Hanoi

We will spend about a month travelling from northern Vietnam to the south. First stop was Hanoi.

We booked a 2 bedroom Airbnb in the heart of the old quarter of Hanoi. Walking into the apartment we thought “Oh no, what have we done??”. It was very authentic and a chance to see how real Vietnamese people live in old buildings in this city. We had to climb up several flights of stairs and walk down various internal and outside hallways covered in bird poop (there were several cages with birds in them). Here are some photos of this entryway and then the apartment itself.

Our apartment was on the corner of the main bar street (aptly named “beer street”). On our first night, we were serenaded by this band right outside our window until 11 pm. (This video of them was actually filmed earlier that night 2 blocks away by the lake, but they moved location to just outside our apartment later.)

Nightlife

The nightlife in Hanoi was amazing! This city has such a great vibe and energy. We arrived on a Friday night so we really enjoyed the city’s liveliness on Friday and Saturday nights. They block off the streets around the lake in the old quarter and there are people out dancing everywhere and vendors serving all kinds of street food. We had a great time wandering around, trying out some of the street food and just enjoying the city vibe.

At some point, R decided to join the ladies for one of their line dances that were happening all around the lake.

As you can see from the photos of us eating above, everything in this town (and Vietnam) seems to be designed for children-sized people – we felt like giants and we’re considered short by western standards! All the chairs / stools for eating are really close to the ground – you’re basically in a squat – and the tables are really short too so you can’t fit your legs under the tables. It reminded me of the parent nights in the kids’ kindergarten classrooms. 😂 The kids loved it – they felt like the whole city was made for them!

Hanoi streets in the old quarter are sub-divided by what they are selling – e.g. Beer street, cookie street, laundry street, pipe street, etc. We really enjoyed walking around and seeing all the various sites and random things everywhere. It was hard to take photos because there are so many cars and motorbikes everywhere! Actually, crossing the street was a major event and I wanted to capture some video of this experience, but I was too busy trying not to die!

Small temple across the street

There was a cute little old temple across the street from our apartment. It wasn’t open very often so when they did open their gates one day, we had a look inside:

Train Street

One of the main tourist things to do in Hanoi is to go to Train Street. The police will only let you onto the street if you are buying a drink from one of the cafes. The train comes so close to the edge of your seats that we actually had to fold up our mini chairs and stand up so the train could pass.

Imperial Citadel

The Imperial Citadel was used as both a royal palace and as a defensive citadel since the 11th century. When we were there, there were lots of graduating students and their families in traditional clothing taking photographs.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex

We walked past the presidential palace (not allowed to take photos) and on to the complex where Ho Chi Minh is buried. Besides the mausoleum, there are some gardens, a pretty pagoda and a nice temple.

We got a kick out of the Karma teachings on the wall outside of the temple ( you may have to zoom in to read them).

Temple of Literature

This temple is part of the National University and is dedicated to learning and Confucius.

We really loved Hanoi its energy and vibe. Next stop is east towards Halong Bay. We took a took sleeper bus with reclining bed seats to get there.