Hanoi

Staying at the Lotte hotel is an elevating experience. To get to breakfast it is up to 63 from 44. Then to get out for the day it’s down to 44, pick up the backpack, down to 38, switch elevators and down to 1 and out for the day. I miss our last hotel on the first floor.

We took our “A” bus to the French quarter and hopped on an electric cart for four, to be driven around the market area. The crowds of locals were all around us because of the upcoming New Year’s week coming up. They celebrate the same as the Chinese, Tët. It is a huge deal here and will close down much of the city. It becomes a lot like our Christmas and Memorial day celebrations combined. They decorate their homes, visit family, go to worship, visit graves of family and eat a lot.

Next stop was the Hanoi Hilton. A bit of focus on the fact that it was built by the French as a prison for Vietnamese. It was not a pleasant place for anyone staying there.

The Museum of Ethnology was a definite must see. Keeping their cultural history of all ethnic groups is important and this museum explained the who and what about the Vietnamese. We could walk through the authentic homes that they moved into the museum.

Our lunch today was phô ga and egg coffee. Both were really tasty. The egg coffee was made with strong coffee on the bottom with an egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk mixture that was whipped on top.