One of the beautiful things about traveling is stumbling upon forms of entertainment that make you cover your cheeks with your hands and shriek, Holy shit, they would never let us do this in America! Truly, isn’t that why any of us go anywhere? I discovered funky balls on my last night in Hanoi, after an…
Month: September 2018
Bourdain and Obama and Me
Despite being celebrated for its inconspicuousness, I was expecting more of a fuss at the bun cha shop where Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama famously dined together in Hanoi. In the eighth season premiere of Bourdain’s show, Parts Unknown, Bun Cha Huan Huong Lien is painted as a modest hole-in-the-wall at the outskirts of the…
Danse Macabre, Hanoi Scooter Edition
Having spent the last eightish years living in New York, I’d foolishly thought I had a handle on navigating crowded, noisy streets. But that was before I got to Hanoi. The only thing louder than the din of scooter horns is the sound of my nerves shattering every time I step outside. Like everyone with…