Hanoi, Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam

May 31, 2025

We've been in Vietnam for about ten days and it's been quite a different experience to the last time we were in the country seven years ago. This time, we're mostly eating our way through the country rather than riding our bikes through the sweltering heat. The food really is amazing in Vietnam and is well worth the trip in our opinion. It's fairly easy eating vegetarian in Vietnam with plenty of variety at most restaurants. More discussion on this below.

Vietnam's transportation system is not nearly as modern or advanced as compared to China. Some may say I provided too much detail on China's transportation system so I'll keep the discussion fairly brief this time. There is no high speed rail in Vietnam currently however there is a plan to build a line that connects Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City. The 1,541 km journey is forecast to take 6 hours once complete (the current slow train takes more than 30 hours to complete this journey!). There are way fewer electric vehicles in Vietnam as compared to China but Vietnam's EV market share is one of the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. VinFast, a Vietnamese EV manufacturer, dominates the local market and will need to ramp up production if Vietnam is to reach their goal of 1 million EVs by 2028. And electric scooters seem to be mostly for tourist rentals.

Okay, now on to everyone's favorite topic: food! Most people know about the Banh Mi sandwich which is a pretty simple but delicious sandwich including a fresh baguette, some source of protein (meat, egg or tofu) and typically cilantro and pickled carrots and cucumber. Banh Mi stands are all over the place in Vietnam and a sandwich typically costs around $1. There are lots of Pho and noodle dishes which is what we eat for most meals. Pho usually has meat in it but I've found that I can often get it without meat and I love the rice noodles and herbs and greens that come with the dish. Another dish that we really like is Banh Xeo which is a crispy/savory pancake. It is usually made with meat or seafood and is served with rice paper, fresh herbs and a sweet and sour sauce for dipping. Yummy!

Vietnamese coffee is famous worldwide so I was excited to take a class on roasting and brewing Vietnamese coffee. I lucked out and was the only student in the class so I was able to grill my instructors about the coffee roasting and brewing process. Fefe Roastery sources all of their beans from coffee farms in the mountains surrounding Dalat, where we'll be going next on our travels. During the coffee bean sorting process, I learned that it's important to discard the infested and damaged green beans before roasting the coffee beans. My instructors then walked me through the roasting process which uses a large roasting machine and takes about 15 minutes to roast a batch of coffee beans. Finally, we brewed a cup of coffee using the traditional Vietnamese method using a metal filter called a phin. People often have it with condensed milk here but I prefer to have it black.

Since we've arrived in Vietnam the weather has been incredibly hot (90s) and humid! As soon as you step outside, you start sweating so you can imagine how drenched I am once I come back from my daily runs. As a respite from the heat, we'll be heading up to the mountains tomorrow to visit Dalat which is at 1,500 meters above sea level - we can hardly wait to feel those cool (mid-70s) mountain breezes!