Up early this morning at 6am, Prof Tri and one of the hospital administrators Ms Anh collected us at 6.15 and we headed out for breakfast. Prof Tri was very keen we try the traditional Vietnamese breakfast of Pho, so we headed to a local Pho eatery that has been there for 3 generations. Pho is a soup or broth with rice noodles, beef and two raw eggs broken into it, and it was really nice and a great way to set oneself up for the day. It was something I was keen to try but wasn't sure where to get it. I was really pleased to have tried Pho and would recommend it.
The above shows the owner cooking breakfast and Prof Tri and Brian enjoying the Pho.
Next we headed off for coffee and naturally in Hanoi there is a street for coffee bars.
Our very hospitable hosts took us out for a very enjoyable day, we headed for Ninh Binh (pronounced Ning Bing) province which was a drive of over two hours. We had a lovely drive through the country side and arrived first at Chua Bai Dinh a fairly modern complex containing a large number of temples.
Fortunately we arrived early at about 9am and beat the crowds. It was a fascinating morning plenty of walking and loads of steps. Here are some of the photos I took.
A really interesting morning and although it was hot at times and a lot of walking the weather was just perfect.
Next we headed off for lunch. Vietnamese food is great, very fresh, simply prepared and served with delicious dipping sauces that enhance the food and the experience. Prof Tri was insistant that the food be as fresh as possible and sent Ms Anh into the first restaurant to check and it was given the thumbs up. We were early so the first and only ones there. The food was extremely fresh so fresh in fact, you will see in one the following images where they had just killed the chicken for our meal. The staff were very friendly and kindly invited me in to take some photos.
The food started with a sort of salad of fresh leaves of mint (two different types I think) and a third leaf that looked like a bay leaf but wasn't, banana cut in slices in the skin and a sour tasting star shaped vegetable which was gorgeous. Lovely dipping sauces were also provided, a peanut sauce, a sort of nam pla with chillis, and a brown sugar with lime juice. Next came two pork and two (very fresh) chicken dishes and a soup made with spinach. Just so much food and so good.
After lunch we were taken to Trang An in the Ninh Binh region. Trang An is a waterway with caves or grottoes that run through and between vast limestone cliffs that rise out of the waters and it is often compared to Halong Bay. We hired a boat that took us through the waterways and through the caves in a trip that took over two hours. We were very fortunate that it was not high season as there was very few people around. In high season there can be over a thousand boats on the water. The woman that rowed our boat was a slight person and as I said it took her over two hours to take us around and it didn't appear to take anything out of her. It was truly a memorable experience and gave a feel for what the famous Halong Bay must be like.
Time to head back to Hanoi and we met Hanoi evening rush hour. I've never seen anything like it, cars, bikes and scooters coming from all sides and angles. For dinner we were brought to a special restaurant that served mainly mushrooms in loads of different guises and varieties and as always everything was great. It is typical for Vietnamese food to be cooked at the table. A burner is put in the middle of the table and a broth already boilng is placed on the burner. Next the raw ingredients are added to the broth, in this case a variety or mushrooms and small black skinned chickens no bigger that same a Robin, and of course the head is still looking at you.,5 of these one for each of us. This cooks for 10 mins until fully cooked. The waitress serves up and we avoid the chicken. This time there is a beautiful coconut based dipping sauces. But it doesn't stop there, next raw thin slices of beef are added (really yummy), then sliced salmon and finally fresh vegetables like spinach and spring onions. It was all finished off with a serving of ice cream (though not this time in the broth). The perfect end to a prefect day.
Tomorrow it's work.