What’s the story (morning glory)

Our hotel is a little oasis in the heart of the Hanoi old quarter. It has been fun walking around this busy vibrant city, dodging the hundreds of scooters when trying to cross the roads, the numbers of cars seems to have quadrupled since our last visit 5 years ago. Then there is also the pop up kitchens and all the people sitting on tiny stools on the pavements eating street food all times of day and night that present a trip hazard!

 Morning glory is the most popular vegetable in Vietnam we enjoyed this stir fried on our street food tour of Hanoi, along with other delicious food such as green papaya, rice pancakes, noodles spring rolls and most interestingly egg coffee which is exactly that - coffee with an egg whisked into it. Doesn’t sound very appealing but it was really lovely. Our guide Potato was brilliant and gave us so much information about the food and different Vietnamese customs.

 We went to see the Thang Long Water puppet show which is a must when visiting Hanoi. The world-famous Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi has its roots in an art form that dates back to the 11th century. The tradition of water puppet theatre stems from a time when rice paddy fields were flooded and villagers would make entertainment by standing in the waist-deep water with the puppets performing over the water. Using large rods to support the puppets it appeared as if they were moving across the water with the puppeteers hidden behind a screen.

 Our next destination is Sapa travelling on the overnight train from Hanoi.




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