TEXT BY JESSICA BLACKMUN // IMAGES BY JACKSON GROVES

Part of being a successful traveling couple means being okay with taking opportunities on your own too! This week I continued exploring in Hanoi, Vietnam, while Jackson took an awesome opportunity to head out on the Trip of Wonders, which is a 12 day journey around Indonesia with the Indonesian Tourism Board!

COFFEE CLUB VIEWS

On Jackson’s last night we decided to enjoy our last sunset together. We had plans to make the 45 minute drive to another skyscraper. Unfortunately as the afternoon went on the sky darkened and fierce rain began to fall. We decided to head to one of the craziest intersections in Hanoi and enjoy a coffee while we watched the madness unfold below. As soon as we reached the cover of the Coffee Club the rain began. But we were able to sit under cover and still enjoy the view. Then right before the sun set the skies cleared enough for Jackson to get some shots of the madness below!

VIOLENT STORMS STRIKE VIETNAM

Wow! Right after Jackson left the rain really came. While we had experienced a little bit of rain in Hanoi, this week I witnessed some incredible lightening storms. There were a few nights where my whole room would be illuminated by bolts of lightning that lit up the whole sky. Thankfully I’m not afraid of thunderstorms or I would’ve been begging Jackson to come back!

FOODIE REPLACES

I will admit that I have a bit of an obsession with finding deliciously healthy vegan and gluten free food. While most other travelers are able to have fun trying the crazy awesome foods that each new culture has to offer I am a bit limited, I am allergic to gluten, lactose intolerant and don’t eat meat.
I have found a lot of joy in trying vegan and gluten free renditions of some of these foods. Obviously there are some meals, like chicken feet, that are impossible to make a vegan version of but I am totally okay with that. Wherever we travel I always have a list of places I want to try and this week I’ve spent a lot of time visiting my favorite food spots in Hanoi and taste-testing my way through their menus! It is so cool to see how there are vegan and health cafes popping up everywhere!

JACKSON TAKES ON THE TRIP OF WONDERS

While I’ve been hiding away from the rain, Jackson has been jumping head first into adventures around Indonesia! He started off in Jakarta where he learned more about Indonesian culture and got to celebrate Indonesian Independence day. Then finally got back in his element of island life on Bintan where he got another chance to join in on a futsal game! Then it was time to head back to Bali for a night before a scenic flight to the beautiful island of Flores!

This week our spending was quite low due to the fact that it was only me for the majority of the time. This week I’ll explore more of Vietnam while Jackson continues his adventures around Indonesia then at the end of the week he’ll join me back in Vietnam so that we can explore more of vietnam before we embark on our next month of travel in Thailand!

Each week of this journey brings so many new experiences and we are so grateful for all of you who follow our adventures here on our blog and through our social media accounts!
As always we love when you guys reach out so if you have any questions, or just want to say hi just email us!

WEEKLY SPENDING (USD):

Accommodation: $ 175.50

Food: $84.50

Attractions: $0

Transport: $ 20

Other: $0

Total: $280 USD

Click here to see what we got up to last week while we were exploring Hanoi, Vietnam together!

TEXT BY JESSICA BLACKMUN  //  IMAGES BY JACKSON GROVES

Exploring Hanoi, Vietnam this past week has been so much fun! While we are usually more known to chase after beaches and forests rather than the bustling city, we have been enjoying this exciting concrete jungle of Vietnam’s capitol city.

SUNSETS FROM ROOFTOP

This week we’ve witnessed a few incredible sunsets in some amazing spots! Our first sunset was 26 floors above the busy streets, at the recently opened Trill Rooftop Cafe. We arrived about an hour before sunset and enjoyed some drinks. Hanoi has a population of almost nine million people, more than New York. There is no better way to understand the size of a city than by getting up high and enjoying a 360 degree view. Later in the week we went to another rooftop cafe called Skyline Hanoi. It was at the top of a hotel in the Old Quarter and offered incredible views of Ho Kiem lake and the busy streets of the historic region. This rooftop restaurant was definitely upmarket but in Vietnam that is still very affordable. Beers were $3 USD compared to 50c on the street. You definitely pay for the view but it is definitely a spot we would recommend to anyone visiting Hanoi.

OUR RUN IN WITH A ROOFTOP SECURITY GUARD

For the sunset on our second night we decided to get away from the Old Quarter and head to the 32nd floor of an Ha Do Parkview apartment complex. After a day of work, we grabbed some dinner and hired an Uber to take us the 30 minutes to the suburbs where the building is located. Upon entering the building, the doorman nicely let us up to the 32nd floor, where we took the door out to the rooftop. We walked around in awe of the incredible view and took a few photos. As we were waiting around for the sun to set, a security guard who didn’t speak any english came up and motioned for us to come with him. The worst case scenarios flashed through my mind of being imprisoned in a foreign country as we followed him and rode the elevator down 32 floors in silence. Then at the bottom he just waved us out and walked away. Thank goodness!

WHY YOU SHOULD UBER IN VIETNAM

We have used uber more in this last week in Vietnam then we have ever before. The driving and traffic here is insane. We have literally watched people drive straight towards each other then veer to the side at the absolute last moment. It’s like a constant game of chicken. As you walk down streets and alleys there are constant horns blaring to let you know that either you need to get out of the way or someone near you does. While it’s possible and even common for travelers to drive mopeds in Bali, the driving here is on a whole other level.
It is for this reason, and the fact that uber rides are mere pocket change, that we either walk or uber everywhere we go. A 20 minute uber ride cost us $2.80USD, which we found incredible. Even cheaper is Uber Moto, which pretty much involves you riding on the back of a moped and holding on for dear life.

FITNESS ON THE GO

When you are walking everywhere and always on the go trying to see as much of a new place as possible, it’s easy to let working out and staying healthy take a back seat to traveling. However we’ve found that working out is a great way to see more of the city and also have some sense of routine in an otherwise hectic lifestyle. While we’ve been doing a lot more walking than normal, we’ve also decided to get back into running. Only 20 minutes from our apartment is the famous Hoan Kiem Lake. one lap around the lake is a mile, so we’ve been getting in lots of runs there. In addition to our runs, I’ve been doing longer sessions of daily yoga as I get ready for my upcoming yoga teacher training!! I’ve gotta admit it’s pretty nice to have enough space to do yoga at home again! Also while we were in the suburbs (after we got escorted off the rooftop), Jackson was able to find a pickup game of soccer in a local park!

THE TOURISTY STUFF

In between the work, sunsets, and working out, we’ve also made a point to go check out a few of the sights. While we’ve incorporated Haon Kiem Lake into our workout regime, we also decided to check out the Ngoc Son temple. For 30,000 dong you can explore the little temple in the middle of the lake. Luckily for us, we still have our student ID cards from university so we got ½ off! If you still have your student identification card it can save you money on some transport and a number of sightseeing activities. We also wandered over to Dong Xuan market- the largest covered market in Hanoi- and were greeted with the craziest shopping experience ever. There were so many smells and sounds and it was awesome but totally overwhelming at the same time.
Later that night we went back to the night market and went back to our favorite spot Chago Tea & Cafe where I get green tea with extra boba and Jackson gets sugarcane juice The guy who makes the sugar cane juice had Jackson take a couple shots of vodka with the juice last time while giving him some basic vietnamese lessons.

This week has been so much fun! We’ve visited some really amazing places, had a lot of laughs, and even gone to a few different super yummy restaurants with vegan options such as Jalus Vegan Kitchen, Zenith Yoga ll Cafe, and The Hanoi Social Club! We’ve also gotten our first taste of the rainy season. Finally our rain jackets are getting some use!

As we head into this next week, Jackson is getting ready to head back to Indonesia for a press trip while I continue to explore Vietnam!

Don’t be shy! Comment or email us if you have any suggestions on places that I shouldn’t miss around the Hanoi area! All ideas are appreciated 🙂

WEEKLY SPENDING (USD):

Accommodation: $178.50

Food: $189.4 (not including Sunday)

Attractions: $12

Transport: $18 (Uber rides)

Other: $0

Total: $ 380.90 USD

Click here to see what we got up to last week in our final days in Bali!