I called him Vu 2. We then headed to our hotel in Hoi An.
After cleaning up we walked to the old town. —Thankfully we were well versed in the art of street crossing in Vietnam—
None of us realized that it was the 50th Anniversary Unification Ceremony - it was packed- hoards of people. Even with that at no time have I felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Everything is so clean. Even public bathrooms.
Hoi An on the 1st night was too crowded for me- too much sensory overload. Lots of beautiful lights and lanterns. But, Bastille Day crowds
. Steph was going crazy a taking pictures. He must have gotten 15000 steps. We managed to find our way to a restaurant. It was called Morning Glory. They have 2 locations. We wandered into the touristy one. But even with a menu with pictures on it, the food was fantastic. Hoi An is a beautiful town full of lights. If you visit wander the old town, but don’t forget to visit the surrounding village.
MARCH 25: Hoi An
-Yaly couture 👗👔👞🥿
Holly, Stephane and I walked to Yaly Couture to have some custom clothes made. It’s a bit overwhelming; picking the fabric, style etc. -of course the 1st fabric I picked was the most expensive custom silk in the store. Sooooo that went back. Holly got 3 pants and I got 2 pants and a dress. It was really interesting to see what people picked. I mean image the worst pattern and color combinations on a very sweaty tourist. It was hard to not shop for things only good for the trip, but for things to wear at home where it’s not hot as fuck :).
We were able to explain to our seamstress that I wear very basic colors and patterns. Holly wears solids. After that it was easier. I brought in pants and a dress to copy-ish. The dress I wanted exactly. I have a travel dress from Vince that they only made one season. I have never found another similar one. My pants were versions of pants I wear on set. .
In Hoi An they can custom anything. The town started from silk manufactures and traders. You can even get leather like in Tuscany. You can have custom shoes, purses anything…
TIPS:
Stick to the reputable taylors (we went to Yali Couture)
Have an idea what you want, and if you have a sample bring it.
The pants were harder. I like them but the dress I love. It’s a simpler pattern
it’s very inexpensive. 20- 30$ for custom leather sandals. I didn’t get any because I need arch support and that’s not a thing here, but Carly and Tom did. He got 2 pairs of shoes and she got dress sandals. Holly got a purse for 20$. I had to buy a piece of luggage since Stephane’s broke. The carry on size was 16$.!!! They have beautiful silk scarves everywhere. I just don’t know anyone who wears silk scarves. 🧣 so I didn’t buy any
Steph left as soon as he realized… It was SHOPPING LOL so he took a couple of pictures and left to wander the city.
Afterwards, Holly and I went through some markets and had a great time making our way back to the hotel for our night market food tour
👥 Evening Sidewalk Food Tour
Hu-2 took us on a great walking food tour.
We went to a dumpling house that has been around for 3 generations.
White Rose Dumplings- They supply all the local restaurants and won’t sell their recipe. It’s mostly pork and shrimp but since we let them know in advance they were able to make ones with no shellfish. If you have a terrible shellfish allergy, I am not sure if it would have worked for you. We were all fine if there was a little cross contamination. We were able to watch the ladies making dumplings.
The dumplings were fantastic. Stephane and I had the pork and also the mushroom. They served it with cold local beer. I am not sure why beer tastes so good when it’s hot, but this was great.
After, we walked to a noodle place. It’s a side of the road place that I don’t know the name of. Maybe Cao Lau Thank? But the needle dish they serve is also called Cao Lau sooo who knows. Anyway the noodles were fantastic. In a rich pork broth with slices of pork and some salad. I didn’t eat the vegetables here. It’s is street food so best not to ask how it’s made, lol
Then we went to eat black sesame pudding. Apparently it’s the secret to good digestion and longevity. The place has been around for over a hundred years and the owners mother is 101.
Still eating we went to a Bahn Mi place. This is basically a sub shop. I chose the bbq pork.
Finally we jumped in a boat and let lanterns go in the river. It is supposed to be for luck and prosperity.
It was a long but fun day. Zzzzzz 💤🛌😴
MARCH 26: Hoi An
Stephane and I got up and took out the hotels free bikes. It was a great ride.. we went to the side of town where the locals live. There were villas surrounded by rice fields. We crossed a very sus bridge. The metal plates moved and popped up as scooters come by. But there were no cars so we didn’t get tossed over the side. :)
On the side of the road they were selling a cow head and bones. Just sitting out in a bin with a price. And across the path the body on a split….. . We decided at this point it’s better to not ask how they make the food we are eating and just eat. Lol Stephane even found a pickleball place!
At lunch we went to a restaurant that Phil and Marie (my DP from Starfleet Academy and his wife) said was great. It was. It was so good. The hotel and the people we asked had never heard of it. So thankfully we had the address. It is run by the chef from the 4 seasons. The food was omg so good. I could have ordered everything. The drinks were very unusual and good. We tried the electric government car to get there. It was about 4 dollars each way in an open extended “jeep” lots of room for 6. (Make reservations)
***Everyone uses what’s ap so we just texted the guy who dropped us off and he came back to get us.
Afterwards Holly and I had our 1st fitting. We made the mistake of walking there. It’s about 2 miles. Which doesn’t seem far but add crowds in the old city 100% humidity and 95 degrees. Omg hot. We got there a gross grumpy sweaty mess. Neither of us loved our outfits so we were worried that going back would be a disaster
On the walk back, we found a place to eat that was recommended Mango Mango. The food was good- but it wasn’t my favorite. It would still recommend it because the service, location and prices were great.
MARCH 27: Hoi An
We got up and took a shuttle to the beach. It’s not the greatest beach at Hoi A but it was really nice to get away from the city. If I came back I would stay at the beach or in Da Nang and shuttle into old town for touristy things.
During the day we went for our final fittings for our custom clothes. Thankfully we liked them all. After the night before we both were worried the experience would be a disaster. I especially like my dress. -Way to go Marie great recommendations- Really pretty.
After we went for pizza and a beer. Yup. Pizza. Mmmm it was great. The sauce even had fish sauce in it. The chef is a local brewer so the yeast for the dough was made from the left over grains and had a great flavor.
Then we had to pack and chill before dinner. Yes more food.
This was a great restaurant. It’s a Michelin Star ⭐️. Our tour planners treated our group to a lovely night, since it was the last night all 6 of us were together. We had a 3 course meal. All of us had different items. Our tour planners called ahead with everyone’s dietary requirements. Imagine 6 people’s needs. No shellfish for some. No chicken for others no mushrooms no milk.. lol but when we got there it was easy. Thanks Gita, Yvonne and Rosemary.
NIHN BIN
NIHN BIHN
Its Ha Long Bay on land
📍 MARCH 28-30: Ninh Binh
🛌 HOTEL: Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh
MARCH 28: Ninh Binh
🛩️ FLY INTO. HANOI AND DRIVE TO NINH BINH
Stephane and I continued on our vacation and headed North. Holly and Bruce went back with Carly and Tom to Ho Cho Minh before heading home.
Our hotel was really pretty but it was not near a city. We had originally planned to rent a scooter to get around. But, because of weather, cell service etc we called our local travel coordinator and he booked 2 days of private tours. - and computed it. (Thank you Michael)
Since we arrived around lunch time, we had a quick bite and walked up the street to Thung Nham park. - Our guide who picked us up at the airport had told us about it and a bunch of great places for photography.
We saw a bunch of monkeys, which we didnt know at the time but is very rare. There are only 30 left in the wild and we saw 6-10.
MARCH 29: Ninh Binh
Soooo it was a cold rainy day. But we had jackets so we didn’t melt. Thankfully we had a van.
We had a super busy day and didn’t let the rain spoil our mood.
1st we hiked all the way to the top of the 500 steps (Dragon) near Mua cave, and yes it poured on us—- totally soaked. The views were beautiful.
Then we jumped on a boat ride to the 3 caves. The guide asked the lady rowing to stop at a cool spot to climb up to a great view- yes more steps. - Tam Coc boat tour
Lastly we went to a pretty temple on a hill. We were supposed to see 2 but I was tired so we went back to the hotel to chill. - Bich Dong Pagoda- its the real name ….yup
Dinner at the hotel
MARCH 30: Ninh Binh
We woke up to a cloudy but thankfully NOT RAINING day.
Brrr it got chilly in the low 60s. met with our new Guide and driver. - The guide was Jimmy- I suck at remembering the drivers names. Jimmy is hilarious, easy to make laugh.
We decided to go into the rainforest. (Cuc Phuong) so we headed out to the National Park and Primate rescue center. The rescue center saves endangered Monkeys and- if they can- they release them back into the wild. A lot used to be pets/ or in small cages held for a meal - yup- so they can not be released. But their babies can be. So slowly they are saving these species
I was feeling pretty lazy so we only walked about 2 km. Afterwards we asked Jimmy to introduce us to a local restaurant and please order for us. We got to try some really great food that we probably would have never ordered.
Tofu and Tomato, Noodles and Beef, Goat and Spinach, Morning glory and Garlic, Pickled egg plant, sautéed goat, Soup and rice (i was too full to try the soup, so I don’t know what kind it was)
After lunch went to a temple in a giant cave right near our hotel. It was super cool. It wasn’t a very old temple, but the cave was what we wanted to check out
Temple in mountain on the way back to the hotel - Dich long pagoda
And just so you know we weren’t slacking on out 10,000 steps a day…
We did a bike ride not to far from the hotel, but down some cool little streets and rice paddies.
Again we had dinner at the hotel restaurant …
HANOI
Hanoi
📍 MARCH 31-April 3: Hanoi
🛌 HOTEL: La Siesta Premium Hang Be
MARCH 31: Hanoi
🚌DRIVE TO HANOI- Dinner PIZZA 4P’S
We woke up and packed. Had another great breakfast. Then headed up to Hanoi with Jimmy. On the way we stopped at a coffee shop and had a great coffee at a local place. - I had told Jimmy of my love of coffee so this was a nice treat.
NOTE: a lot of businesses are under the owners home. At the coffee shop the bathroom was the owners private bathroom. I unfortunately didn’t realize the sink was attached to the shower head. Sooo I got a bit of a small shower when I tried to wash my hands lol.
We are staying at La Siesta Premium Hang Be. It is so beautiful and right in old town. We HIGHLY recommend this hotel Sadly we have very few pictures… Jimmy recommended some places to visit and eat before he headed off.
After checking in we walked down to train street (5 miles round trip), with a small stop for a YUMMY croissant. - (Hanoi Croissant & Coffee) The Vietnamese have really upped the pastry ante-
funny sign for shoes for tourists.
Train street.
Anyway, We had seen train street on YouTube, so we thought we were prepared for the crowds… But NOPE. Its crazy. We entered thru the famous 1990 coffee shop. They had us walk thru to the train tracks then, they make sure the group is away from the tracks so the police can walk by. At the last minute (literally) they let us tourists flank the tracks. Crazy.
On the way back we wandered down a windy alley that ended at a fancy coffee shop. Sooo we had to try it. SOOOOO great. I went with the Matcha and Stephane had a fancy coffee concoction. It was art. (Vu lab Specialty Coffee)
After 15 min rest back at the hotel- It was 5 miles round trip to the train street crowd. We headed to Pizza 4Ps. I had read about it online. It was definitely worth it. Also a nice feeling of home.
So far we both love Hanoi. It has a great vibe. Sadly we got in our elevator with a kid from Florida who waited for the door to close to inform us he had a fever and was sick. Fucker. I held my breath and came in and took a shower. Night…. Steph is out taking pictures. I am EXHAUSED 16500 steps. Zzzz
Oh if you put your password into Netflix at a hotel dont forget to log out. Thankfully someone left theirs logged in and I was able to switch it from Thai to English… Hope they like transformers. :)
April 01: Hanoi
Breakfast at La Siesta Hang Be is awesome… They had sushi - I think Steph ate all of it. -
Today we wandered around the markets. Really just took it all in. It’s chaos and order all at the same time. Hanoi has big sidewalks in the French quarter where people stop at lights and there are cross walks. Then in the old quarter scooters rule. You have to walk with confidence. The people everywhere are lovely. They smile and say hi. I learned “Xin chào” hello and “Cảm ơn” both went a long way.
We had a quick lunch next door to the hotel… Nhà Hàng Little Hanoi They had 2 cats that decided they had to sit with Stephane. The food was GREAT. We sat at a shared table with a couple from China. The wife loves cats so much she travels with dry cat food in a bag to feed strays See we aren’t the most crazy cat people; :)
At the end of the day we had a wonderful happy hour from the roof top of our hotel, before embarking on a food tour with out wonderful guide Duc.
We highly recommend him. He lives locally and knows everyone. (reach out for his what’s ap if you want it)
He met us in the lobby of our hotel and we walked. We tried eel ….
April 02: Hanoi
Today is our last day. We both really loved it here but are ready to be home with our cats. :)
We decided to walk to the French Quarter to find a bakery Jimmy had recommended …OMG (Can you tell, I love pastries and coffee)
They had a place to sit outside and order coffee. So we tried the famous Egg Coffee. It’s basically coffee made with an egg instead of milk. It was way too rich and sweet for me. Madame Huong.
Then I had a hot rock massage and foot massage at the hotel.. relaxing and sooo much cheaper than in Los Angeles
For our last dinner, we ate at the rooftop restaurant in our hotel
April 02: FLY HOME:
Since we flew business we skipped a LONG check in line. We still had customs but that was quick. We didn’t need the VIP exit but got to the airport early just in case. The Strange thing about heading home is you travel back in time. Our long flight was 12 hours but the time difference was -14 hours sooo we landed 2 hours before we left…. Mind Bending. It took about 3 days to re-adapt to the time change.
