Phở Gà

Today is a great day, because I will finally right a wrong. Let me explain. Ten years ago I was eager to write restaurants or hotels reviews on Tripadvisor, feeling it was for the greater good. I enjoyed it and earned a few badges. In 2011 during my first trip to Việt Nam, I tried… Continue reading Phở Gà

A Crowded Mall

The 21st April is a bank holiday in Vietnam, celebrating Vietnam’s Hung kings. We went – again – to Big C Long Biên that day and it was indeed crowded: The sound systems here do not need to cope with stringent dB limits as it is the case in Switzerland. This was really loud. But… Continue reading A Crowded Mall

Rooftop Bar

One of the most exciting aspects of a big city is to have plenty of choice for eating out. I realized that after being unable to invite my wife for Valentine day in Switzerland, I thought we could go to a nice place for dinner. By the way, even if Valentine is not that important… Continue reading Rooftop Bar

Cầu Giấy District

Yesterday evening we left the Long Biên district to visit my sister-in-law in Cầu Giấy district. That’s crossing the whole city from East to West. We did not think about the rush hour and ended in traffic jams all the way, around 1h15min by taxi. Hopefully the way back was faster, around 40min only. Coming… Continue reading Cầu Giấy District

Eating at our Aunt’s House

On Sunday at noon we were invited by my wife’s aunt in Hà Nội. She cooks really well and prepared a nice meal. See for yourself: salad, cucumber and herbs, green mango, chicken, squid with pineapple and vegetables, chayote, fried eggs “opla”, squids stuffed with minced pork meat, nems and soup. At home in Vietnam… Continue reading Eating at our Aunt’s House

Shopping

On Saturday my brother-in-law drove us to Big C Long Biên, a large shopping mall. The security guards at the entrance check the temperature of everybody, but masks are not mandatory. Since we are supposed to be careful for 14 more days, we wore them inside. We ended up buying a lot of plastic boxes.… Continue reading Shopping

Medical Checkup

Yesterday I went for a medical checkup which is mandatory for further paperwork. My wife booked a slot at the spacious and luxurious Vinmec Clinic in Hà Nội. The whole checkup cost 2’800’000.-VND (around 111.-CHF). The day before the appointment, an online questionnaire must be filled in with information about any risk of contact with… Continue reading Medical Checkup

Water Supply

First night in this new flat: there were no glasses. And the tap water in Vietnam is not safe to drink, you should boil it first (the kettle was already provided in the kitchen). You can just rinse your mouth. So how did we drink? Hopefully we had 2 mugs and a bowl in our… Continue reading Water Supply