Back in Hanoi ....

Last evening together with the group in Ha Noi :(

Pat & Pauline and I enjoying our local beer :)
Ron and Margaret .... where is ours?? Cate and Quy think we don't need another beer!! .... but heh, this is our last group meal together and we continue to celebrate :)

And oh yes, the meal was superb as well :)

Annette, Karen, Richard and Greg hanging out enjoying an icecream treat near Hoan Kiem Lake

Our arrival back in Ha Noi truly felt like returning home to me .... so comfortable in every way. Hard to believe it was almost a month and a half since I worked at NBK School! Walking on the Sunbeam Bridge was amazing considering in early October, during the 1,000 year birthday celebrations, one could not even get near the bridge for the thousands that crowded every available spot within a mile of it!!

Gate at entrance to Den Ngoc Son (Jade Mountain Temple) ... one of the most religious buildings in Ha Noi, accessed by red-arched Sunbeam Bridge which was a shrine during the 1000 birthday of Ha Noi last month. This all sits in Hoan Kiem Lake .... a Ha Noi landmark.

I love these organic street scenes .... the live chicks right alongside the ones waiting for the bbq :)

Two sisters sharing a morning bowl of pho :)

Sunbeam Bridge ..... finally got a chance to walk across it to the Temple ....

Sunbeam Bridge

Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant.

Cha Ca Dish

Pauline and I left the group behind for the morning to explore the Old Quarter on our own .... after much meandering around the narrow little streets, all the while dodging the rivers of goods for sale that make up the Old Quarter, lunch bell was rumbling in our tummies. With little encouragement, I convinced Pauline to try my favourite meal in Vietnam .... cha ca. I had remembered eating it with the global volunteer team ... Francoise had introduced it to us as her favorite as well but I could not remember where the restaurant was. Everyone is aware of my useless sense of direction .... we asked for directions and were lucky enough to find the legendary one in the Old Quarter that has been serving this same dish (only item on the menu!) for several generations .... Cha Ca La Vong!! Aaah heaven! It was not the same restaurant where I had first enjoyed this dish, as subsequently, I have found out that many restaurants now serve Cha Ca, not just the original one that happens to be on Cha Ca Street!! It is basically monkfish or some other dense white fish, fried in oil, prepared using a recipe that was perfected in this one tiny place ..... it is steeped in a marinade of galangal, saffron, fermented rice and fish sauce and then placed into a rich oily stew with lots and lots of green spring onions (stems and all), dill and mint leaves .... some use basil as well. It is served on rice noodles and sprinkled with peanuts and additional mint leaves. Delicious beyond belief and should your travels ever find you in Ha Noi ..... check out Cha Ca La Vong on Cha Ca Street!!! You will not regret it :)