We got up at a reasonably normal time, around 10 o’clock. Leon was already experiencing slight stomach pains. As every morning, coffee was a must, and so we had salted coffee and Bạc xỉu. We wanted to have Bun Cha for breakfast and try something new, so we asked the waitress at the café for a recommendation for a restaurant nearby. “Go to the corner, turn right, then past the pharmacy, and it’s 500 meters on the right,” she said. With this information, we hopped on the moped and off we went.
The restaurant was actually 200 meters further and looked very plain and uninviting from the outside. Nevertheless, we took the risk and were sent to the first floor, where the interior matched what we had imagined. The tables and chairs were a bit smaller than usual, and the ceiling was so low that we could hardly stand upright.
Malte wanted to go to Bát Tràng, a traditional pottery town, after breakfast, while Leon wanted to see an art installation in Ha Noi directly at the Long Biên bridge. So we decided to visit the pottery town the next day and explore Ha Noi again today.
On our way to the bridge, we unexpectedly passed the Ha Noi botanical garden and thought a little stop wouldn’t hurt. The botanical garden revealed some of its original beauty, but in many places, it was in dire need of renovation. We were impressed by large trees with roots sticking far out of the ground and smaller trees that had developed long aerial roots. There was also a much too small monkey cage with correspondingly sad little monkeys, and some Vietnamese were playing foot badminton in the park.
In the middle of the garden, we found a pagoda that we also checked out. Leon’s mild stomach pains had now escalated into severe stomach and intestinal cramps, and we had to take a break to relax on a bench.
We continued on to the bridge and stopped at a pharmacy along the way for Buscopan and probiotics to help with Leon’s gastrointestinal issues. After getting lost several times in the narrow alleys of the neighborhood by the riverside on our way to the bridge, we finally found our destination beneath the bridge right on the riverbank. The riverbank area had been devastated by the recent typhoon and was still not fully restored and generally quite littered. The trash is also addressed by the art that deals with recycling waste from the riverbed regarding pollution.
We walked along the riverbank until we stood under the bridge. This bridge was built around 1900 by the French and has since been bombed multiple times, rebuilt, and repaired. It stands as a historical sign of Vietnamese resistance and, due to its dilapidated condition, can only be traversed by mopeds and the train. We limited our time under the bridge to a minimum, in memory of the Carolabrücke.
The Long Biên bridge is also called the “bridge of the poor” because in the area surrounding the bridge, there is a small slum of huts and houseboats where very poor Vietnamese from the countryside have built their huts. They mainly live from street vending, waste collection, and farming in the mostly dry riverbed. The farmers manage to cultivate flowers, lettuce, and other vegetables successfully despite rudimentary conditions, garbage, and questionable wastewater. The contrast to the city couldn’t be greater. The place was lively, as its contrast to the city made it a popular photo subject for Vietnamese, providing an opportunity to briefly escape the city.
Since Leon’s symptoms fluctuated between improvement and severe deterioration, both of them eventually ended the riverside walk to quickly head home and rest.
Since the pho woman had already closed, we searched for an alternative pho restaurant. We were somewhat blocked in our search as a festival was currently taking place right on the main road to Westlake, which also blocked the adjacent street with drunken visitors and a multitude of taxis.
Eventually, we found a Pho Ga restaurant, and while we were mulling over whether it was the right choice for us, a European came towards us and said he had been eating there for 5 years and that it was the best he knew in the area. That made our decision easy, and we enjoyed delicious pho soup with chicken for dinner.
To be prepared for potential stomach issues during our upcoming travels through Vietnam, we headed to a pharmacy to stock up on medications, such as those for giardiasis.
On the way back, we passed by the large, loud party again, and if we hadn’t been so tired, we would have made a stop. After a quick game of chess at home and a Sinh To with mango and avocado, we quickly fell into bed.
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