Happy New Year!

HAPPY (Chinese) NEW YEAR, or Tết as they call it in Vietnam.⁣⁣

We never planned to be in Hanoi for New Year it was more of a welcome surprise when we arrived. We were torn between staying in Hanoi or cycling to Ha Long Bay. We asked a few locals who suggested Hanoi would offer a better experience, since the weather in Ha Long wasn’t forecast too great, staying here in Hanoi became a no brainer. We were told that the city shuts down and there are barely any vehicles on the road, and that experience seemed too good to miss since Hanoi is a city full of noise, scooters and hustle and bustle. ⁣⁣

Our Airbnb host was incredibly generous and bought us traditional Vietnamese food. I really should’ve taken a picture, but he handed us pork, which was similar to “spam” or refined meat. It was in a tubular shape and wrapped in a large green leaf, tied with string. ⁣⁣

In preparation for Tết we’ve seen people transporting TREES on the back of their scooter! I was staring eyes-wide-open when I saw that for the first time. Since it’s the year of the rat we also cycled past a HUGE golden rat! Villages between China and Hanoi were hanging bunting as we cycled by.⁣⁣

The city has many references to Tết including grand displays, helium balloons and confetti on the ground. Last night there was a firework display on west lake and we were less than 1 mile from it. We planned to go and watch at midnight, but the heavens opened and it POURED! There was a huge storm and loud rolling thunder. We stayed in and it felt quite cosy. Needless to say at midnight we were in bed. Once we heard the first bang of the fireworks we got up and tried to watch them from the window, but no such luck! ⁣⁣

It doesn’t matter though, a cosy night in was just what the doctor ordered and today we wondered around a quieter than average Hanoi.⁣

#HappyNewYear #tetvietnam #tethanoi @ Phố đi bộ Hồ Gươm – Hà Nội