ipondonline: September 2013

Travel dates: 13th September 2013 - 16th September 2013
Location: South East Asia

The trip began on the early morning of 13th September 2013, 6:45 am flight with Airasia Thailand. The flight was pleasant except a heavy rain! Flying during rainy season can be a nightmare. As some people may know, taking off is not as dangerous as landing. I did give my confidence in the pilot!

Arrived at Noi Bai International airport around 8:30 am. It was a sunny day in Hanoi. On the internet, they recommend you to have US dollars and exchange them at the airport. It is the easiest way. However, Dong or the Vietnamese currency is really confusing when calculating it to US or other currencies because of the "Zero". They do not use coins.

It is roughly 1 US dollar is 21,095 VND (Vietnamese Dong)
I am sure most travelers arrived in Vietnam as Millionaire :-) I was one as well.

Because of green space in Hanoi, the weather is generally nice. It is pretty much tropical but the big trees help a lot with the heat. They provide shades so walking in Hanoi is alright. People in Hanoi use motorbikes as main type of transportation. Every individual seem to have one each. There are not much traffic lights in the city. One of the most fun things in Hanoi is to cross the streets without traffic lights. It is not illegal! People do it everywhere! For me, everyday in Hanoi Old Quarter is like a festival. So many motorbikes and so many people just walk around.

I could compare the city to Chiang mai, Thailand but more traffic and more green space.

First day: a self-guided walking tour in the old quarter and around.

Arrived at the hostel around 10:30 am. Got a minibus from the airport for 5 dollars ride. (to get a minibus or a minivan: turn right once you exit the airport). The vans will wait until it is full then they leave. This can take a while so if you have a company, it would be ok. If not, you could have a nap. Prepare for a long ride from the airport to the city center. (Takes up to 1 hour)

I stayed on the first night at Hoan Kiem Backpacker hostel: 5 dollars a night! The room was clean. Generally, the city is clean. I didn't see any rats running around at all! The hostel offers free wi-fi downstairs as well as cafes in Hanoi. There are cafes in every single corner of Hanoi I would say. Don't expect a cafe like in Paris :-) Expect plastic chairs :)

I did The Temple of literature, Hoan Kiem Lake, The opera house and the Old quarter. I am impressed with how beautiful the temple of literature is. Vietnam has been influenced by China and French. The language and even the culture has its mixture of the two. The temples are obviously Chinese style: lanterns, Chinese buddhas and all that. Cafes and baguette
kind of represent a way of life adapted from the French colonial period.

Once you are in Hanoi, it is best to try street food! the famous noodle soup: PHO! The food does not have much flavour like food in Thailand. It is quite bland but I noticed the Vietnamese do eat a lot of fresh vegetables. It explains why most Vietnamese people are not overweight. Fruit are sold everywhere. There were not many fast food restaurants. You don't see Starbucks here and I am glad!

People are nice overall. Some can be rude. I guess you can find it anywhere in the world. Friendly and rude people.

Day 2: More walking: visited cafes and the French quarter.

A friend from Bangkok joined me in Hanoi today. We moved to a nice hotel called Tirant hotel. It is located just in the old quarter. We did more of self-guided walking tour: stopped and enjoyed the street food and the markets. Hearing motorbikes beeping is a signature of Hanoi. People do not get angry but it is how they signal pedestrians to be careful. Don't get angry about it. The noises can be so annoying but you will be used to it.

There are massive street markets from Friday to Sunday nights. That's the beauty of it. People in Hanoi don't go out drinking as much. Opening up a bar might not be a good business. People seem to enjoy outdoor activities: chill out by the lake, going for a run by the lake and lots of couples flirting by the lake! Lake is actually like the center for everything :-). Our plan was to visit the Revolution Museum but it was closed so we only went to Hanoi Prison. It was spooky but informative too. Well, the stories told could be a propaganda. It was interesting to see it anyway. They call it Hanoi Hilton because there was a story that the US pilots were captured and imprisoned with such good treatments. They were provided a basketball court. They were not chained up. Again, it could just be a propaganda.!

The sad thing about Hanoi is I see lots of businesses are turn into hotels and apartments now. I spent a few hours looking for a cafe called Cafe Des Arts, which was one of the oldest cafes. Saw a picture on the internet and I thought I would check it out. It is now a hotel though.

Day 3: Halong Bay

25 dollars each for the one day tour. Some other people pay as less as 16 dollars. Make sure you negotiate! We got ripped off. It was just OK! again just OK! You can't compare it to south of Thailand. The bay was massive though. The view was brilliant. Thousands and thousands of limestone and a big cave! I don't think you can see it anywhere else. It has been listed as one of UNESCO heritage sites. It needs more maintenance. The water is not clean enough to swim. Trash was everywhere! plastic plastic and plastic!

I would not suggest anyone to go actually. I would rather suggest them to go to Sapa if they have time. I heard about a snake village as well so if you like something really really out of ordinary, the village should be a place to go. They basically kill a snake in front of you, drain the blood, let you drink it and stir fry the meat! awww.

Here are some photos taken on the trip: