Do you smell that . Motorbike exhaust, fish sauce, incense, the faraway smell of something . Is that Pork Grilling over charcoal . Vietnam. It could be no place else. Listen to me. Listen to me. There is no other way to see this city, hanoi, than from a motorbike or a scooter. To do otherwise would be to miss it all. It is one of the great pleasures of my life to join the river of people rushing through the streets. Vietnam. It grabs you and doesnt let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever. Ive been coming here since 2000, the first time id been in this part of the world, and its held a special place in my heart and my imagination since. I keep coming back, i have to. Vietnam has changed since last time i was here. Its changing every minute. But some things, for now, anyway, remain the same. Important things, like this stuff. Thats going to be good bun oc, first meal in hanoi, and its something they do here better than anywhere else. Okay. Im officially in hanoi now. Mm. Magic.
do you smell that? motorbike exhaust, fish sauce, incense, the faraway smell of something? is that pork grilling over charcoal? vietnam. it could be no place else . listen to me. listen to me. there is no other way to see this city, hanoi, than from a motorbike or a scooter. to do otherwise would be to miss it all. it is one of the great pleasures of my life to join the river of people rushing through the streets. vietnam. it grabs you and doesn t let you go. once you love it, you love it forever. i ve been coming here since 2000, the first time i d been in this part of the world, and it s held a special place in my heart and my imagination since. i keep coming back, i have to. vietnam has changed since last time i was here. it s changing every minute. but some things, for now, anyway, remain the same. important things, like this stuff. that s going to be good! bun oc, first meal in hanoi, and it s something they do here better than anywhere else. okay. i m official
First meal in hanoi, and its something they do here better than anywhere else. Im officially in hanoi now. Hmm. Magic. A spicy wonderful broth with tomatoes herb, noodles and fresh snails. Look at those beauties. Come to me. Plump little love muscle. Hanoi, capital city of vietnam. 7. 5 Million People live here. In the winter, its chilly and damp. The summer, hot, humid, sub tropical. Boulevards in many of the buildings are french but its heard and soul is always, always vietnamese. Americans coming here as tourists for the first time, especially veterans of the war,
are shocked by how friendly the place is. People are genuinely happy to see you. This is hanois old quarter. But its looking less and less old these days. Changed. In the irish czech themed pub next door. Vietnam is a young country. Almost half of vietnamese of under the age of 30. Fewer every year even remember what they call here, The American War. Those years were defining time for just about everyone vietnamese or amer
between jakarta and bandung, another city in indonesia, called puncak, and it s up through the mountains. so, you d have these roadside restaurants overlooking the tea fields. there d be a river running through the restaurant itself, and there d be these fish, these carp, that would be running through. you d pick the fish, they grab it for you and fry it up, and the skin would be real crispy, and they just serve it with a bit of rice, and it was the simplest meal possible, and nothing tasted so good. now, as a chicagoan, trickier question fraught with peril. is ketchup on a hot dog ever no. no, but, i mean, i mean that. that s one of those things, like, well, let me put it this way. it s not acceptable past the age of 8. my daughter s 8, and she put ketchup on eggs the other day, and i didn t know what good parenting called for at this point. an intervention. i think so, too. i think you just got to say, you know what? that s not acceptable. i m sorry.
that you should be a little more ? anthony: well, slurping is totally acceptable in this part of the world, but [ laughter ] it takes some skills, by the way, to handle these sticky, cold noodles. but whatever your opinion of the man, the president has those skills. president obama: mm. anthony: i gotta say. president obama: this is killer. this is outstanding. anthony: oh, so good to hear. president obama: it s really good. anthony: and we share, apparently, sentimentality about asian street food and southeast asia in general. president obama: one of my favorite meals of all time there s an area between jakarta and bandung, another city in indonesia, called puncak. and it s up through the mountains. so you d have these roadside restaurants overlooking the tea fields, there d be a river running through the restaurant itself, and there d be these fish, these carp, that would be running through. you d pick the fish, they grab it for you and fry it up, and the skin w