The Pho Report
We arrived in Hanoi after a 15 hour overnight train ride from Da Nang (not the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had, but not the worst either.) We pulled into the station a bit groggy at 5:30 am, but Hanoi was already hopping with folks out walking, playing badminton, and jiving to Zumba-like group aerobics in the park. In our neighborhood in the old part of town, the business of food production was well underway with greens being rinsed and meat chopped by folks squatting next to cutting boards and bowls out on the sidewalk. 7:00 am saw us joining the line for a breakfast bowl of beef pho, which we ate sitting on little plastic stools at a low plastic table. We had arrived.