I made it! 14 hours later than I wanted but I made it to Hanoi. I rushed to meet up with my parents, sisters and bil who were patiently waiting for me at the hotel (the Airbnb we had booked was disastrous and they wisely moved to a hotel).

I did miss seeing the Temple of Literature but no biggie coz we had so much more to check out. As soon as I dropped my luggage, we headed out to lunch at Met - cute little restaurant with absolutely delicious food. My sisters did all of the planning for this trip. My contributions were participating in calls with them and making a list of all the food we had to try. At Met, we ate Hanoi style pancakes, summer rolls, tried Bun Cha and a bunch of other delicious dishes. Family, good food and coffee with condensed milk meant a fantastic start to this trip.

With our tummies and hearts full, it was time for some sightseeing. We headed over to see St. Joseph's Cathedral. This neo gothic church dates back to 1886 - oldest church in the capital city. It reminded me of Mount Mary Church in Mumbai. Once we finished, we walked over to Hoan Kiem Lake and saw the Ngoc Son temple. It was quiet that afternoon and we got to enjoy some fun pictures.

We visited a local handicraft site where they made the most amazing paintings using lacquer, mother of pearl and egg shells. I was dazzled. Each small painting takes 3 weeks to make. Super impressive how they delicately handle each detail.

It was now time to get ready to see the notorious train street. Here a train flies by a busy street and tourists throng to check it out at local cafes on either side of the street. After walking around the area for a bit, we settled in a small cafe right on the side. While sipping some coconut coffee, and batting off mosquitoes while slathering repellent, we patiently waited. Around 6pm, after cafe owners cleared people off the tracks, it was time for the train to show up. The photo below shows how close we were.

With a lot accomplished for the day, we visited Hang Qua Cafe for a dinner of delicious Pho. A few of us walked around Old Quarter after dinner, shaded ourselves from a crazy rainstorm, and then headed back to call it a night.

Day 2 in Hanoi

Day 2 started early. Right after breakfast, we headed out early to check out the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This was literally the longest line I have ever seen. We walked kilometers in line and kept winding around and around till we made it to see the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh. I'm not sure if it was a special event this weekend but the lines were filled with school tours and other locals coming to see the mausoleum. It took us 2 hours in a constantly moving line (in the exposed heat) to get to the body. The kids here are enamored with tourists and were happy to strike up conversations to practice their English. So, while not boring, it was definitely long and exhausting.

Pro tip: the mausoleum is open only 4 hours from 7-11am. We thought getting there early would help us. However, as we left, we noticed the lines were barely there. So our advice is start later - at around 9:30 or 10am. Long walk still but shorter lines. Here are some pics demonstrating the madness when we arrived at 7:30am.

While exhausted, we did also catch the One Pillar Pagoda and then collapsed in a tea shop to give our feet a break.

Next on our list was the ethnographic museum where we got to learn about the different cultures in Vietnam. The architecture area was similar to villages in India and my mom educated me on the various contraptions used. Who needs a tour guide when you have someone with lived experience and amazing storytelling skills.

I was starving by now and so were some others. We had some dimsum before heading back to get a small amount of rest.

After a quick nap, we got a cup of Chai from Dosti Chai and then checked out an amazing Water Puppet show in the Old Quarter followed by a fantastic dinner at Hanoi Corner Restaurant. Here I finally tried Ca Cha, lemongrass chicken, water spinach, and nem ram!

Before calling it a night, we walked through the busy Hanoi Night Market and got some dessert (Che Ba Mou - a coconut cream, shaved ice and red/mung bean dessert) to round up a busy but fun day!

I'm crashing fast and so gonna head to bed. Tomorrow we go on a cruise to Bai Tu Long Bay. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.