Probably, many of you miss Asia. I hasten to share my impressions of my Vietnamese weekend, it was unusual 🙂

There is an island of Vietnam in Moscow. Everything is there: shops, a hotel, and a large food court. I have been to the Hanoi-Moscow Center many times, but this time we settled there for two days and spent a wonderful Vietnamese weekend. The Vietnamese Cuisine Days festival was just taking place with drums and lions/unicorns – everything is as it should be. Full immersion!

Episode at the reception. Together with us, a shepherd dog settled with the owners. Pets are allowed at Hanoi Moscow Aparthotel. Vaccinations must be made. It turns out that among dog owners this place is known and popular. 4 * hotel, worth the money, you can bring your pet. These days, the largest cynological exhibition “Eurasia 2022” was taking place, and dog breeders from different cities of Russia came to Moscow: from St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kurgan and others. Met everyone 🙂

The hotel is located at the intersection of the Yaroslavl Highway and the Moscow Ring Road next to the Losiny Ostrov National Park. One day we went there for a walk. As my grandmother used to say, you can drink the air. This is the outskirts of the city, and in this case, such a remote location has advantages. If you come by car, then you left the highway and are already in place. If on your own, it turns out to be a real journey: you roll your suitcase, get on the bus, go, look forward to the weekend. In fact, the location is not so remote, the transfer from the VDNKh metro station is about 20 minutes.

We lived on the 20th floor. The apart-hotel has different rooms, two- and three-room, standard and premium. Photos can be viewed on the website hotelhanoimoscow.ru or in my publication here . There are bathrobes, bottled water and a full set of bubbles in the shower. For me, this is a sign of concern. There is no need to unpack your luggage, you can immediately take a shower and start relaxing. That evening there was a stunningly beautiful sunset, I photographed it in the gap between the giant letters on the roof))

Cool slogan: “Everyone is sleeping, but we are working!” 🙂 Kaspiy cafe is located on the 1st floor. If you can’t sleep, you can go for a shake. Karaoke and disco until 6 am. On Fridays and Saturdays girls get a glass of champagne as a gift.

Next to the apart-hotel there is a shopping center “Hanoi-Moscow”. This is a single complex, you can go without going outside. There is a food court on the top level. This is probably the largest Asian food court in Moscow. Periodically, there are themed events, a lot of activities for children. All news appears in the @hanoimoscow Telegram channel. Pictured are Vietnamese drummers. More girls were dancing. There was a lion show.

A pot-bellied man in a golden mask participates in the lion dance. Walks like that, waving a fan. This is the Vietnamese god of luck Ông Địa, like Mister Dia. It is believed that with a fan, he lulls evil forces and spreads harmony. In general, this is the incarnation of the Buddha. The action is accompanied by the beat of drums and the sound of metal cymbals. Loud and fun. Now I’m looking, maybe it’s not a lion, but a unicorn? They differ only in the bump on the forehead. It looks like there is something there.

And around Vietnamese cafes. Pho bo, pho ga, bun ka, bun bo and dozens of other dishes. It’s good that everything is with pictures. My favorite set: a bowl of pho soup with beef, a sweet steamed banh bao bun, a mango shake and nems to go. You can drink an exotic drink Vinut. It is non-carbonated, contains 30% juice, tastes are different. I share a life hack: go down two floors, it’s cheaper there.

I have been in Vietnam for a long time. But I still remember my experience. How on the first day I walked around Hanoi, how I reached Hoan Kiem Lake. In the middle of the lake is the Thaprua Pagoda, also known as the Turtle Tower. There is a legend associated with this place. King Le Thai To received a magic sword as a gift from the dragon, which helped to defeat the Chinese invaders. Returning home, he went to the lake, where a turtle appeared from the depths and dragged the sword. Since then, the reservoir has been called the Lake of the Returned Sword, and a pagoda was built on a small island in memory of the event. Now it is one of the most recognizable symbols of Hanoi. A photo zone was organized in the Vietnamese center, I took a picture for memory. Below is a photo of me taken while traveling in Vietnam.

Also Hanoi and another famous pagoda in Vietnam. Officially, it is called Tua Mot Kot, but everyone simply calls it “one-pillar pagoda”. The wooden temple is mounted on a pillar and is located above the water. Outwardly, the building resembles a lotus flower – a Buddhist symbol of purity. There is a copy of the Tua Mot Kot pagoda in Moscow near the Hanoi-Moscow multifunctional complex.

Only two days, but it turned out to be a powerful reboot. A kind of mini-trip without flights and visas. Changed the situation, rested, slept, recharged with energy. Everything is different: both the atmosphere and the food, if the festival is generally cool. Got a new experience. Take note.