Ha Noi — hugely chaotic, and energy-sapping, and so full of so much you don’t really understand. But when you eventually pull yourself away, a place of incredibly intense memories, all the more vivid for having been so hard-won.
Category: Viet Nam
The Not-So-Mythical Monster
Hoan Kiem Lake in Ha Noi is the Vietnamese equivalent of Camelot, with a legend reminiscent of King Arthur and Excalibur. Except this is a real place, with a hero that actually lived. And even more unbelievably, there was a sea monster (of sorts) lurking in its depths that turned out to be not so make-believe.
The One-of-a-Kind Dish
The labyrinthine thoroughfares of Ha Noi’s Old Quarter contain many mysteries. The street names sometimes give you an inkling, but only the initiated know what awaits up the stairs at 14 Paint Street, otherwise known as Chả Cá.