Hanoi, Vietnam

The hectic streets of Hanoi

My father, the history buff, was super keen to visit Hanoi during his time in Asia.  I got my chosen activity of a cruise in Ha Long Bay, so I let him run the show for the rest of our time in central Hanoi. We stayed at Boss Legend Hotel, which is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi making it an extremely convenient location and allowed us to do a lot of walking as opposed to taking taxis. 

Vietnam was previously under French ruling and I was delighted to find some of those influences still present throughout the city in the form of French street names, fresh bread and good coffee. Besides the small charms of previous French inhabitance I was actually really startled and overwhelmed by the city of Hanoi. It's a very small city that hasn't expanded to their current population of seven million people. The streets are barely wide enough to fit two cars at the same time and there appears to be little or no regulations when it comes to traffic laws. Vietnam is often known as the land of motorbikes and Hanoi was no exception. It's a city of seven million people and home to over five million motorbikes on the streets. One thing that I was mildly aware of but couldn't have prepared for is the fact that they honk at everything. Passing another bike? Honk. Passing a car? Honk. Coming up to an intersection? Honk. Just driving? Honk. It was infuriating to me and something that I really struggled to ignore. I was never able to count more than eight seconds without multiple honks interrupting the silence. After coming from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok I thought I would be more than prepared for this capital city, but I realized that although Thailand can be crazy at times they apparently have much more order and purpose on the roads. Hanoi had very few traffic lights or signs, instead each intersection was treated like a giant game of chicken: just honking and hoping the other bikes dodge first. Crosswalks don't exist and instead I managed to cross the streets by practically closing my eyes and beelining to a safe zone. Landing in Thailand was a huge culture shock for me in October, but I honestly thought that if I could get used to Bangkok then I would be ready for anything. Hanoi proved me wrong right away and it took almost our entire time in the city to really start being okay with the city. 

Our tour guide, Annie

Eating the Vietnamese dish of Bun Cha

One thing that really helped us get acclimated to the city life was doing a walking food tour of Hanoi. We signed up with Hanoi Street Food Tours and spent about three hours walking around the city with our guide, Annie, as she practiced her English and taught us about the food and culture of Vietnam. They also offered bike tours, where you ride on the back of the motorbike while your guide drives, which is what we initially wanted to try out, but unfortunately it was booked solid. This tour was a great way for us to get comfortable walking in the streets of Hanoi and also helped us explore some safe and tasty foods to try out while visiting Hanoi. I was a big fan of the Vietnamese spring rolls, which are fresher than the normal fried Chinese rolls. We also tried out their popular bành mì sandwiches and various types of 'pho' soups. I'm usually a big fan of any sort of walking tour whenever I touch down in a new city, and this one was high in my books because not only did I learn about Hanoi, I also got to eat the whole time! I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Hanoi.                                                                                              The rest of our time in the city went relatively unplanned and we spent a lot of time wandering the small streets stopping for coffee or beers as the day went on. My dad loved checking out some of the historical sites available throughout the city such as the Vietnamese People's Air Force Museum, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison. Without getting too much into politics, I'll just state the obvious: it was clear that the history presented throughout Hanoi was very one sided, and extremely biased in favor of Vietnam. The Vietnamese People's Air Force museum had planes and missiles on display that supposedly helped them win battles during the Vietnam War, yet these battles and dates in history aren't found in US history. Similarly, monumental events that happened in favor of the US are acknowledged yet almost made to seem that Vietnam gave us those victories, instead of the US winning them fairly. It was crazy to see the differences in our history of a shared event, and it was a good lesson in socialism and patriotism.




I was a little disappointed in myself with how long it took me to adapt to the crazy city life of Hanoi, and honestly I think this was my first destination in quite awhile where I didn't love the city. However, Hanoi has a lot to offer and I have no doubt in mind that if I had spent longer there I would have fallen a little harder for this Vietnamese city.

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Logistical Info

- Boss Legend Hotel had rooms starting at $60/night, which includes a breakfast buffet

- The walking food tour was $20/person and included six different types of food at five different locations. It was a private tour with flexible hours.