travel day - ha noi to vinh
we had a few hours to kill before we had to meet up with tâm, our tour guide.
so of course, you already know...
breakfast: pho
chicken pho this time. it was nice to get a break from all that red meat. I thought this broth was delightful and exactly what was needed before a long travel day.
we met up with tâm and our driver, thong, at 9am and immediately hit the road.
I'm so happy we booked this tour instead of the sleeper bus/train. the views were immaculate. also! all of the below pics are from a and not me.
very overcast, but it did not rain.
lunch - eel soup/porridge
tâm shared that eel preparations are a speciality of vinh. a was a little intimidated but we both ended up loving it.
I have never really had eel this thinly cut, so it was a delight to indulge in this hot soup chock full of them.
after lunch, tâm took us to see the hometown of ho chi minh
just two guys enjoying the bird sounds
we got to see his childhood home where they were re-hatching the roof
and his bed.
there are rows and rows of sweet potatoes planted out front. apparently after he came back to visit, he encouraged people in his village to plant these as every part of the plant is edible.
im obsessed with these giant grapefruits. they are so large
some tea and light snacks before we leave.
afterwards, on the way back to vinh, we stopped by a temple where dạo mẫu
is practiced. 
we were very lucky and they happened to be a shaman there that day. i missed my chance to take a pic, but there was a moment where the person in the center made it rain over everyone.
this baller was fully on facetime while singing for this ritual.
an offering
dinner: pigeon porridge
never had pigeon meat before, but i found it to be slightly nuttier and way more bony than chicken. there was a slightly grainy texture to the meat.
it's cooked and served in these pails
healthy serving of herbs as always. i think i ate my body weight in herbs over the course of this trip. honestly i was so full this day from all the eating the previous three days, i didn't get to eat a lot even though it was quite good.
tâm brought us a grapefruit!!!