Back to the Roots - Orientating like in old times

Yesterday on 16.01.2018 we started our day with a delicious breakfast at the hostel. Scrambled eggs, toast, fruits and vegetables and all of it for free. That's what I call service. Afterwards, we joined a Free Walking Tour offered by the hostel. The lady showed us the French church and the Hoan-Kiem lake. In this lake, there were excavators. I asked and she told me that all the fishes and sea animals in the lake died two weeks ago because the lake was so dirty. That's why they are apparently using cranes and excavators to remove the trash now. Why are we even doing environmental protection? Then we visited a small temple from the outside. While we were standing on the roadside and waiting, a Vietnamese shoe polisher suddenly took off the shoe of one of the people on the tour and started polishing it. He didn't let go. The hostel lady got angry and within a short time, the shoe was back in the hands of its owner :D Next, we walked into narrower and narrower alleys and suddenly our guide went ahead through a small clothing store into the backyard. It was a very small and dirty staircase, definitely a construction site. We kept going up through mold, trash, and building materials, and suddenly we were at the top in a small local cafe. It was like a different world. There, we drank Egg Coffee, which is a national drink. It consists of black coffee and a foam made of egg and sugar. Delicious!!! Freshly strengthened, we ran into a large hall where all sorts of things were being sold. However, everything was so cluttered that we had to sometimes step over the clothes or the people sitting down. Adventurous. After that, she took us to Beer Street and we ate soup with noodles, vegetables, and small grilled meatballs at small tables. The tour then ended and it was amazing considering we hadn't paid anything.

After we were back at the hostel and had a little rest, we went to the market and bought ginger for sore throats. A huge piece for only 20 cents. Unbelievable. Then we walked around the lake completely and walked through the city - only with a city map and by asking for directions. It was adventurous and took a bit longer, but we made it :D In the evening, we looked for something nice to eat. Tim had yellow curry and I had noodles with chicken and vegetables. After one last round of free beer at the hostel and a few rounds of SkipBo, we went to bed exhausted.

PS: I'm not made for bunk beds, I hit my head three times in 10 minutes :D - With a bump!!!

What surprised me the most about the city of Hanoi was the great contrast between the rich and the poor. There is a large restaurant next to a small backyard where 6 people live. And in one street, you are surrounded by stray dogs, poverty, hairdressers cutting hair on the street in front of a mirror attached to the wall, and hanging cables, while in the next street, you see a large and beautifully maintained park.