Hanoi's Old Quarter

Today was quite a lazy day. I decided to have a walk around the Old Quarter. Hanoi has so much tangible and visible history. I have enjoyed being a tourist here and seeing famous places during previous visits. This time I wanted to focus mostly on meeting friends and enjoying the culture and food. But I still love to appreciate the beauty and history which is literally on my hotel doorstep. As you walk through the labyrinth of ancient streets, you can really imagine you are travelling back in time (especially the streets with less traffic!). Many of the buildings and shops throughout the Old Quarter have kept their charm and authenticity (although some areas are obviously heavily aimed at tourists now).

I paid a visit to the Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural. It tells the story of different periods in Vietnamese history. It is amazing to think that it didn't exist when I first visited Hanoi. It was created to celebrate the millennial anniversary of Hanoi being the capital. It has an impressive length of about 4km which resulted in a World Record for the longest mosaic mural.

Behind the mural, I have always admired the Vietnamese architecture of the houses and buildings. They are typically narrow and very tall. I was told that this is due to land prices being so expensive. So these buildings have many floors, with perhaps only one or two rooms on each floor. People may rent out floors of their house to shops, offices or tenants. I often picture this style of building when I think about Vietnam.

Afterwards, I decided to eat chè. There are many kinds available and I chose to eat chè thập cẩm. It can contain crushed ice, beans, fruit, syrup, ice cream, milk, glutinous rice, tapioca balls and jelly. It is certainly refreshing to eat this during the summer heat. 

Later in the day, I ate phở again...but this time it was different: Phở cuốn is beef, garnished with vegetables and herbs, then wrapped in a rice noodle roll (like a fresh spring roll). It is then served with a dipping sauce.

The other kind is phở chiên phồng (fried pho noodles). The noodles are like fried square pillows and served with beef and vegetables in a sauce.

Hôm nay tôi rất lười biếng  ╯_╰

Tôi đã đi khắp phố cổ Hà Nội. Tôi rất thích 'Con Đường Gốm Sứ'. Đúng là một kiệt tác nghệ thuật! 

Tôi muốn biết nhiều hơn về lịch sử Việt Nam.