Lauren –
We left Chiang Mai early and caught a rather dodgy looking tuk tuk to the airport. We checked in and spent an hour or so trying all the free samples at the Thai foods boutique shops to make up for the fact we hadn’t had breakfast. I was a little nervous about flying an airline I didn’t know much about and all David could do was laugh when we saw our plane. It looked like a children’s drawing and it didn’t put my nerves at ease!
We arrived in Hanoi after only a couple of hours and breezed through the visa process (we had spent quite a while in Australia figuring out how the visa process worked so it was a relief that it was so easy). We decided to try our luck with the local bus into the city rather than the pricey private taxis – we found Bus 86 and paid around $1 for the journey! As soon as David stepped off the bus into the bustling Old Quarter in Hanoi he said to me “I’ve got a good feeling about this city”.
We quickly found our hotel and arrived to probably the best hotel welcome I’ve ever received! We were sat down with a glass of cold watermelon juice and were told the best things to do in Hanoi, the things to avoid and where best to eat! We were immediately sad that we only had three days in this city.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around. We found a beautiful lake in the middle of the city with the roads closed all around it so the people of Hanoi could enjoy their Saturday afternoons on the grass and listening to music in the street.
We had dinner at a very local Pho restaurant Pho Surong. We were served within two minutes of sitting down (we hadn’t even ordered – but they only serve one dish!) and were told to leave as soon as we finished eating so they could serve more customers. It was definitely an experience and the food was delicious.
The next morning we set off on a food tour at the Hanoi Cooking Centre. It was a leaving gift from my team at work and we were so excited to try all the amazing street food Hanoi had to offer!
We started the morning off with a hot bowl of Pho (which apparently is commonly eaten for breakfast!), we then had a delicious iced coconut coffee (David is absolutely obsessed with these) and went to the local market to see some local delicacies. It was so interesting and vibrant!
We then walked to a local favourite to try the popular dish Bun Cha which was barbecued pork with noodles, herbs and the most amazing soup! David I were extremely full by this point.
After the food tour we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest before Pete flew in from Perth. He is joining us on our Vietnam adventure for a few weeks! As soon as he arrived we whisked him out to dinner for some more Pho. We wanted to try the best rated Pho restuarant in Hanoi and thought we had found it. It wasn’t until after our (average) meal that we realised the place we were supposed to be going was next door with practically the same name! Whoops!
The next day we spent eating and wandering the streets. We also visited Hoa Lo Prison memorial aka the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ as it was dubbed in the War. It was a fantastic museum which gave really interesting insights into Hanoi’s history during the Vietnam War.
We knew that there was a place called ‘train street’, and with both David and Pete pretty into trains we knew we had to check it out. It’s a narrow street lined with cafes and cute houses which has a train track running down the middle of it.
We had heard it’s a fun place to get a drink waiting for the train to appear, and on hearing the alarm “train! train! train!”, jumping up out of the way to let it pass. Sounded like fun, so we set off and found a spot on the first floor of a cafe, ordered some drinks and waited…
We arrived at around 6pm and knew that the train was due to arrive at 7:10pm. Three drinks later it was 7:20 and there was no sign of the train. We were becoming a little disappointed when suddenly we heard “train! train! train!”, we looked over the balcony and saw all the people enjoying beers on the track scrambling to move chairs, tables and take cover inside! It was crazy! Around 2 minutes later we see the train booming around the corner and rattle through the narrow street. It was so much fun!
We really enjoyed our time in Hanoi. The city felt very different to how I had imagined, you could really feel the French influence and see it in the architecture. We will definitely come back and explore the city again sometime soon.
Far Away From Home 