VIETNAM/CAMBODIA - 2025
Thursday 8 May'26 - Hanoi
Thursday 8 May'25 and we are off on a fully escorted small-group tour of Hanoi and finally got to meet our fellow travellers. A group of 23 people and I must say, on first impressions, a reasonable bunch of Aussies plus 2 Kiwis. Our 1st point of call was Ba Dinh Square, a sacred space where the city's most solemn ceremonies take place, and the Ho Chi Minh Monument. On the way into Ho Chi Minh's Monument, we came a cross a school group on an outing. Next (and close by) was One-Pillar Pagoda (dating back to 1049) followed by Ho Chi Minh's Residence, then to the Temple of Literature, one of the world's earliest university's.
After that we were off again, driving past the Police & Fire Statue on the edge of Thin Quang Lake, before arriving at our next stop, the Lacquer-ware Village shop.
I didn’t know that lacquer was the sap of a tree, and it comes in both a clear form as well as black. The process of creating a lacquered object can take anywhere from 2 months, depending on the type and complexity. The artisan’s undertaking the work can be either a painter, use Mother of
Pearl or eggshells to create the piece, remembering, they also have the clear or black lacquer to use. In many cases, they do works with a combination of either 2 or 3 of the methods. I was taken aback by a rather large 4-piece installation that used all 3 methods but as much as I wanted to bring it back, the size and cost (around $400) was the reason not to.
Next stop was 5 Spices restaurant for a meal that consisted of Chicken Pho with rice noodles, Coriander and vegetable salad with dried shrimp, tempura ocean shrimp with chilli and honey sauce, fried deep sea bass with passion-fruit sauce and stir-fried pork with lemongrass and garlic sauce (rice was always there). This was topped off with coconut gelato and diced fruit (mango, pineapple watermelon and dragon fruit). YUMMY!!! I highly recommend you seek it out if you have the time and obviously, you are in Hanoi. By now, it was time for afternoon tea, and we received a lesson in the famed Egg Coffee but me being a non-coffee drinker, had my own choice of fluid.
It was then time for a Cyclo tour through the merchants’ streets of the Old Quarter. They dropped us at a
small hole in the wall where we sampled some street food. Very tasty and then a small walk around the edge of Thin Quang Lake back to the bus, which brought us back to the Sunwave Hotel, just on 8pm. Whilst the day was hot and humid, it was a most enjoyable and interesting day.
