Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Vientiane. Breakfast in the hotel. Walked to Talat Sao, checked out the 1st floor of shops, not very interesting. Walked to JoMa Bakery Cafe, got a veggie pizza slice and large chai latte to go. The pizza crust is thicker than I like, not enough tomato sauce. But the veggies are fresh and overall it's excellent food quality. Back to the hotel to quickly eat and pack. The group minivans to the airport. Traffic is unexpectedly light and we arrive much sooner than necessary. Flight to Hanoi is uneventful. In-flight meal is a warm ham and cheese bun and a small, sweet muffin cake with a (raisin?) on top. Minivan to Nhat Tien Hotel, check in. I get room 504. Richard walks us to the Old Quarters and Hoàn Kiêm Lake. Several in our group make some travel arrangements. We dine at Quán Bia Minh, and when the food arrives I have 2 orders of watermelon juice, special fresh spring rolls with pork and shrimp, and bun bo. The shrimp is dried rather than fresh, but dishes are delivered much faster than we have seen in Laos and Thailand. Afterwards we got drinks at the cigarette-smoky Dragonfly Bar (15 Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi) then walked back to the hotel.