HANOI

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is a beautiful city with a perfect balance of arts and activities. 

While backpacking across Southeast Asia last summer, I met a retired screenwriter who recommended the Women's Museum in Hanoi. The museum documented Vietnamese women in various stages of life. The exhibit displayed photographed portraits of women riding bikes with heavy baskets of fresh flowers or fruits. These women often wake up before dawn and do not go home until they finish selling all of their produce. If you see a woman selling produce late at night, she likely hasn't profited enough to head home to her family yet.

Later in the evening, my friend and I saw a tired-eyed woman carrying a bamboo stick over her shoulder to hang baskets of rambutan and mangosteen. We only wanted to try a few pieces, but she gave us a better deal to buy the rest of her fruit. It was a simple interaction, but the moment was so much more meaningful now.

Papaya salad, summer rolls and beef pho - Apron Up

My favorite way to experience the culture of another country is through its food. Southeast Asian cuisine has always been my favorite, so I signed up for a cooking class in each country I visited that summer. For $32 USD, Apron Up will teach you how to make two appetizers, two main dishes and an egg coffee. 

The spices commonly used in Northern Vietnam cuisine, such as cinnamon, star anise and cardamom, created a subtle differences in the taste of their pho, a hearty brothy soup simmered with beef bones for hours accompanied with rice noodles.

The cost of living in Vietnam is generally inexpensive and you can find tasty, cheap food everywhere. A few other must-haves in Vietnam are bun thit nuong cha guo (see below), banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich on a French baguette) and cafe sua da (chicory-blend coffee with condensed milk over ice). 

Bun thit nuong cha gio - Terrace Cafe Hanoi

The French colonized the Indochine region in the 1800s, and you can see its influence in Vietnamese cuisine and architecture. I dined at Madame Hien, a stylish French-Vietnamese restaurant, popular with expats and foodie travelers. I would recommend ordering the tasting menu at $40 USD, which seemed like a fair value to sample a variety of dishes.

Foie gras pho - Madame Hien

As for accommodation, you can find 4-star hotels for ~$150 a night. There were also hostels in the night market areas, which looked like fun options for younger international travelers. I primarily walked everywhere since the traffic was chaotic, but Uber and UberMOTO are other convenient options if you'd like to take a car or motorbike. If you do take a regular taxi, make sure they are running the meter.

I would recommend supporting local shops and artisans such as the Zo Project or Collective Memory. The Zo Project is tucked inside an abandoned railway and is full of artsy postcards and prints. You'll find the best unique souvenirs and handmade items at Collective Memory, such as coriander lime- or sun dried tomato- infused sea salt.

For more photos, follow me on Instagram at @jnapalan.