Day 44! A great last day in the city of Hanoi! I have a feeling I’ll be back here before I leave Vietnam, I’ve really enjoyed this city!

I woke up this morning and immediately went to extend my stay one more day to make sure I had a bed for the night.

The hostel, for a review on hostel world, gave me 10% off the room which was nice! A cheap room now even cheaper.

I then filled up my breakfast plate with plenty of carbs to start the day off right! I’m not exactly sure what the rolls are, but they’re buttery, sweet, and something I now very much enjoy!

After breakfast I had a wonderful FaceTime with my parents and we caught up on the week and a half between our last chat! It’s always nice chatting with them and even more fun that they can get a glimpse of where I’m at by the people passing by or the architecture around where I’m sitting!

I finished my call with them and then started to work on the previous days blog since it was another late night.

Once I finished that up, it was time to hang out with the squad!

I set out to meet up with Valentin, who was chilling at a coffee shop.

We chatted for a bit and then Grace and Harry said they were heading to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. So we went to meet them there and also let Lea know we were going as well!

Walking around Hanoi is a blast! Especially with Tet ending, more and more shops are opening up making the city a whole new adventure!

The women’s museum was very interesting and not entirely what I expected.

I assumed it was just going to cover key women in Vietnam’s history. But it started out with wedding ceremonies and marriage, then transitioned to motherhood, and kept diving into the culture of women in Vietnam.

After a few floors we got to the specific women… but by this point the museum felt like it had become very propaganda heavy. Mainly because most of the information given was about pro north supporters and missions.

I also was starting to get very hungry, so was Valentin and Lea.

So the three of us split off from Grace and Harry and used our grumbling guts to guide us to a good lunch… and they didn’t fail us!

We found a hole in the wall Com (rice) restaurant where you got to select all the different meats and vegetables you wanted with the rice! This was like my favorite meal in Dalat that I got with my friend Tom!

Once we finished lunch, we walked to a nearby park. Valentin wanted to go off on his own, so Lea and I sat by the giant white flower for a bit chatting and people watching.

I’m very glad Lea stumbled into us a few days ago! She’s very nice, down to earth, and fun to talk to.

We eventually decided to head back to the hostel I was staying at because there was a balcony hangout on the second floor.

On the walk back we saw a propaganda themed poster store and saw some ones we liked.

Lea and I chatted for another long while! We chatted about life, aspirations, and any random thing we could think of. It’s nice having fun people around to dive deep with and learn about their thoughts on the world and their life!

The hostel also has a guitar (missing one string unfortunately). So I strummed on that for a while as well!

Valentin came and joined us as well and after a little while longer of chatting we set back out into the bustling city for dinner!

We started our food adventure with a Banh Mi, which is just something I’m always craving!

We devoured this tasty snack and made our way further into the city, where we found a very interesting desert restaurant called Little Bowl!

I ended up having a bowl with: Red Beans, Mung Beans, Taro, Pomelo, Pandan Jelly, Beetroot Jelly, Banana, Rice Jelly, Sweet Noodles.

It was quite odd, but very tasty still. The beans added an interesting texture but the sweets were all great and every bite was a new adventure!

I was still hungry so we kept wandering around the city. While we were wandering I took out some more money from an ATM to make sure I was all set for my ride tomorrow!

And then a few minutes later I realized I had left my water bottle at the desert place! So I hustled my butt back to get it and thankfully it was still there!

We walked past a Korean burnt rice restaurant and I was looking for something new to try. So 39,000 Dong later I had a very interesting culinary experience, which I enjoyed!

We made our way back to the hostel and called it a night because tomorrow I’ll be heading off to the next town!

It’ll be on the longer side of drives I’ve done, but I’m excited to get back on the road!

I do have to say, I’ve had such an amazing time in Hanoi! I’m sad to leave, but it’s even sadder to move on from this group that’s been created.

Harry and Grace are awesome as always, Lea has been a joy to hang around and a great addition to the crew, and Valentin has been a great travel buddy over the past few rides!

It’s never goodbye, always a see you later, but this crew has been a blast to be with! I can’t wait to hang out and bump into them in the future!

Now it’s time to set back off solo and see what new people pop into my life!

– Elie