🙂 Traffic. Chaos. Delicious food. Crazy atmosphere.
🙁 Traffic. Chaos. Cooked dog.
36C
Hanoi is one of the oldest capitals in the world, so you definitely shouldn’t miss it if you’re planning a trip to Vietnam. The moment you arrive in the Vietnamese capital, you’ll find streets within the city centre where well-preserved colonial buildings, ancient pagodas, and unique museums stand proud. A great place to explore and go sightseeing on foot, this French-colonial city is also known for its delectable cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and production of rare silks and exotic handicrafts. Within the city, you’ll also find a multicultural community with touches of Chinese, French, and Russian influences. We absolutely loved every exciting minute!
Paul and I were meeting Charlotte in Hanoi on her way back from backpacking in Australia during her University break… at midnight we received a frantic phone call as she was not being permitted to check in for her flight to Hanoi from Melbourne as her middle name did not appear on her booking! We spent until 01h30 on the phone and were finally able to pay AUS$100 for a name change and she managed to book onto 43F – that last remaining seat on the plane – how stressful. Caits dropped us at T 4 at 08h00 and we headed to the lunge fro breakfast – we checked in perfectly fine without our middle names on our tickets. Great flight and landed at 04h17 – priority baggage came out first and we called Charlotte who had slept in a pod at HCMC before taking her connecting flight to Hanoi. We waited an hour for our driver – until I called Ngoc only to discover he had been waiting at another entrance aaargh! An interesting transfer gazing out the window at this divers and foreign landscape where there was a hive of activity.
We checked into our Hotel La Siesta Trendy. Strategically situated in Old Quarter, allowing you access and proximity to local attractions and sights, it provided a large double room with an enormous bed and en suite…this is a quiet location amongst the hustle and bustle and super comfy beds and a fantastic breakfast with a view combing tastes from around the world. Super friendly staff. We dug straight into the Vietnamese style and were utterly stuffed! Divine. Although it was too early to check in, the staff allowed us to have a shower and get changed in the spa. Ngoc came to greet us and introduce herself – so good to finally meet her, absolutely lovely lady.
We had booked a Vespa City tour for 08h00. It was EXCELLENT! At first held on nervously but soon relaxed when it became apparent that they know exactly what they are doing! Lost Paul briefly! Stopped for photos at the opera house built by the French between 1901 and 1911 and where the war was announced from the balcony.
Drove through the market and saw dog meat advertised in the guise of a skewered corpse. Then over a relatively modern bridge and onto Long Bien ‘the longest wrought iron bridge in the world’ (Perhaps it was in its hey day!). The Long Bien bridge across the Red River is a cantilever bridge connecting Hanoi with the main port of Haiphong. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, the bridge sustained significant damage during the Vietnam War. Only half of the bridge retains its original shape, but a rebuilding project supported by the French government is currently in progress to restore the bridge to its original appearance.
Headed onto Red River below where people live in houses on stilts in poverty. Met local family and had a wine, tea and fruit. The chap had fought against the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Located on a small peninsula on the East side of Hanoi West Lake we visited Tran Quoc Pagoda, which is regarded as the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi with its history line dating back to more than 1,500 years – lovely but sad to see so many birds in cages and fish in small bags.
We then headed back into City to the lake where a B52 had crashed killing all passengers. On the night of December 27, 1972 during the “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air” campaign, an American B-52 bomber was shot down by Vietnamese soldiers and part of it landed where it still remains today in Huu Tiep Lake in Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh District. Even though it has been in the lake for 50 years, the fuselage shows no signs of rust. What is special about this B-52 bomber is that it was shot down before it had dropped any bomb. There were around 47 bombs collected from the wreck. Some sank deep into the ground while others lay on the village roads. Army soldiers were sent to help people clear the mines and it took a week to clean up.
Our last stop was on the famed Train Street railway line which is one of the most famous and adventurous tourist spots in Hanoi. It’s a tiny narrow street hidden in one of the back streets where tourists stand less than a metre from trains thundering past – exhilarating stuff. We enjoyed a delicious coconut coffee before heading back to our hotel for check in and an hour siesta. (Note: On 15.9.2022 Hanoi authorities announced the closure of the famous Hanoi Train Street) – in hindsight it probably was a disaster waiting to happen!
We headed back to the hotel for lunch followed by an hour siesta to prepare ourselves for our next adventure which was an afternoon of sightseeing in a rickshaw.
The Ho Chi Minh Museum was constructed in the 1990s and is dedicated to the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam’s revolutionary struggle against foreign powers. Ho Chi Minh museum is located in the Ho Chi Minh complex and was absolutely fascinating but honestly though we would die from heatstroke! Almost too hot to listen to the informative dialogue.
Next stop was Hỏa Lò Prison which was a prison in Hanoi originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”. The 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. In addition to extended solitary confinement, prisoners were regularly strapped down with iron stocks leftover from the French colonial era.
A sacred giant turtle that died in Hanoi’s Hoàn Kiếm lake has been given a new lease on life by city authorities who have embalmed the beloved creature for posterity. Hanoians were shocked by the death of the critically endangered Swinhoe softshell turtle in 2016, believing its passing was a sign of ominous times ahead. The 170kg creature is on display sitting atop a red carpet in a glass case with an ornately carved wooden frame.
It really had been an excellent and worthwhile tour however, a full on day covering most of Hanoi’s sights! That evening after a shower we headed to Beer Corner to meet Charlotte’s friend Lara and her boyfriend. Beer Corner is a meeting point of several small roads in the Old Quarter where locals and tourists alike perch on tiny plastic stools on the pavement and gather drink to drink beers while vespas speed through adjacent to you – it is an institution which must be experienced … one is expected to be moved on by the Police which indeed happened … twice! They raid the area and we are all shoo’ed off the little plastic chairs, which reappear within minutes of the Police moving on – quite amusing really! A great place to people watch and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
We then headed to Legend Beer Restaurant (Dinh Tien Hoang) on the crazy busy roundabout for cocktails and to watch the madness that is Hanoi from the safety of the balcony on the 4th floor. Next thing, the road transformed into a ballroom with couples dancing! We were starving and enjoyed a delicious hotpot in one of the many small cafes lining the roads and touting their menus – Delicious … walked back to our hotel weaving across busy roads and dodging hooting vespas and crazy drivers … this is one crazy place… exhausted and slept fitfully!
Our dreams were filled of our next adventure – off to the legendary Halong Bay in the morning….
We returned to Hanoi after our Boat trip in Halong Bay. We had a drink in our Hotel who had stored our luggage and then set off to the Thang Longwater Puppet show which was very good. It is a wonderful traditional Vietnamese culture show well worth a visit. The 50 minute show was light hearted and accompanied by traditional vocals and instruments.
We then headed back to train street so that we could be part of the madness witnessing a train thundering past us in close proximity – exhilarating stuff!
We bumped into our guide from our vespa tour who had added Charlotte to Facebook and posted a selfie of himself with her and received about a thousand likes! lol.
As soon as the train had thundered past, life as usual simply reconvened!
We headed back to our hotel via the market to but some fruity clothing!
We then headed to the train station for our overnight sleeper train to Sapa.
Saturday 27 April – Back in Hanoi after a fantastic Roadtrip doing the Ha Giang Loop! Ngoc and Phong took us out in Hanoi for a fab meal with their two chidren.
Go to: Vietnam
Go to: Bai Tu Long Bay
Go to: Coc Ly Market
Go to: Sapa
