My Hanoi Session!

Ladies around Old Quarter
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So I arrived in Hanoi at 7pm on Saturday night and having been on my own for two days I decided where best to go meet some people than the Irish bar & I could find out if the All Ireland was showing on the Sunday. 2 hours later I located Finnegans Irish Bar (with the help of an American guy I met along the way), ordered a beer and basically didn't really leave there for the next 4 days! It was absolute madness. It was the first Irish bar I want to on my trip and I think from now on I have to stay away from them. The barmen were all from Ireland and more than happy to keep me company and anyone else that walked through the door (ask for Brendan or Adam if you end up in there)! Within a few hours I knew most of the pub, bumping into people I had met previously in Laos. The All Ireland was only covered by radio on the Sunday as the internet connection was too slow but it didn't matter, it was the craic I was there for! With one other man from Limerick in the pub and me being the only girl from Kilkenny it was a good laugh.

Myself, barman Brendan who spent more time on the wrong side of the bar and Les
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On my second day in the pub I was getting a bit of a slagging from 'the local backpackers' for not having seen any of the sights so decided to organise Lady Carmels Walking Tour of Hanoi for the next day...as the night went on the itinerary got more detailed and the names on the list increased! Having promised to show up the next day at Finnegans for 1 pm to begin the tour, only 2 out of the original 5 were there. So we sat down and ordered one drink which led into us not leaving for the day.........but we did talk about all the sights and played some cards!

2 hours later I located Finnegans Irish Bar (with the help of an American guy I met along the way), ordered a beer and basically didn't really leave there for the next 4 days!

Lady Carmels Walking Tour of Hanoi group!
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It was the 4th day before I made the break from Finnegans, three guys I had met from Dublin bet I couldnt stay out of the pub for 24hours and determined to prove them wrong we walked all over Hanoi, checked out some local Vietnamese establishments along the way! The best and cheapest place to get a drink in Hanoi is on the street corners in the Old Quarter where I was staying. You sit on a tiny plastic stool on the side of the road with a 2000 dong (20000 = 1euro)glass of beer. You feel guilty paying your bill when you leave it is so cheap. It is madness though with all the bikes whizzing past you. Walking around Hanoi you are literally dodging motorbikes all the time. Managed to find two bars, Tet & Red Moon, that serve beer and toasted sandwiches when nowhere else does.....they basically close when you decide to leave. It was here I discovered I was the Jenga Playing Queen of Hanoi!

Drinking 2000 dong beers on side of the street in the Old Quarter
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One of the Dubin guys I met Kev was heading up North to Sa Pa so boarded the night train with him which was such an experience. Update in next blog!! I shall be returning to Hanoi in a few days to actually see the sights proparly and not the bars!