#Vietnam #Hanoi #FreeTravel

Day 5

We exchanged NT$5,000 at a local travel agency. It started to rain heavily after we did, so we took a taxi to Lotte Department Store, which looked a bit like Taipei.

We then had fried chicken and eel sushi for NT$189,100, steamed buns for NT$27,000, and vegetables for NT$14,766. A total of NT$230,866 was $270.

I tried some coffee in the store and started to feel dizzy and palpitating. Perhaps Vietnamese coffee isn't for me, and I'm overdosing on the caffeine.

Surprisingly, there are no English signs in Vietnamese department stores. Perhaps tourism is just getting started and hasn't been fully implemented yet, as are the road signs in other languages.

On the way, I bought a bouquet of red roses for NT$100,000.

The Korean BBQ restaurant in Hanoi was excellent. We ordered pork belly, beef short ribs, and jjajangmyeon (soy bean paste noodles). There were a variety of side dishes, and for our first visit, they even gave us a pot of eggs. All for around NT$1,000.

The waiter saw us holding flowers and singing and asked if today was a special day. During our meal, they suddenly played Happy Birthday and brought out plates with birthday neon lights and cantaloupe candles. The entire staff celebrated my friend's birthday—it was quite heartwarming! This restaurant is so thoughtful! From the decor, the facilities, the food, to the service—everything was excellent! No wonder it has over 800 five-star reviews! The restaurants we found this time were all excellent. When I was in Taiwan, I used Google Maps to find well-reviewed restaurants near my accommodation. I'll keep doing this when I go out. Pizza places, French Michelin-starred restaurants, Korean BBQ—I love them all! 🥰

I asked the waiter, Song, why he spoke Chinese. He said he spent a year as an exchange student in Singapore and made many Taiwanese friends there.

After dinner, we went to Gong Coffee to buy some coffee souvenirs. We put them back at the hotel and then went out to buy her a coffee cup and my bamboo hat keychain.

I bought a lot of coffee this time, but Robusta beans don't seem to suit me. The caffeine content is too high. ChatGPT said my discomfort might be due to: 1. Caffeine content difference. Vietnamese coffee often uses Robusta beans, which have about twice the caffeine content of Arabica beans. If you're used to Arabica (such as beans from Central and South America) and suddenly start drinking Robusta, you might experience a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, anxiety, or hand tremors due to caffeine overdose.

Civet coffee isn't very expensive in Vietnam; the Vietnamese call it "cat poop coffee."

G7 Civet 3-in-1 tastes a bit like Mr. Brown coffee, and Coconut 3-in-1 is quite refreshing, with a coconut flavor reminiscent of coconut cake.

Last day
The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 12:45, but was delayed until 2:20 pm.
I arrived at the border after collecting my luggage at 6:20 pm.