We haven't decided if we'll do any type of day trip out of Hanoi except for the Bai Tu Long Bay cruise yet. My husband had spinal surgery last year and while he can walk, he's a bit slow and any kind of long distance walking like trekking is out. So we'll take our time wandering through the cities we're in and taking in the atmosphere.

The Muong Hum market looks very interesting, but it may be too far away for a day trip; is that true?

On another front, I'm assuming street food is okay to eat in the cities we're visiting? We love street food and I see that there are even street food tours, so I assume it's safe, especially if we use good sense...?

I love the "street food"in Vietnam . In reality much of it is now in small "hole in the wall" restaurants. My wife has written a number of posts on our blog detailing and photographing the food in Vietnam - https://accidentalnomads.com/category/food-in-asia/ . She also created food maps of Hanoi and Saigon with some of our favourites places let me know if you would like access and I will try and find a link to send to you. If not I can still probably send you a list.

There are food tours in Hanoi, Saigon and Hue. They are generally fairly expensive for what you get but can provide a decent introduction to Vietnamese food. One of the best is xo food tours in Saigon where Vietnamese women dressed in their Ao Dais whisk you around the city on the back of a Vespa. Haven’t done it ourselves as we have friends who run teh homestay where we stay that will do if for us on their nights off. Great fun, but not for the nervous!

Seoul has at least 20 Food 'Alleys', each specializing in one particular type of food. Sometimes these alleys amount to a collection of restaurants on a street, and sometimes they are a narrow footpath within a market area. Gwanjang Market, the old central market, is a rabbit's warren of covered alleys, some sellling traditional Korean clothing, others have shoes, candies, etc. , plus three of these food alleys. One is for jeon (savory pancakes), and there is a well-known spot where women are freshly-grinding ingredients for bindatteok (mung bean pancake). There is also a kimbap alley (seaweed wrap roll, variety of fillings, but always with rice and a little bit of something else: some with cooked tuna, others with bulgogi or fish cakes or.... the list goes on.) A third alley here features yukhoe (like steak tartare).

I can't claim these are the best places to eat in Seoul, but this is indeed what qualifies as street food. Gwangjang Market is a great place to visit.

Muong Hum is 45 km north of Sapa (good tarred road, not dirt road as some internet sites say - I did twice by scooter), so it takes half-a-day max unless you want to push to the Chines border at the Ha Nhi village of Y Ti. The excellent Sapa travel agency Nomad Taril, ex-Sapatrek, can arrange a 4-hour round trip tour with private car and English-speaking guide for 73$ pp including lunch at the market

I like your revised itinerary, Ellen. You've got a little more breathing space, even if it is still a quick sampling of Asia. You'll probably go back, so don't have to do everything on this trip!

Larsay, I think Ellen was wondering if Muong Hum can be done as a day trip from Hanoi. I don't see that they plan to be in Sapa.

My comments about Sapa and Muong Hum was an answer to somebody who mentioned it, writing to stay away from it because of too many tourists. I rather spend 3 days in Sapa than in Chiang Mai !

lcuy,
Yes, "sampling" is a good way to put it. Asia is so vast; we had to decide what we wanted to see the most. For me, traveling is always a tug of war between going to new places and going back to the places you love or want to see more of. Not a bad problem, actually.

I still want to see Hong Kong. We're thinking our next trip to Asia will include Japan and Hong Kong. We'll have a better feel after we make this trip. As a former travel agent (years ago in my former life), planning is half the fun for me.

Regarding Muong Hum, I'd love to get out into the country, but we'll play a day trip by ear. It's always challenging to choose just the right amount of days in a place you've never been to. Usually I wind up wanting just one more day, so hopefully our time in Hanoi will be adequate.

Thanks to those who commented on the street food question - we can't wait to sample it!