Welcome to Hanoi... and Watch Out For Oncoming Traffic!

Ah, Vietnam. Preparations for landing in Hanoi saw me frantically messaging my friend Rachel asking how to go about getting a visa for Vietnam. This would be the first country where I couldn’t just rock up and expect to be let into the country after paying a fee. Entry into Vietnam, unless you’re a member of their visa free country list, required a visa and that was absolutely final. And surprise of all surprises (no seriously, I was highly surprised) Ireland is not on that list. Not only did I need a visa, that visa had to be done by a Vietnam Consulate. I had done nothing of the sort, however I was aware that there were other options I could take. I still needed a visa, however, I could use an agency to get the consulate to issue my visa before arriving and then just get the page inputted into my passport at the airport. A cursory google search brought up hundreds, probably even thousands of ‘agents’, most of which looked questionable, and legitimate agents were just lost amongst the sea of fraudsters. While searching and pulling out my hair at one point, I had an epiphany. Rachel! She was in Vietnam recently! She’s Irish! And I know for a fact that she applied for her visa this way. Perfect. A couple hours later saw me completing my application online on https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/ paying the $17 processing fee and patiently waiting for my Visa letter via email.

Of course, I showed up to Noi Bai airport in Hanoi without a physical copy of my visa letter, but with the required passport photos and $25 stamping fee. Immigration were less than impressed. I would come back to Vietnam at a later date, WITH a physical copy of my visa letter, but without photos. I don’t even know why they let me in. I was a mess both times. Physical visa in passport and bags collected, I made my way into the centre of Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi.

Traffic Lights? What Are Those?

Chaos. Complete and utter chaos. How was this a capital city? A maze of streets, some barely wide enough to fit two cars. Motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic. Traffic lights sparse, and widely ignored. People sitting out in the streets on small plastic chairs eating food, smoking cigarettes, drinking local beer. Jesus. How did people operate? I was in a large 4 seater Jeep squeezing through these streets feeling claustrophobic. Buildings were jammed together in such a small amount of space. They were of reasonable height, but nothing skyscraper level. I’d liken building heights to those of Dublin. 55 minutes later I was dropped outside of Nexy Hostel (170,000 dong/€6.30 per night).

Once again I hauled my Osprey to my new temporary home. Checked in, I dropped my stuff, freshened up and strolled back downstairs. Before I headed outside into the chaos, I debated on whether or not to stop by the front desk to get some information. I stopped. Best decision ever. Not only did I receive some hilarious information about what I should first do in Hanoi, I also made a very good friend in the Hostel’s Operations Manager, Duy Anh. He’s a little shit, highly sarcastic and loves to laugh at his own jokes, but I liked him anyway. I took his advice and headed towards Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake was only a 4 minute walk away from the hostel.

After a stroll around the lake, I wandered over to the night market. While walking around I noted the amount of stares I was getting from the local Vietnamese populace. Ah. It was going to be that kind of country. No worries. Months of travelling around Asia and being stared at constantly had numbed me mostly to it. It was curiosity and not maliciousness. In fact, many encounters in Vietnam would see the locals staring straight at me, until they noticed me mirroring their staring and their faces would transform into large grins with waves and “Hello, how are you?/Where are you from?” being thrown my way. One particular instance saw two teen girls following me around a store while shopping for a new pair of jeans (the ones I had brought had been destroyed). Upon noticing me noticing them, they giggled and waved very enthusiastically and then they shuffled off, happy with their encounter with me. It was weird, but I found the encounter endearing all the same. But I digress. I briefly browsed the night market, then high tailed it back to Nexy. I had already arrived in the city late (flight landed at 8.05pm) and the market was closing up shop.

Exploring Hanoi

The following days saw me bounding off to explore the Old Quarter and as much of Hanoi’s highlights as possible. Crossing the streets of Hanoi itself was one of the city's highlights. The chaos of having so many thousands of motorbikes on the roads, made crossing the streets a daunting activity. They didn't stop. not even when one of the very few traffic lights signalled them to do so. The key to crossing the streets of Hanoi was to just start walking and to never stop. Sounds dangerous, but it actually works! The bikes weave around you as you're walking.

From the Imperial Citadel and Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton), to the Women’s Museum (where I learned about the role that the Viet women have played in recent history) and the Museum of Ethnology (which taught me about the many different tribes that populated the north of Vietnam). There was so much to see and learn about in this city. Most of the sites were relative inexpensive to enter, ranging from 20,000 dong (approx. €0.72) to 60,000 dong (€2.18). Some sites, such as the Hanoi Police museum, were even free to enter. It didn’t take long for me to determine that out of all the countries I have been to so far, Vietnam was hands down the cheapest. Activities could be done for very little, food and drink was relatively inexpensive and accommodation was basically chicken change. I loved it.

Ha Long Bay

After exploring as much as I could have of the country’s capital, I casted my eyes up to the north of Vietnam. There were three things, as a backpacker that you were expected to do. A boat tour of Ha Long Bay, a homestay in Sapa with one of the local Vietnamese tribes and a 4/5 day motorcycle loop of the north of Vietnam. The last two options were out for me. The weather at the time was not good that far north and I was a bit nervy about the idea of just going to stay with a local Vietnamese tribe. I was already being stared at enough by the city locals, what would happen in the rural north? (After 6 weeks in Vietnam, I would later come back and actually do both of these things, but at that stage 3 or 4 days in the country – it was a firm No from me).

I brought my attention back to the Ha Long Bay option. Ha Long Bay (roughly translated to English meaning Descending Dragon Bay) is not only a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is also one of the Seven Natural wonders of the world. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. There were so many options to choose from and so many tour operators in which I could purchase a tour package from. I could do it party style with Oasis Bay Cruises or Castaways, or I could take the demure option and just chill on a luxury cruise liner while it brought you around the bay. I took the second option. I also opted for a tour that took me off the beaten path in Ha Long Bay. It’s such a popular tour and a huge area, but most cruise liners take the same path. I wanted to explore quieter sides of the bay, so I opted for one that took me to Bai Tu Long Bay. I also didn’t want to be rushed, so ended up taking a tour for two days and one night with Lemon Cruises. The whole experience set me back €118 euro – this included all transport costs, food, and all activities done on the cruise.

The tour day started early. I was all the way down in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay was a good 4 hours away from it. As would become a theme in Vietnam, a tour bus would do it’s rounds around the city, picking up all of the tour goers and brought us straight to where we would be boarding our cruise ship. Our tour was a little empty, there were only 6 of us, but that only made it better. Typically the cruise liner could accommodate up to 21 guests. The ship itself was amazing, the crew on board were friendly and the facilities on board were incredible. Over the two days we cruised through the bay, taking in the beautiful large limestone karst formations. At one point we actually got off the cruise ship to kayak around the bay and through some of the floating villages there. All in all, a very memorable 2 days. Very soon if was over and we were shepherded back down to Hanoi.

The next few days were filled with me essentially trying to plan my time in Vietnam and making some friends in Nexy. I had no real idea of where I was heading next. The shape of Vietnam itself makes travel very easy – either you’re going from the bottom up, or from the top down. As I arrived in Hanoi, the assumption was that I would be going from the top down, however my issue was where would be my next stop. There was so much I wanted to see, and I knew within in a couple of days of being in Hanoi that I would need to extend my 30 day visa. 30 days simply was not enough time for me to explore what I wanted to (in fact, I would end up coming back to Vietnam at a later date to do some activities that I had missed).

After talking to a few people, I determined that my next stop would be the small town of Tam Coc near Ninh Binh. Hanoi was interesting but it was too chaotic, too big, had too many people. I needed some time to decompress and be around less people. Decision made, I spent the last couple of days hanging out with my new friends, going on a street food tour with two Vietnamese girls and preparing myself to leave.

Food, Food and MORE Food

I had tried a lot of the local foods myself, however there were dishes that I didn’t know how to order, dishes that I didn’t know anything about, and I thought; what better way to try more than have actual Vietnamese people show me the way. The food tour was absolutely amazing. Vietnamese food in general transcended all of my expectations. From the first Pho that I had I was hooked on the cuisine. The last time I had felt this satisfied culinary wise, I had been in Thailand.

Vietnamese food is so wide and varied, and interestingly enough, it varies wildly from region to region in the country. Bun Cha gotten in Hanoi is significantly different to Bun Cha in Hoi An (if you can manage to get it). Each region of Vietnam have their own local dishes, and own swing on certain things. For example – The best Bun Cha you will ever get in Vietnam will be in Hanoi. Fact. And if you’re looking for a recommendation, the best I had was at Bun Cha Ta (thank you for bringing me there that first time Cam!). Cau Lau is a Hoi An dish, and Hoi An alone. I never saw it in any other part of my travels through Vietnam. Bun Bo Hue, is a delicious noodle soup named for the Vietnamese city it hails from, Hue. And the list goes on and on. My time in Vietnam definitely saw me trying out some very different and delicious tasting culinary delights. There’s actually too much for me to write about here, but let me conclude that my favourites were; Pho (a light brothy rice noodle soup, eaten for breakfast by a lot of Vietnamese people), Bun Cha (Vermicelli noodles, a basket of greens and bowl of very flavourful broth with pork), Bahn Mi (a deliciously crispy and fluffy baguette filled with whatever meat, vegetable of egg combination you want with coriander, papaya, cucumber and a delicious chilli sauce). Most times these would be washed down with relatively inexpensive local beer, passion fruit juice or soda water.