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Hanoi
Day 3
Breakfast at the hotel was fried eggs, dragon fruit, and an assortment of other fresh fruits that taste so much better in Vietnam. The eggs too were more tasty with the dark orange yoke we came to appreciate when we raised our own chickens and eggs – far better than the factory farm eggs from our U.S. grocery store.
After breakfast we walked to the giant market, Dong Xuan Market – the biggest market in Hanoi. Lauren did not really want to buy anything before starting an adventure with only a backpack on the back of a motorcycle. Rather, it was a reconnaissance trip for later, after motorcycle adventures, and before departing the country. The walk to and from the market seemed to be about ½ mile. Walking back to the hotel, it started to rain as it is prone to do anytime in Vietnam.
For lunch we opted for street food. In this case, Ban Cuon Nong, wood ear mushrooms with perhaps some pork, in a rice noodle wrapper. Think Vietnamese small burrito. We went to the highly recommended place across the street from our hotel. The fabulous Ms. Lien, our host from the Hanoi Exclusive Hotel was having lunch there, which is a testament to how good the place was.
After lunch, we hiked to the lake and hired a walk-on bus tour. Walk-on refers to being able to disembark at stops and get back on a same tour copy bus at a later time. It was raining steadily so we stayed on the bus. The route was a 95 minute circuit around and through Hanoi. Highlights were the lake and the infamous Hanoi Hilton where John McCain and other American POWs were held during the way. While we were glad to see it from the bus, we had no interest in experiencing the sadness of the time and place.
After the bus tour, we hiked back to the hotel in the rain. Don retired to the hotel for downtime in the jet lag war. Lauren went for a manicure.
Dinner near the hotel at the Met Restaurant. Featured a banana flower with duck salad. The entre was pineapple with squid. Beautiful.
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