Vietnam

Laura:I love wandering around here. You can start at hang bong then go hang gai street. It's really nice, just start at any street with 'hang' which loosely means "shop" as the streets were named after the stuff they sold in the past. For example, "Hang Vai" means the shop of fabric as every house on this street used to sell fabric! It's really cute. You still see some of that stuff these days like "Hang Bac" means silver shop and they sell a lot of silver on this street. All the streets are small in the Old Quarter and they crisscross each other. It's super busy and very cute to walk around. A lot of small shops and food.

Laura:This is near the old quarter and you'll likely happen upon it while you're wandering around. On the street facing the church you see tons of ppl sitting at street cafes. Try the 'cha chanh' which is a lemon tea, super famous. Good place to go in the evening or to have a coffee on a balcony. The cathedral itself is relatively small though!

Laura:beautiful historic hotel that's been around since the French occupation in the late 19th century where we host all Heads of states! great place to have lunch or brunch at the pool.

Laura:Beer street, i.e. Ta Hien street is a really fun place to hang out at night. Sit on the street and drink super cheap beer and people watch. It does close at midnight though because it's a lame city overall.

Laura:it's a place that does one fish dish and has been around since the French colonial time. A little overpriced ($20-$30 per person) but the NY Times loves it and a lot of friends have recommended it!

Laura:Haven't been here, but have heard that it's a nice place to have a drink overlooking the Sword Lake at Avalon bar's rooftop (it's an overpriced place otherwise but a nice drink at sunset is worth it)

Laura:MUST try the egg coffee at either Cafe Pho Co on Hang Gai street (great rooftop overlooking the lake which you get to by going up a really dodgy set of stairs), or Cafe Giang (a bunch of outlets in the city)

Laura:Restaurant is called: Bún bò nam bộ This is a restaurant (they have small tables along the street) that sells a Southern Noodle Soup with beef and peanut that I love :)

Laura:This is definitely worth spending an hour walking through. This is the prison where many vietnamese soldiers were held by the communist party, as well as John McCain when he was captured