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Our last couple of days in Hoi An were exactly the kind of travel days we love — a little exploring, a lot of eating, an...
15/08/2026

Our last couple of days in Hoi An were exactly the kind of travel days we love — a little exploring, a lot of eating, and absolutely no need to rush. 🌿🇻🇳

Morning dips in our private pool before taking the boat into Hoi An, wandering through the Old Town, doing a little shopping and, naturally, stopping for bánh mì for lunch. Then it was back to the resort for some very necessary pool time before ending the day with lobster for dinner. 🦞

Apparently one lobster meal wasn’t enough, because the next day we made our way to Da Nang in search of more seafood. This time, the full experience — walking past tanks of live seafood, choosing exactly what we wanted, watching it get weighed and deciding how we wanted everything prepared. Another lobster, plus some of the most incredible shrimp absolutely swimming in a buttery garlic sauce that I’m still thinking about. 🦐🧄🧈

Boat rides, ancient streets, private pools, bánh mì and an arguably unreasonable amount of seafood.

Exactly how our last days in Central Vietnam should have been. 🤍

A travel day, a few delays, and then… everything slowed down again. 🌿We finally made it to Hoi An and checked into Namia...
14/08/2026

A travel day, a few delays, and then… everything slowed down again. 🌿

We finally made it to Hoi An and checked into Namia River Retreat, where the pace of the trip immediately shifted. A light lunch overlooking the river and then straight into our included 90-minute wellness journeys — exactly what we needed after a long day of getting there. Massage, treatments, quiet, repeat. 🤍

That evening, we stayed right where we were and settled in for dinner at the resort. A few very creative cocktails later, we worked our way through some of the flavors Hoi An is known for — morning glory, delicate white rose dumplings, and, of course, a bowl of the city’s famous Cao Lầu noodles. 🍜🌿

After so many days of exploring, trekking and constantly being on the move, it felt very good to arrive somewhere that gave us permission to do absolutely nothing quickly.

Hoi An, we’re here. ✨

There’s something about a day with absolutely no agenda other than wandering, eating, shopping and seeing where the stre...
14/08/2026

There’s something about a day with absolutely no agenda other than wandering, eating, shopping and seeing where the streets take you — and Hanoi might be one of the best cities in the world for it. 🇻🇳❤️

Day two was spent doing exactly that. Shopping our way through the city, squeezing onto child-sized plastic chairs for bowls of bún chả, cooling off with avocado coffee, and keeping ourselves going with an embarrassing amount of Pocari Sweat — officially the drink of this trip. 😂

We braved Train Street and watched as the train somehow squeezed through a space that moments earlier had been filled with tables, chairs and people. And by this point, we had finally mastered the most important Hanoi survival skill: crossing a street filled with hundreds of motorbikes. The secret? Just walk. Don’t hesitate. Don’t make any sudden moves. Trust that somehow everyone will flow around you. 🛵

One of my favorite moments was going back for egg coffee at the same place where Steven and I tried our very first one ten years ago. So much has changed since that first trip to Vietnam, yet sitting there with that familiar little cup made it feel like almost no time had passed at all. ☕️

And because apparently we can’t travel anywhere without finding a dog to fall in love with… we came dangerously close to returning from Vietnam with an additional piece of luggage in the form of a puppy. 🐶😂

No major monuments. No elaborate itinerary. Just the wonderfully chaotic everyday rhythm of Hanoi — tiny stools, incredible food, motorbikes, trains, coffee, shopping, old memories and new ones.

Sometimes the days where you simply wander end up being the ones you remember most. 🇻🇳✨

One last night together before our trips took us in different directions. 🤍We started with happy hour at Capella — free ...
14/08/2026

One last night together before our trips took us in different directions. 🤍

We started with happy hour at Capella — free oysters and buy-one-get-one drinks, which obviously felt like a very responsible way to begin the evening. 🦪🥂 Then Emily managed to find the hidden key that got us into the speakeasy, because apparently even ordering an appetizer required a side quest.

And then there was Alex’s food bingo card. 😂 He had been determined to check tamarind fish off the list, so persistence won and we ended the night at a Michelin-recommended spot for one final Vietnamese feast.

Oysters, cocktails, secret doors, tamarind fish and the four of us around a table one more time. Not a bad way to say “see you later.” 🇻🇳🤍

The best part of traveling together is collecting stories you’ll still be laughing about long after everyone heads in different directions.

Our last day in Sa Pa — and, fittingly, still trekking through the rain. 🌧️🌾By this point, we had stopped waiting for th...
13/08/2026

Our last day in Sa Pa — and, fittingly, still trekking through the rain. 🌧️🌾

By this point, we had stopped waiting for the skies to clear and just embraced Sa Pa exactly as it was. We trekked through more impossibly green mountains, visited a traditional Hmong family home, and spent time meeting locals along the way — the kind of experiences that made the miles, mud and completely soaked clothes worth it.

We finished our time in the mountains back at Hotel de la Coupole, trading muddy hiking shoes for dinner in a place that somehow blends Sa Pa with a little French flair. 🇻🇳🇫🇷 And after days of trekking in the rain, it was the perfect ending.

Sa Pa may not have given us a single dry day, but it gave us something much better — memories we’ll be talking about for a very long time. 🤍

Some dinners are memorable because of the food. Others stay with you because they capture a place, the people you’re wit...
13/08/2026

Some dinners are memorable because of the food. Others stay with you because they capture a place, the people you’re with, and a moment in time. Gia was all of that. 🇻🇳✨

The philosophy behind the menu was “Dệt Gấm Thêu Hoa” — “Weave Brocade, Embroider Flowers” — the idea of devoting extraordinary care to what is already treasured, making something meaningful even more precious. Throughout the evening, Gia did exactly that with the flavors and traditions of Vietnam.

Fittingly, dinner began where our afternoon had: bia hơi. 🍺 After drinking fresh b**r on tiny stools in the streets of Hanoi, we arrived to an opening course inspired by those same street-side tables — tofu and peanut bites paired with their interpretation of “draft b**r” made from bitter melon, sweet leaf and chrysanthemum.

From there, the menu became a journey through Vietnam: pork and eel inspired by Hanoi gatherings, clams with salted egg and lemongrass, Black H’Mong chicken, tiger prawns with green chili, and beef inspired by Vietnamese red w**e stew and marinated in 30 local spices.

Even dessert told Hanoi’s story. One of my favorites was their interpretation of egg coffee — egg yolk and coffee layered with egg-white sponge, black sticky rice chocolate cream and Đắk Lắk cocoa. ☕️

What made Gia so special was that these weren’t flavors made unrecognizable for the sake of fine dining. They were familiar traditions reimagined in ways that made us appreciate them all over again.

And an already unforgettable meal was even better shared with Emily and Alex. ❤️ Talking through every course, comparing favorites and laughing our way through dinner made this one of those nights we’ll remember long after the trip.

From bia hơi on tiny plastic stools that afternoon to a Michelin-starred tasting menu inspired by those same traditions that evening — two completely different sides of Hanoi, both equally special.

One city. The same stories. Just told in two very different ways. 🇻🇳❤️

We left Sa Pa behind and checked back into the Capella Hanoi — still dreaming about this hotel ✨ Every detail felt like ...
13/08/2026

We left Sa Pa behind and checked back into the Capella Hanoi — still dreaming about this hotel ✨ Every detail felt like stepping into another world, but there was no time to stay put for long.

We went straight to exploring the city, weaving through the chaos and charm of Hanoi’s streets and, of course, continuing the bia hơi tradition. Tiny plastic stools, fresh b**r, and watching the city move around us — some traditions are simply non-negotiable🍻🇻🇳

Then it was time to trade the street-side b**rs for something a little more polished and head to Gia for dinner. From bia hơi on a tiny stool to Michelin-starred dining in the same evening… Hanoi really does give you the best of both worlds. ❤️

Still not over this city. Or the Capella. Or honestly, any of it.

We knew when we planned Sa Pa in the middle of rainy season that there was a very good chance we’d be trekking in the ra...
13/08/2026

We knew when we planned Sa Pa in the middle of rainy season that there was a very good chance we’d be trekking in the rain. We even added a few extra nights thinking statistically we had to get at least a few dry hours. Turns out, Sa Pa had other plans. 🌧️😂

But I wouldn’t have changed it.

That afternoon we trekked through the rice terraces, following narrow, muddy paths with local Black Hmong women quite literally lending us a hand along the way. We were soaked, muddy, slipping and laughing — and completely surrounded by some of the most vibrant green I’ve ever seen.

The rain softened the mountains, filled the valleys with mist and made the rice paddies almost glow. The views were breathtaking, even when half of them disappeared into the clouds minutes later.

Sometimes the version of a place you hoped for isn’t the version you get. And somehow, this version of Sa Pa became one of the most memorable parts of the entire trip. 🌾🌧️🥾🤍

Morning one in Sa Pa 🌿⛰️We started the day chasing waterfalls — first Love Waterfall, then up into the mountains to Heav...
13/08/2026

Morning one in Sa Pa 🌿⛰️

We started the day chasing waterfalls — first Love Waterfall, then up into the mountains to Heaven Gate, where the clouds and fog seemed to move in and out by the minute.

Along the way, we stopped at one of the little riverside villages built mostly for visitors. Definitely more touristy than traditional, but still a beautiful glimpse of the landscape and local culture — and, of course, we had to try the colorful sticky rice traditionally made for celebrations. 🌈🍚

A pretty easy start to the day… especially considering we had no idea how much trekking was waiting for us that afternoon. 😅🥾

Our first afternoon in Sa Pa with Emily and Alex 🤍We kept it simple — wandering through town, walking around the lake, t...
13/08/2026

Our first afternoon in Sa Pa with Emily and Alex 🤍

We kept it simple — wandering through town, walking around the lake, taking in the mountain air and getting our first feel for this little place tucked high in northern Vietnam.

There was already a bit of mist hanging over the mountains, but we had no idea what the next few days had in store for us… or how quickly we’d come to understand why Sa Pa is known as “the city in the fog.” 🌫️⛰️

Turns out, the fog was just getting started.

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