Xoi Yen

Xoi Yen

Hanoi · Vietnamfood, hoan kiem, sticky rice, xoi

Funny thing how we passed by this place everyday in Hanoi, saw the massive amounts of people there, and continued by without a second glance. Well, fortunately, Vicky happened to notice. And on a separate occasion, read about it online. Amazing that all these places were close to our hotel. This one was two blocks

Hiking Around Sapa

Hiking Around Sapa

Sapa · Vietnamhanoi, hiking, lao chai, ta van, travel

The best way we were going to experience Sapa was to hike it. Well, after a thirty minute ride out of town to the starting point. It was still damp outside so we knew our shoes may not be coming home with us. We planned for this. And yeah, by the end of the day

Cat Cat Village

Cat Cat Village

Sapa · Vietnamcat cat village, cold, food, travel, viet cuisine restaurant

One thing to be aware of is that the train takes you into Lao Cai. It’s another hour ride up to Sapa through some windy roads. Not to bad to endure if I weren’t so grumpy from a night on the train. By the time we got to the hotel, businesses were waking up. Our

Train to Sapa

Train to Sapa

Sapa · Vietnamcrab hotpot, hanoi, lotte center, mall, shopping, verdict: pass

Here’s the typical itinerary for a Sapa getaway, a three-night two-day stay. This means you take an overnight train to Sapa, do a hike during the day, stay in a hotel at night, do a hike the next day, and come back on an overnight train. Basically, you have two full days with really one

Double Breakfast

Double Breakfast

Hanoi · Vietnambun cha, bun rieu, dac kim, food, old quarter, street vendor

We were making our way through the Old Quarter and decided to eat locally. That was, try out the recommendations from the locals and online reviews that weren’t TripAdvisor or Yelp (yeah, they had a small presence). Two things came to mind, bun cha and more bun rieu oc. I had to compare it to

Nha Hang Ngon

Nha Hang Ngon

Hanoi · Vietnamhoan kiem, stations, verdict: pass

I had tried this place out in Ho Chi Minh City and loved it. With it’s mission to bring all the diverse flavors of Vietnam together under one roof was awesome. When I heard they had branched out to Hanoi, I had to check it out. And wouldn’t you know it, it was close to

Com Ga

Com Ga

Hanoi · Vietnamchicken rice, food, hoan kiem, old quarter

Vicky was pretty set on trying out this place. She found it on a food blog from a Taiwanese person that relocated to the area. The author gave it a thumbs up, so why not. Can’t go wrong trying all the chicken rice dishes of the world. I was curious to see how this compared

Cruising Halong Bay

Cruising Halong Bay

Halong Bay · Vietnamcruise, guide, tour, verdict: pass

Our travel agent booked us on a cruise for Halong Bay. Something I’ve been meaning to do my entire life. All those small island mountains protruding looked magical. Something I wanted to witness with my own eyes and feel what it’s like to be surrounded by them. It may not have been the best weather

Nha Hang Hong Hanh 3

Nha Hang Hong Hanh 3

Halong Bay · Vietnamfood, halong bay, hanoi, seafood, service

This place must be good to have three restaurants named after it, right? Well, I couldn’t disprove that theory. It was pretty darn good. Exactly what I was looking on a desolate cold night. Everything looked closed, that was, if it were open, it had nobody in it. This was the case for Hong Hanh

When booking a place in Halong Bay, you may get offered a resort stay on Tuan Chau island. We got a fantastic hotel, Paradise Hotels, who have their own ferries. Problem was, it’s far away from town. And the other resorts on the island were still being built. So yeah, we felt really isolated. But