We woke up early on our last day in Hanoi to make the most of the few hours we had left in Vietnam. Despite the sense of urgency, we couldn’t pull ourselves away from the Old Quarter. There was still so much to explore.
We finally made it towards Hoan Kiem Lake and stopped at Hapro Bon Mua for a snack of fresh coconut. Feeling refreshed, we continued along the lake before stopping again at Pho 24, a Ho Chi Minh-based chain with shops around Southeast Asia. Despite the chain status, the pho is actually really good.
Melody and I each had a bowl of beef pho. The rice noodles were cooked to perfection, the beef was tender, and the broth was oh so flavorful. I bought a couple of instant pho bowls from Pho 24 as a souvenir before we headed out. (Instant noodles count as a souvenir, right?)
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Indira Gandhi park and Hoan Kiem Lake yet again. After all, our flight was leaving in a few hours so we couldn’t venture too far from our hotel.
By dusk we were in a cab heading back to No Bai International Airport. But our trip wasn’t over quite yet. There was still Seoul to be had! Too excited to sleep, I spent our flight daydreaming about kimchi, banchan, jigae and bulgogi. In other words, all of my favorite things.