Fatty Pho and other Hanoi Charms

Trúc Bạch has a fun street scene, good food (maybe the best pho?), coffee, beer & art

Many people who’ve traveled to Vietnam adore Hoi An, a quaint, highly accessible town on the central coast. It was featured in an Anthony Bourdain episode that made a local banh mi vendor an international food celebrity.

Go ahead and dip your toes into Vietnam via Hoi An, but also visit Hanoi. The nation’s capital offers charm along with the country’s rich history. It’s a huge city, the seat of the communist party and power, an area that culturally seeded a lot of what Vietnam is.

Whether or not you travel to my motherland, here are my 2024 experiences to help you savor the country. This travelogue dispatch contains:

• Pointers on where I spent time and why

• What and where I ate and grocery shopped

• Three videos to offer you an on-the-ground sense of Vietnam today

• A listing of addresses mentioned

I’m not an intrepid traveler who’s going to rent a motorbike to tour backroads (I’m clutzy and likely to get into an accident). Like most Hanoi visitors, I’ve spent plenty of time in its historic Old Quarter, getting lost in the maze of streets and alleyways and feeling relieved when I can find my way back to nearby Hoan Kiem (Sword Lake), which always turns out to nearby, despite my confusion and frustrations.

Accommodations surrounding Hoan Kiem are abundant and great for all budgets because Viet businesses are competitive and hospitable. I’ve gotten deals at international chain hotels, luxuriated at the historic Metropole, and booked an affordable penthouse suite at a tiny, boutique hotel.

This past June, we didn’t stay by that lake, though we did hang out there en route to the Old Quarter to satisfy Rory’s desire for bun cha. Cau Go street has a cluster of bun cha options, one of which is in this video:

Where was our Hanoi home base? I aimed to savor more of the local life and the city’s quiet charm. I was also on an assignment — to represent my family to folks on my mom and dad’s sides. Given my lack of Viet social graces, I knew it would be stressful and I’d need a place to retreat to. That’s to say, I wanted to wander, cook, eat, and relax. Rory was onboard.

I considered several neighborhoods and the one we picked turned out to be nearly perfect. In fact, my Hanoi relatives nodded approvingly when I told them we were staying in Truc Bach, an area near Tay Ho (West Lake).

There are many reasons why we hung out west instead of bedding down by the sword.