Capital city flavour
Hanoi was our last stop in Vietnam and where we spent two of our last three nights.
It’s the capital city of Vietnam and has a strong French influence especially seen in its architecture of the Old Quarter and Opera House, lakes and gardens.
Before our night in Halong Bay we flew into Hanoi from Hue which was a one hour flight and spent the afternoon and night there. From Hanoi Airport it was about half an hour across the new freeway to our hotel in the Old Quarter.
In the Old Quarter there are no high rises and the buildings are very narrow due to the government charging tax on the size of the frontage of the property. The market stalls are grouped into sections, with one street for shoes, another street for bamboo and another street for pharmacies.
Skinny tall apartment blocks
Bamboo selling street
After checking into the Church Boutique – Lan Ong hotel we went for lunch at Yin & Yang in the Old Quarter. Still trying to watch what goes in my mouth I decided to have vegetable noodles.
After lunch Quinn took us for a walking tour around the Old Quarter. The streets were full of markets, restaurants and motorbikes. The bikes felt worse in Hanoi than Ho Chi Minh City as there were no footpaths for people to walk on in the Old Quarter so you pretty much had to walk on the road the whole time.
Streets of the Old Quarter
Motorbike city
There are a lot of museums, pagodas and temples in Hanoi but I didn’t get to visit any of them as we didn’t have a free day in Hanoi. On our walking tour we saw the ‘Quyet Tu De To Quoc Quyet Sinh’ statue representing the people who sacrificed their country during the war, slim alleyways leading to the back of buildings where families had their homes, the bird cafe with singing birds out the front, the Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake which was very picturesque and had a red bridge leading to Ngoc Son Temple.
Vietnam war statue
Hanoi Opera House
Hoan Kiem Lake with Ngoc Son Temple in the background
That night we ate dinner at Koto (Know one, teach one), a restaurant that helps train street kids to become chefs and waiters. It was an included meal on the tour and it was nice to feel like we were giving something back. The staff were all very sweet and helpful.
All dressed up for dinner at Koto
Fried spring rolls
Beef papaya salad
After dinner we took a photo outside the Temple of Literature which was lit up and around the corner from Koto.
Temple of Literature at night
We then went to the Old Quarter bar strip for a drink at Local Bar. The strip was lined with bar after bar and was crowded with locals sitting outside on small plastic chairs enjoying food and drink.
Bar strip in the Old Quarter
Dancing with the owner of Local Bar
After our night in Halong Bay we were back in the big smoke late afternoon. That night we had a street food walking tour in the Old Quarter. First up we tried some Vietnamese sweets (backwards I know) – a few made with beans and others sweet potato. Next up was some amazing beef pho – the best pho I have ever tasted in my life – followed by fresh pork mince spring rolls, local beer and peanuts and Vietnamese beef and vegetable barbecue. It was all delicious and filling.
The best beef pho I have ever had
Fresh minced pork spring rolls
Vietnamese BBQ restaurant
After dinner we enjoyed a farewell drink with our Topdeck group at a restaurant overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. It was an amazing view and the refreshing mojito made it even better. We then headed back to The Local for happy hour 2 for 1, shisha and dancing.
The next morning we were picked up at 9.30am by our transfer driver and driven back to the airport. We enjoyed our last breakfast with Quinn, his five year old son, and two others from the tour group which was nice to do before departing.
This whole Vietnam holiday was an amazing experience. Vietnam oozes history and culture and the food is simply amazing. I definitely won’t miss the humidity but I will return one day to explore some more.
LWL xxx