Hanoi: Day 7

After lunch, we trekked around the karsts some more. Our overstuffed bellies couldn’t have handled much more than a leisurely pace. We enjoyed one hour more of Yin’s company, discussing our cultures further as we ogled the mist-shrouded landscape. We took a few photos, then it was time to return to Hanoi. 

The ride back was longer because of Tet traffic. Roads were being redirected and closed off to help stymie the tide of families reuniting in Hanoi for the holiday. Aaron and I slept most of the way home, exhausted from our busy, mind-blowingly beautiful day. 

Once returned, we grabbed a car to the West Lake, Hanoi’s upper-crust neighborhood centered on its largest lake. The lake was lit by a couple of resort buildings on stilts over it. We walked along it’s edge until we reached our destination: Maison de Tet Decor. Dinner here was passable, but after all the hype from my guidebook, I was let down. Aaron didn’t even really eat his. At least the excursion provided a romantic, if short, walk along the lake. 

The next morning, we returned to Atelier, the cafe with the nitro cold-brew. Again, we got an orange-and-raspberry-flavored concoction that tasted more like a cocktail than a coffee. Aaron seemed out of sorts at the cafe. For those that don’t know, Aaron has Bipolar Type II. He works hard on his mental health, and generally has a good handle on it, but he still goes through ups and downs. The last few days had been quite up, and now came the crash. Tired and depressed, we walked to get banh mi. 

Banh mi is both Aaron and my favorite Vietnamese dish. At least, it was before we came here. We had been excited to taste it in its origin country. In Vietnamese, banh mi literally just means “bread,” but it’s used to refer to a particular kind of sandwich. It’s French bread with herbs, veggies, a mayo-based spicy sauce (usually), and some sort of protein (traditionally, pate). To get our banh mi fix, we went with Google’s recommendation: Banh Mi 25. And… it was bland. I’m excited to try it elsewhere, but banh mi I’ve had in the States was, hands down, better. I don’t know if it’s just less flavorful here (that would be a first), or if this was bad banh mi. Watch this blog for future banh mi reviews, I guess. After finishing our substandard subs, we walked to the Temple of Literature.