A chill weekend in West Lake post-lockdown.

How long have you been locked inside the house due to the pandemic?
How long haven’t you had a chill-out time in a coffee shop with your friends or dined out in your favorite restaurant?

For me, it has been 04 months. Being locked up inside the house for too long made me really craving for a normal life.

Fortunately, that situation officially ended last week as the pandemic has been brought under control. People were allowed to go out, coffee shops and restaurants were re-opened, and most activities were resumed. I also planned to have a day out with my friends in the coolest place in Hanoi – West Lake.

West Lake is the biggest lake in Hanoi, surrounded by many coffee shops and restaurants. It is known as a popular spot for young people for gathering and meet up. One of the reasons which make West Lake become a favorite place of many people is the relaxing vibes. It seems like the hectic pace of life of the city become slower here in West Lake, where people can ride bikes leisurely around the lake, stop by any spot to have a chat while enjoying the fresh breeze, or take a seat in a corner of a coffee shop to admire the view and watch people passing by.

I was very excited to finally be able to hang out. The winter came early this year. Although it was cold and raining heavily, it couldn’t stop me from heading to West Lake. I used to hate the rain, and prefer to stay in bed rather than going out in this type of weather. But 04 months inside the house was more than enough for me, I needed to go out. Riding a bike under the rain shower and in the fairly cold weather was surprisingly enjoyable. I had so much fun to the point that, for the first time ever, I rode a full round of West Lake. Did I tell you that its shoreline is about 17km?

Highland coffee post-pandemic. This is one of the biggest coffee shop franchising in the country. This one in West Lake is well known for its superb lake view, an iconic one in Hanoi, together with the one in Hoan Kiem Lake. Despite the heavy rain, some people still love to a paddleboat. Seem like everyone is over excited to get back to normal life.

It took me more than 1 hour to go around the lake (I stopped by many places to take photos). It’s still raining heavily, and I decided to get into a coffee shop to wait for my friends. After being deserted during the lockdown, West Lake now starts to be crowded again. All the coffee shops are fully filled with people. Luckily, I still found a small corner in the Santorini Coffee – the most popular coffee shop in West Lake.

Taking a sip of a hot drink, playing board games with friends, enjoying the chitchat in person after a long time doing it online, etc. We felt so much better. The pandemic has really made us appreciate these ordinary moments of life more than ever.

Since an afternoon hanging out was not enough to make up for our misery during the lockdown, we decided to extend our plan to go for a BBQ dinner. There was a famous BBQ restaurant in West Lake, where we visited quite often before the pandemic.

We thought that we would be full after the dinner. But It did not end there. After the BBQ, we were still craving for many things and decided to have Phở (Beef noodle). I had never imagined that a bowl of noodles could make us that much happy. Thanks to the pandemic, a day out became so special, and foods also tasted better. :D

@hanggggbeeee