After a long breakfast with Golan & Lisa, we said our goodbyes. I was lucky to have found such nice people to hang out with in HCMC, and I was going to miss them.

Tree in a tuk-tuk

Flight to Hanoi

After landing in Hanoi, I took a taxi straight to the Old Quarter of the city close to Hoan Kiem lake, which is a popular backpackers’ area. I checked into a dormitory in one of the youth hostels, and messaged Pavi, one of my old couchsurfing friends from back in Bangalore, who had recently moved to Hanoi.

The surroundings of the peaceful Hoan Kiem lake, only a stone’s throw away from where I was staying, have a very old world charm about them, a little like Fort Kochi in Cochin. It is a wonderful place to take a stroll at any time of the day. The lakeside seemed to be a popular place among young couples. PDA seemed to be rather big in Hanoi, much more than in HCMC.

Pavi and I met for dinner in one of the many restaurants lining the lake. This was the first time we were meeting since her wedding party in Bangalore. Devang, her hubby, was still in South Korea; but Pavi had to move to Hanoi because of her job. She was also very new to the city, and hadn’t had an opportunity to explore it much. Over dinner, we made plans of exploring parts of the city over the next couple of days.