March 22, 2023
Today we had a day to explore Hanoi. First on my mission was to purchase a new phone. The hostel workers were able to direct me to a nearby store where I could buy something cheap to hold me over for the rest of my trip. Ellie and I set out and grabbed that so we could get me back into the land of communication before exploring Hanoi.
Our new friend Rosie, a British girl traveling solo joined us for breakfast. We found a cute little spot where we could get crepes, juice, and I could try my very first Vietnamese egg coffee. We made a game plan for the day and chatted about our lives when we’re not traveling. Ellie and Rosie had both explored quite a bit of Hanoi so far, which is okay for me because I am very flexible when traveling. They both wanted to see a water puppet show which is a pretty classic Vietnamese experience. We got tickets to the 3:00 show and had a few hours to kill before the start. Ellie had gone to an awesome spa the day before near the hostel so we decided pampering was needed. We all did a body scrub and wrap and I went fully comatose as they did their work. I love coming to south east Asia because you can get around 2 hours of spa treatments for like, $35. It always seems like a lot when offered in Vietnamese dong but when I type it in the currency app I immediately decide to treat myself.
After this, we ran to our rooms at the hostel, got cleaned up, and headed over to the puppet show. We decided to not get the audio guide and instead just watch the 50 minute show fully in Vietnamese. The puppeteers hide behind a large curtain that looks like a temple and make the puppets run around in the water while they’re attached to long poles. So you don’t actually see the people until the end. I have NO idea how they manipulated the puppets in the way they did to act out but it was so neat to see. We may not have been able to tell what was happening, but we laughed and enjoyed the show.
After this, we decided we needed a little hot pot/grill dinner because we were starved and set out wandering the city to find some. We had an excellent dinner, went back to the hostel and packed our things so we could go out and dance that night before leaving tomorrow for Ha Long Bay.
