PlanetEye

Hanoi's Old Quarter can get a little tiring with all noise, horns, sellers, traffic......! So it's always nice to find a place to chill out and relax with a coffee and something tastey to eat.

Located in the heart of the Old Quarter and on the 1st floor away from the traffic, is Culi Cafe. With plenty of space and comfy lounges to laze about on, it's a great spot to eat, drink, read and generally enjoy some quietness! Culi also offers free Wi Fi for all, so bring the laptop.

The cafe is Western Managed and owned, it is also the booking office for Wide Eyed Tours where you can book tours, tickets and get "Free honest tourist info".

On the menu you find mainly western food, with limited Vietnamese choices. For those hunting for a hearty breakfast, try the "Big Breakie" which includes bacon, eggs, sausage, baked beans, hash brown, tomatoes and toast! They also do a great fruit salad with yogart or honey! 

If your looking a lunch/dinner, you have a choice of pizza's, burgers, fish & chips, bangers and mash, sandwhiches, salad and much more.

Thickshakes, smoothies, Italian Coffee, ice cold beer and cocktails "that will knock you over" (their words!) are available.

Culi Cafe also sell a funky range of Propaganda T-Shirts and posters.

Open from 8am - 11pm, Culi is a great find, under the cafe on the ground floor (at the entrance) is a laundry mat, so you can have your washing done (from 50,000vnd per load), enjoy a burger and sip on a cocktail!

Does it get any better......................!

Culi Cafe

40 Luong Ngoc Quyen Street, Hanoi

Web - www.wideeyedtours.com 

Email - info @ wideeyedtours.com

The One Pillar Pagoda is seriously old! Well not the one you see, it was restored in 1954 after the French destoryed it prior to leaving!

Hanoi's most famous pagoda was originally built in 1049, by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong (1028 - 1054).

According to the history books, the Emperor, single at the time, had dreamt of meeting the Goddess of Mecery. On meeting the Goddess, she was seated in the blossom of a Lotus Flowerand handed Ly Thai Tong a male child.

After this, the Emperor went on to meet and marry a young peasent girl he had meet by chance and together they had a son and heir. To express his graditude for this, he built the One Pillar Pagoda.

Built on a single stone pillar, some 1.25m in diameter, the temple has been designed to resemble a lotus flower, the symbol of purity. The Pagoda is located on Ong Ich Khiem Street, next to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum.

Note: Great spot for taking photos! Please remove your hats etc before going up to alter.  

Masses at the Cathedral are held daily at 5am and 5pm (Vietnamese Language). While the massive doors of the Cathedral are open between 5am - 7am and 5pm - 7pm.

Every hour the bell echo's through the small streets and the school that faces St Josephs. Travelers can often see school kids at the front of the Cathedral playing or kicking around a soccer ball.

The Cathedral is a great spot to visit, while the street the runs up to front of the building, Nha Tho Street, is lined with great cafes and restaurants' as well as some of Hanoi's hippest fashion and handy craft shops!

It is often hard to know whats right and whats wrong. The good news is the when you travel in Vietnam, you really have to try hard to upset the locals. Vietnamese are so forgiving, it's almost rediculous!

To make sure you travel respectfully, try and remember these little pointers, the local will love you for it!

1. Dress modestly when visiting Pagoda's, Church's, Hisotrical sites or a local's house. Modestly generally means shoulders covered and pants (or shorts down to the knees)

2. Ask before you take photographs of people. Thinks about it, if you when in your front yard pruning your roses or enjoy a coffee with a friend and bus load of tourist got and started taking your photo, would you throw your shovel/coffee mug at them? I would! So ask first!

3. Leave you valuables in the hotel safe. Most hotels have a safe at reception and they'll issue you with a reciept for stuff left. If you're heading to the local market to photo's or the local Bia Hoi for a drinking session, do you really need your plane tickets, credit card, passport, excess cash etc? Leave it behind!

4. Do not whistle or point at other people, it is considered rude.  

5. He who invites pays. In Vietnam, if you "invite" someone for drinks or dinner, it is common practice that the person who initated the invite pays the bill!

6. Agree on a price before catching a Cyclo or Xe Om (motor bike taxi). It's best for both you and  the driver to know the agreed price befor heading off.  

7. Carry a hotel business card everywhere you go! It's so easy to get lost in a new city, yet so hard to say "Take me to ABC Hotel" to a local cyclo/taxi driver that doesn't speak English! This business card can save your life!

Al Fresco's - Hanoi

Where:

Al Fresco's are located at:

23L Hai Ba Trung Street - 826 7782
108 K1 Lang Ha Street - 772 3555
98 Xuan Dieu Street - 719 5322
A37 Hoang Ngan Street - 556 98 22

Al Fresco's will also deliver to your home or hotel.

Food:

Al Fresco's is all about the western fix! Large serves include Ribs, Mexican, Pizza's and pasta! There is also a good range of salads, tender lamb and BBQ beef to fill the belly.

If you're still keen to have Vietnamese tucker, do not fear there are a few selections on the menu as well.

Cold beer, fruit shakes, soft drinks, wine (international) and other drinks are all available, along with desserts.

Cost:

Al Fresco's is not the cheapest place in Hanoi, but I think they have the biggest serves! Large pizza's go for around 160 - 200,000VND, steaks about 250,000VND and pasta from 70,000VND.

Beers go for around 30,000VND while fruits are similar. Wine varies depending on what you pick!

For two people, expect to part with 500,000. That's for a main and a drink.

Fav Food:

Everything! This is a great place because of that reason - what ever you pick, you'll happy and ready to roll out the door!

Al Fresco's is famous for its Ribs - there finger licking good

Out of 10:

10/10 for everything

The Good Oil:

If you're in Asia for a while, this place can be heaven. As travelers one of the best things you can do is try all the local food, it will give you a great insight to the country and the people that call it home.

But occasionally, it's nice to eat pizza and not rice!! Great place, great staff and great food!

Beginning during the Ly-Tran Dynasty, Van Phuc Silk Village has gained an international reputation for its quality, designs and craftsmanship.

Van Phuc Village is best known for its Van Silk, Van referring to "Clouds".

International recognition didn't come until the 1930's when some of the silk made in the Village appeared on show in Paris and other parts of France. Since this display, Van Phuc has remained an internationally known producer of Silk.

Visiting the Village will give you an insight into the methods and precision required to make this amazingly soft silk. Looms several decades old can still be heard thumping as you approach the small lane ways of the Village.

Today the lanes are full of shops that happily sell the wares to locals and travelers alike.

Van Phuc Village is a great half day excursion located approximately 8km south west from downtown Hanoi(the village is actually in Ha Tay Province).

To reach it, you can go by taxi or motor bike taxi. Organized tours are also available!  

The food in Vietnam is wide and varied, dispite popular believe, it is not just rice! 

Many dishes have a noodle called Vermicelli (bun in Vietnamese) in them and can eaten either dry or in the form of a soup. Here are a few popular bun dishes from North Vietnam

Bun Thang

• A specialty of Hanoi, Bu Thang has chicken, fried egg and thinly sliced pieces of pork.

Bun Moc

• This dish using a broth made from the bones of pigs, has small meat pies placed into the broth and served with Vermicelli. In certain areas, you'll also get the bones when served!

Bun Mang Vit

• With bamboo shoots and thinly sliced duck meat, this soup uses the duck bones to flavor the broth.

Bun Gia Cay

• The Vietnamese name for this dish is "fake dog meat". It's popular in the North. Despite the name, the meat is actually pork and no dog meat is involved!

The above dishes are found in Hanoi and the North of Vietnam. Vermicelli is also found in the central and southern parts of Vietnam, however it is usally served in different ways.

Keep an eye out for more dishes that can be found the South and Centre of this wicked country!!

Enjoy!