Hey what's up guys? It's Cory, I'm in the Old Quarter and
Tết is coming up. Tết is the Lunar New Year.
And it's going to be from February 15th until the 19th.
But Vietnam has all these preparations days before the actual holiday starts,
so today, we're going to go through the Old Quarter, we're going to visit Hàng Mã street.
And a few of the side streets around that area.
Where they sell all the paper goods, the ghost money, and a few months ago,
I did a walk around on that street showing the Christmas decorations.
So actually today, we're going to check out that same area, and there's going to be all kinds of
Lunar New Year decorations everywhere.
So I'm starting here on this street, it's closed off to traffic.
And this is a very popular place these days for photo sessions.
You can see a lot of the people wearing the Áo Dài (pronounced Ao Zai in the north), the traditional Vietnamese outfits.
They have these little mini cafes set up right here in the middle of the street.
These are some nice wooden stools and stuff.
Check out these little easels for the children.
So at the end of the street, there's a barrier.
This is what's preventing all the vehicles from coming in.
But we do have to leave this area and go over there.
Where the yellow pillars are.
Alright, here we go.
This is going to enter into where all the Tết decorations and stuff are being sold.
You can see there's a lot of these kumquat trees.
I really like all these yellow lanterns lining the top of the street here, it's really cool.
Okay, so I'm going to order some of these pork skewers.
Check it out guys, pork skewer, and it's got sesame seeds on it.
Nicely smoked deliciousness.
Nothing beats meat on a stick over some smokey coals.
Very cheap, very good!
There's all kinds of neat little decorations and stuff for sale.
This looks like Ô Mai, which is like preserved fruits. They're like candied and stuff. (salted, dried, etc.)
There's some famous Ô Mai shops here in Hanoi.
Some beautiful gold, looks like placemats or something.
Wow, check out this tent, it's got a lot of orchids here.
And this is what we're going to be seeing a lot of on this street and around this entire area.
Lot of red and gold lanterns, decorations that you can hang in your car, in your home, on your door handle.
And then we have the red envelope ("Lucky Money").
for the Lunar New Year. You put money in it and you give it to the children.
So we're going to see a lot of that as we walk around.
So many fake flowers all along this area.
It looks like neon colors.
I like that the middle of the road has become the parking lot for everyone's motorcycles.
There's a lot of antiques and stuff around here.
Wow, look at all these tea sets!
Really cool.
Check out these old coins!
So if you haven't seen my walking video during Christmas time on this street,
Hàng Mã is famous, it's very old.
It's more than 500 years old, and they sell a lot of paper votives.
So you can see here, this is just a whole ton of different like votive stuff.
There's candles, there's ghost money, there's all kinds of stuff here.
For altars, and for offerings.
So for Lunar New Year when it turns 2018 (on Feb 16th), it is the Year of the Dog.
So you can see the image of the dog everywhere.
One of the great things about coming to the Old Quarter is all the old architecture.
You can see all the people, you know, mingling and driving around.
But just take a chance to look up and you get to see some really cool stuff.
You can spend like all day hanging out, just on this small street, and taking photos and videos of all the cool action here.
Hello!
Cảm ơn (Thank you)
So it's got pieces of banana, and there's some sticky rice right here.
And there's coconut milk all around this, and some coconut shreds right here, mixed with the peanuts.
This is going to be awesome!
Smells good guys!
Oh my god
That is amazing!
What does it for me is the banana inside, the hot banana,
I don't even think I'm eating sticky rice, I feel like I'm eating some kind of like a pancake or something.
It's just really good.
And with the hot banana filling on the inside, mixed with coconut. This is freaking awesome guys.
I just realized there's these little tapioca balls in here.
Can you see them down at the bottom?
Yeah, I didn't see them until I got down to the bottom part.
This dessert was really good.
Subtle sweetness, hit the spot, it was really hot.
That hot banana, the grilled banana on the inside, was definitely the star of that dish.
Alright guys, I've reached the far end of Hàng Mã street.
Then the street keeps going and it becomes Hàng Chiếu street, and there's no Tết decorations being sold down there.
So anyways, it's all back here, all up in this neighborhood, all around here.
And if you guys are coming to Hanoi anytime soon, you should definitely check this out.
I believe it will all disappear right after Tết.
So we'll see what the next season will bring for all the decorations here on Hàng Mã street.
I hope you guys enjoyed this little video here from the Old Quarter in Hanoi,
don't forget to Like this video, Subscribe, and check me out on social media guys.
Thanks for all your support!
Love you!
And I'll see you guys later, bye!