Vietnam - Day One Hanoi!

Over Easter break, I went to Vietnam with my friends. It was one of the best trips I've been on. Hanoi was such a welcoming city full of amazing food and people. We arrived quite around 8 to our hostel, which had two nightclubs, a bar that turned into free parking. We dropped our stuff off and ventured into the market. Restaurants generally are a kitchen with small tables and chairs out on the street. These small tables and chairs resemble children's chair back home.

We went to eat at a restaurant showing the Manchester United game because Oliver wanted to watch the game. We had lots of fresh juices in Hanoi. My favorite thing we ordered was the lemongrass and chili chicken. I ended up ordering this dish at different restaurants around Hanoi. Oliver decided it was a good idea to take a handful of the chilis and eat them. He ended up crying and had a puffy face for the next few hours. The nice couple next to us bought us DIY spring rolls, a popular food in Hanoi, and beer. In a few days, we learned how to properly roll the spring rolls too!

We finished the night off in Prague Pub, where we ended up returning every night. We went upstairs and finish watching the soccer match. Afterwards, we headed back to our hostel to play some pool. 

Manila!!

My mom came to visit me over the weekend, and we had a packed four days of adventure between Hong Kong and Manila! We visited family in Manila and got to enjoy the city two days. My mom went to the Big Buddha and then we met up at the airport, celebrated by a selfie. 

We arrived at night, and I started feeling sick. The next day we headed to Tagaytay, a city with a volcano in the middle of a lake. Our hour and a half trip was ended short with a traffic stopping accident. The whole time I was pleasantly asleep only woke up after we turned around. On our way back, we stopped at a giant rest stop that reminded me of Buccee's. Manila reminded of Houston with it's ten lane highways. 

In Manila, a popular form of public transportation is the Jeepney. It's basically a stretch keep that's low to the ground with an open back. They are decorated like a car from MTV's Pimp My Ride. One jeepney had Ferrari spray-painted on with flames. 

My family's neighborhood reminded me of Memorial. The houses matched Memorial is size and grandeur. The only thing they lacked were large yards.

 Saturday night, we celebrated my aunt's birthday at Hossein, a Persian restaurant, in an area that resembles City Centre. It was a big area full of shops and restaurants that people walked around. We celebrated her birthday at midnight with a donut pyramid!

Even though Philippines seems a lot like the US, there are a few differences that remind me of India. I saw everything from GAP to TGI Friday's to Krispy Kreme. 

Sunday afternoon, we concluded our trip and flew back to Hong Kong. I found this hilarious Cebu Pacific ad that described the ariline as "juan in a million."

My next post will have more pictures of my mom's trip in Hong Kong!