I left with a big backpack and a lot of excitation... In the plane I met Anh (thanks so much to Bao and Linh!!) and we landed in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, after a flight of 11 hours.
331,689 km² Population: 85 Millions Currency: dong Socialist Republic
In Hanoi, you can see motorbikes everywhere and the traffic is really crazy... Sometimes you may wonder “ Will I survive as a pedestrian ? ”... But motorbikes’ tours are a pretty good way to visit the whole city…
Let’s have a short tour with Anh, the best guide and driver you can find in Hanoi !
Some streets’ scenes in Hanoi
Some shops
Pagoda spirit...
Such a peaceful place !
I have tried lots of very good typical dishes...
PHO Soup with rice noddles and beef that you can eat for breakfast, lundh or dinner
BAN CUON Kind of crepes filled with pork, vegetables and peanuts
CHA CA LAU You can mix inside whatever you want, even snake !
Fried fish with vegetables, rice noddles and peanuts
I have also tried some strange but definitely good dishes with friends !
SNAKE ALCOHOL With a charming little cobra inside…
THIT CHO with Nhi and her familiy It means dog meat, prepared in different ways but not with this layout (market pics) !
LARVES I think they were bees’ larves…
And enjoyed every meals and drinks !
KOREAN FOOD with Kune DINNNER IN ANH’S FAMILY
In old quarter, kimchi bulgogi
Lots of very good dishes and jack fruit
MIA DA Be careful, when you try it, you quickly become addicted…
NEMS In Little Hanoi restaurant
I visited in my freetime very nice places, like Ba Trang, the ceramic village.
And of course, with Anh, we went to the famous Water Puppet Show !
As a volunteer, my project was “art in hospital”. I worked during 2 weeks in the children hospital and I enjoyed it a lot. We did different activities : drawing, folding (origami), making games and toys…
Some children, parents and volunteers at the hospital
One afternoon with Kune in blind school
Volunteers discovering Hanoi : museum, restaurants, shopping at night...
Volunteers city tour and party
We spent one week-end in one of the most famous place in the North of Vietnam : Halong Bay
We visited a marvellous cave and saw this incredible landscape : a dense cluster of 1,969 limestone monolithic islands.
Swimming in the Gulf of Tonkin...
And waiting for the sunset on the deck !
For my last days, after workcamp, I went in the north of Vietnam, in Sapa. Lots of people advised me to go there to see the peaceful mountains… Very good idea !
Many tourists are going to Sapa for trekking, so did I !
I discovered in Sapa some of the Vietnamese minorities, the market and the nice local handicraft…
Children in Catcat and Lao Chau village
One night in a homestay with Black Hmong people
Rice fields and buffalos
Green landscapes…
And beautiful panoramas !
My trip’s conclusion in a few words…
