vietnam!

Here are a few pictures and stories from our time in Vietnam. We visited Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Phu Quoc Island and Saigon. I listed out our recommendations in the end, but basically all you need to know is this: EAT EVERYTHING.

The coolest roof top deck in Hanoi.

 Cafe Sua Da

 Our hotel in Hanoi was right next to Hoan Kiem Lake. It's definitely a great place to people watch as you see everything from people exercising to kids hanging out and people on dates. We were stopped by a group of students so they could practice English. It's a very cool spot in a crazy city.

 The bridge of Hoan Kiem Lake

 Cha Ca La Vong is a restaurant that serves one dish and one dish only in  Hanoi. You get fish fried up in oil with turmeric and a lot of greens. Anders liked this dish much better than me, but it's a very popular spot in Hanoi to check out.

 Dragon fruit everywhere!

 The Sofitel Metropole was named the best hotel in all of Vietnam. It was built in 1901 in the French Colonial style and has been home to many famous people throughout time. It has a lot of history and while it's definitely out of our price range, it's worth stopping in for a tipple in the Bamboo Bar.

 It's not the Metropole, but our hotel roof deck and pool wasn't too shabby either.

 We stayed on the cutest little boat in Halong Bay. This is our room!

 And the boat's dining room...

And the boat's deck...

We got a Tai Chi lesson on the boat one morning. I'm pretty terrible at it, but still thought it was interesting.

 A floating snack shack would visit out boat sometimes in case, you know, we wanted chips or beer.

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the natural wonders of the world. It's beautiful! 

Kayaking through the bay was on the agenda, and I loved it.

 Breakfast on the boat

 We passed a floating fish market while in Halong Bay. It was so neat. Anders and I both love food markets and sellers. Even if we don't buy anything, it's fun to look at all the different food.

 Our next stop was in Hoi An, and we stayed at the cutest little boutique hotel with beautiful gardens...

..and a floating restaurant...

And a tropical pool!

And a wild fig tree...

 We headed out to Hoi An's ocean front one day. We met this cute furry friend. When we found out that "cho" means dog in Vietnamese, we started calling all dogs Cho.

These round boats are squid boats! I thought they were so unique as I have never seen a boat shaped this way before. 

 Anders got a shave, a ear and eye cleaning and a massage from the oldest barbershop in Hoi An. Very cool experience.

 We also visited the Banh Mi Queen! Delicious! Maybe the best we had! 

 As I mentioned, Anders and I love walking the food markets. These pictures are all from the central market in Hoi An.

Hoi An is a city of lanterns. They are strung up everywhere and come to life at night.

 We splurged on La Veranda Resort on Phu Quoc Island. It's the best there is with beautiful grounds and our own private beach access.

We visited another market while we were there...

 ...And Sao Beach, which rates up there as one of the best beaches I have ever been to in my life. Definitely in the top 3. 

 Rory's was a beach bar next door to our resort, which was a welcome break from the high-vibe of La Veranda. Anders and I joked that we were too bohemian for our resort, but next door, with the wind cracked tables and plastic chairs was definitely our speed.

Sunset on Phu Quoc.

Our top recs:

Hanoi

Stay: Tirant Hotel for it's amazing rooftop pool and deck. Ask for a room with a balcony.

Eat: Pho Thin at 13 Lo Duc Street. No menu. Just pay, sit and enjoy.

Cong Caphe for fun coffee drinks and a lounge-y atmosphere

Nem Cua Be Dac Kim for Bun Cha (pork and noodles)

Do: Walk Hoan Kiem Lake and have a drink at the Metropole's Bamboo Bar

Halong Bay

Stay: Galaxy Cruises. They will plan out the itinerary for you. We stayed 1 night and it was perfect.

Hoi An

Stay: Muca Boutique Resort. Free breakfast, beautiful grounds, lovely pool and 1 hour of free spa services every day. It's a bit out of town, but you can rent motorbikes for dirt cheap or they have free bicycles at the hotel. We used both.

Eat: Banh Mi Queen and Banh Mi Phuong (both were the best we had. We couldn't decide which was better)

Thin Nhan - order the tamarind crab and you won't be disappointed. Don't be scared off by the fact that you'll be the only one in the restaurant. 

Do: Excellent shopping, visit the central market, take a motorbike to the beach

Phu Quoc

Stay: La Veranda Resort if you want the best of the best. We didn't stay here, but we had lunch at Cassia Cottage and it looked adorable and very much our speed!

Eat: Hieu Family Restaurant. They have very fresh seafood, delicious curry and excellent breakfast noodles

Do: Do not visit this island without going to Sao Beach. It's the very best. The night market it small but worth checking out especially if you want to eat some local seafood. You can also pick up some jars of pepper local too (and it's delicious). The fish sauce factory is also small, but fun to check out!

Saigon

Eat: Com Nieu Sai Gon. Order the claypot rice (the grilled one) and watch them crack open the pot and throw it through the air!

The Lunch Lady - she only cooks 1 soup a day, so sit down and get ready to be blown away (try to go on a Friday when she makes Bo Bun). It's worth the hype and the travel time to get there.

Banh Mi Thit Nuong - a hidden street stall with no name that I could see. You have to go to 37 Nguyen Trai Street in District 1 after 5:30pm. Find the address and the dark alley and there you will be rewarded with the best grilled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce. Trust us on this one.

Do: Visit Ben Thanh Market and have a drink at the top of the Rex Hotel and The Caravelle for the views and history

eating vietnam

Anders and I just returned from two weeks in Viet Nam where we basically did nothing but eat from the time we landed in the north until we flew out of the south. We worked our way through the country seeking out every back alley street cart we had heard or read about. This country really is as delicious and filling as you've heard. It's probably the best fed we have ever been on vacation. 

My beautiful SLR camera broke pretty early in the trip. I need to check it out and see what picture I can salvage from it. In the meantime, here are a bunch of cell phone picture I took of our eating escapades. I promise we did do more than actually eat, but since the food was a main reason we chose to come to Vietnam, I decided that the food deserved it's own post. Regular shots to come soon!

Our first meal in Vietnam was Bun Cha, which is basically hamburger/sausage and noodles in a broth.

Close up of Anders' Bun Cha fully doctored up to his liking.

 A banana seller on the streets of Hanoi

 We drank a lot of Cafe Sua Da, which is coffee with condensed milk. This was our favorite coffee shop called Cong Caphe. It had cushions for lounging and windows for watching the craziness of the city.

 I can't remember the Vietnamese name for this dish, but it was sticky rice and pork belly and apparently the restaurant has a house Cho (dog). No restaurant in Vietnam would ever meet the USA's health code.

 The only way to eat street food in Vietnam is on a tiny plastic stool. They are as uncomfortable as they look.

We got a tip off about the best Pho in Hanoi at a place called Pho Thin. We were the only non-locals in the whole restaurant. It was Anders' favorite Pho we ate.

 We ate a lot of Banh Mi on this trip. Delicious baguette sandwiches filled with all sorts of goodness. Mine had beef and egg while Anders had pate.

Grilled pork spring rolls in Hoi An

 Anthony Bourdain led us to this seafood joint called Thi Nhan. We ordered the tamarind crab (and a whole lot else). Despite being the only customers in the restaurant, it was one of the best meals we ate the whole trip.

During a layover in Sai Gon, we left the airport and headed to Com Nieu Sai Gon, another Anthony Bourdain recommended spot. They make this dish where they bake rice in a clay pot. When it's done they break the clay pot open in the restaurant and throw the hot rice to another worker. So fun!

Our favorite beach side bar on Phu Quoc island called Rory's. The food is catered to Westerners and just okay, but the vibe and drinks are where it's at.

All this eating had to be washed down with drinks!

 More Pho. This time in Sai Gon, where the broth is a bit sweeter than up north.

 We tracked down Miss Lan in the Ben Thanh market. She is the only vendor who makes Banh Cuon, a rice paper "ravioli" of sorts stuffed with pork and mushrooms.

Bahn Cuon up close.

We also got a tip off about a street seller making a bahn mi with bbq sauce and grilled sausages, which is very non-traditional. We found her down a dark alley with an impressive line of customers. It was spicy but amazing!

 Anders with his "meatball sub" in the dark alley.

 Back with non-eating shots soon!

anders does strange things to his body

This.

you've been warned

This week, Anders (nickname: Lard) discovered that his favorite raspberry soy marinade is going to be discontinued. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I woke up this morning to discover this...

Apparently he is protecting the last of his inventory.

3 days in mazatlan

Anders and I jet-setted down to Mexico for a quick three days to attend the wedding of an old high school buddy of Anders. Even though we were there a short time, we packed in a ton of sun and relaxing. It was perfect. So, moral of the story...got three extra days? GO TO MEXICO.

Congratulations Chad and Amanda! 

lake 22

It has been a while since I updated my little blog. Oop! Not sure what my excuse is. I just haven't been taking many pictures lately. However, I did go hiking yesterday to Lake 22 with my friend, Kristina, and I actually remembered to take my camera! Here are a few shots (super beautiful and easy hike, btw, if you are ever in a easy hiking kind of mood).

(slightly blurry jumpers, but I like it anyway)

i never fall apart because i never fall together

I love Andy Warhol. I think he is extremely interesting and I love his work, so when I found out the Seattle Art Museum was featuring him in a new exhibit called Pop Departures, I had to check it out. I only got 2 pictures taken before I found out that you can't take pictures (oops), but here is Warhol's "Elvis" and Roy Lichtenstein's "On." And if I can't have Warhol paint me a picture himself then the next best thing is to use the Pop Art photo booth in the lobby.