Vietnam, Hanoi – part 2
Later, we had a trip back to the Soviet Era.
The powerful monument of Lenin (VI Le Nin in Vietnamese) told us that he and other heroes are still alive here in Hanoi.
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi is located at Ba Dinh Square. It reminds us the Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow. Here is almost the same changing guards procedure, however less impressive than in Moscow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voxm5aBiaO4
Hanoi is a beautiful city. During our stay in Hanoi, we resided in the Old Quarter, and we liked that vibrant area.
It is easy to navigate and do shopping in Hanoi. There is a street that sells only food, another street sells only fabrics, next – only wrapping materials, another – only electrical stuff… street with furniture, street with safes, street with flowers, street with the funeral caskets… You know what you need and go there, so simple!
Only old propaganda posters, art galleries and cafes are everywhere.
And coffee shops with famous Vietnamese coffee!
The world’s second largest exporter of coffee today is Vietnam, according to BBC .
There two major coffee houses in the Vietnam: Trung Nguyen & Highlands Coffee.
We were thinking about the Tung Nguyen’s famous Legendee brand, one of the world’s most famous branded coffees. (Legendee is sometimes referred to as “weasel” coffee in Vietnam.)
Upon arrival to the coffee house we got confused with the numerous choices, and finally settled on the more traditional: Creative Three (Arabica Se) & Creative Five (Culi Arabica) (can you imagine our confusion?)
And who knew, that so many famous people drink the Trung Nguyen brand!
Definitely, it was a learning experience!
But we did not settled yet. Today we finally tasted a real Paris Mai (this how the locals call the weasel coffee).
I think it was one of the most expensive cup of coffee we ever tasted ($4.3 per little cup) today at Cafe Mai, the coffee shop that serves that traditional Vietnamese coffee since 1936 in Hanoi.
and we drank it like locals (iced with condensed milk) – it was so delicious!
We can easily live in Hanoi. There are so many parks, lakes, places where you can enjoy the nature without living the city. One of the favorite parks is Ly Thai To Park.
This is a place where families come together to enjoy live music, kids play sports, and newlyweds getting ready for the photo shots at the nearest upscale mall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVXr9Ux812U
We will be leaving Vietnam at the end of March – going back to Thailand to extend our Thai retirement Visa. We love Vietnam and would absolutely consider it for as a base to live in Asia.
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