The first order of business was learning how to cross the street. There are 5 million motorbikes in Hanoi among a population of about 7 million. They rush in and out of intersections like floodwaters. Pedestrian crossings are nothing more than something to speed over. Traffic lights serve merely as guidelines.

第一步是学习如何过马路。 在大约700万人口中，河内有500万辆摩托车。 他们像洪水一样冲进和冲出十字路口。 人行横道只不过是超速过的东西。 交通信号灯只是作为指南。

Yet a sense of order remains. While walking through Vietnam’s capital city could feel daunting, the onus was still on the motorbikes to not hit pedestrians, not on pedestrians to not get hit by the motorbikes. By the end of my first day in Hanoi, my instinct to hesitate had developed into an understanding that only by walking with a purpose would the motorists anticipate my movements and circumvent calamity.

然而，秩序感依然存在。 虽然走过越南首都可能会感到令人生畏，但摩托车仍然有不撞到行人的课，而不是行人不被摩托车撞倒。 在我在河内的第一天结束时，我犹豫不决的本能已经发展成一种理解，即只有带着目的的行走，驾车者才能预测我的动作并规避灾难。

Each morning began with a cup of egg coffee. The traditional Vietnamese beverage, also known as Cà Phê Trung, is a Hanoi specialty in which a soft, creamy egg white foam is perched atop a small glass of robusta coffee. Served hot, it’s consumed with a spoon and rests in a small dish of hot water to maintain its temperature. As sweet as any dessert, the unique texture and flavor profile isn’t for everyone, but for those it’s for, it’s an essential start to the day. Try a cup at the humble Giang Café, widely credited with creating the sweet drink in 1946, when milk was scarce and egg yolk filled in as a replacement. A simple sign above a small alleyway signals you’re in the right spot. Walk down to the end and have your life irrevocably changed for the better.

每天早上从一杯鸡蛋咖啡开始。 传统的越南饮料，也被称为Cà Phê Trung，是河内的特色菜，软软的奶油蛋清泡沫栖息在一小杯罗布斯塔咖啡上。 热食，用勺子食用，放在一小盘热水中以保持温度。 和任何甜点一样甜，独特的质地和风味并不适合所有人，但对于那些适合的人来说，这是一天必不可少的开始。 在简陋的江江咖啡馆尝试一杯，该咖啡馆在1946年被广泛认为创造了这种甜饮料，当时牛奶稀缺，用蛋黄代替。 一条小巷上方的一个简单的标志表明你来对地方了。 走到尽头，你的生活不可挽回地變得更好。

There was a lightness and effervescence to the city that made the simple act of wandering around a satisfying use of the day. Hanoi excels at street food, its broad avenues pulsating with honking cars, storefront venders and street peddlers to create an environment I found exhilarating. There was a sense that, as long as you avoided getting obliterated by a motorbike and had a little money in your pocket, you could do just about anything.

这座城市有一种轻盈和活力，让简单的四处游荡成为一天中令人满意的享受。 河内在街头小吃方面非常出色，其宽阔的大道上，有喇叭车、店面小贩和街头小贩，营造出一个令人振奋的环境。 有一种感觉是，只要你避免被摩托车抹杀，口袋里有一点钱，你几乎什么都可以做。

The Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature and Vietnamese Women’s Museum were three of the best historical sites I visited. Each proved instructive in gaining a greater appreciation for Vietnamese culture. The same could be said of the enchantingly bizarre North Vietnamese tradition of water puppetry, which is simultaneously exactly and nothing like what it sounds. The less you know about it the better, but please, please, please do yourself a favor and go.

上龙帝国城堡、文庙和越南妇女博物馆是我参观过的三个最好的历史遗迹。 事实证明，每一种都具有启发性，可以更好地欣赏越南文化。 同样，北越水木偶的迷人怪异传统也是如此，它同时完全相同，与听起来完全不同。 你对它了解得越少越好，但请，请，请帮你自己一个忙，去吧。

Bún cha Huong Liên was a given. You can trace pretty much everything about my approach to traveling back to some episode of “Parts Unknown,” so when chef/writer/television personality, Anthony Bourdain, who passed away last year, shared a meal with then President of the United States, Barack Obama, at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in 2016… Let’s just say it checked a lot of boxes for me.

Bún cha Huong Liên是必然的。 你几乎可以追溯我回到《未知部分》某集的所有方法，所以当去年去世的厨师/作家/电视名人安东尼·布尔丹于2016年与时任美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马在一家破洞的餐厅共进晚餐时…… 就说它为我检查了很多框。

So I wanted to see where it happened. I walked through the Old Quarter for a while as the sun went down. There were a few other people there, mostly Americans, Americans like me, feeling around for psychic resonance, asking the same questions in their minds, namely, “Wait, is this the actual restaurant?”, or, “Is it that other restaurant, over there? And what even is “bún cha,” precisely?”.

所以我想看看它发生在哪里。 太陽下山時，我在老城區走了一会儿。 那里还有其他几个人，大部分是美国人，像我这样的美国人，在周围感受心灵共鸣，在脑海中问同样的问题，即“等等，这是真正的餐厅吗？”，或者，“是那边的另一家餐厅吗？” 究竟什么是“bún cha”？”。

 “Obama?” I asked the cashier at the front sheepishly, and before I could finish, a waitress led me up a narrow staircase to a rear dining room on the second floor. Any sense of mystery vanished immediately. Positioned against the near wall, halfway across a space the size of a large bedroom, sat a stainless-steel table encased in protective glass, complete with empty beer bottles, chopsticks and staged dinnerware. A picture of Obama and Bourdain dining at the exact table hung above, just in case any confusion remained. “Not sure how I feel about this”, Bourdain wrote after posting a photo of the display on Instagram, which of course was the paradox of me being there in the first place; Bourdain selected this nondescript noodle joint specifically because of its unheralded nature. What are the chances I would have eaten there if they hadn’t done it before me?

“奥巴马？” 我羞涩地问前台的收银员，在我说完之前，一位女服务员把我领上狭窄的楼梯，来到二楼的后餐厅。 任何神秘感立刻消失了。 靠着近墙，隔着一个大卧室大小的空间，坐在一张用保护玻璃包裹的不锈钢桌子，配有空啤酒瓶、筷子和餐具。 上面挂着一张奥巴马和布尔丹在确切的桌子上用餐的照片，以防有任何混乱。 Bourdain在Instagram上发布了一张展示照片后写道：“我不确定我对此有何感受，”当然，这首先是我在那里的悖论；Bourdain之所以选择这家不起眼的面条店，是因为它的性质不为人所踪。 如果他们没有在我之前吃过饭，我在那里吃饭的几率有多大？

I decided to cut myself some slack and took a seat at a table to the immediate left of the display, close enough that I would have been able to eavesdrop on their conversation about hot dogs and date nights with Michelle had we been there at the same time. A young waiter set down a bowl of grilled pork and unctuous broth, a plate of greens, a platter of shuddering noodles, and a sweating bottle of Vietnamese Beer. A cigarette butt lay below a “no-smoking” sign. I could see why they liked the place.

我决定放松一下，坐在显示屏左侧的一张桌子旁，离得足够近，如果我们同时在那里，我本可以偷听他们关于热狗和与米歇尔约会之夜的谈话。 一位年轻的服务员放下一碗烤猪肉和油性汤，一盘蔬菜，一盘颤抖的面条和一瓶汗流浃背的越南啤酒。 一个烟头放在“禁烟”标志下面。 我明白他们为什么喜欢这个地方。