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. 

Cruise in Ha Long Bay

Dad and I as the boat was just leaving the harbor

As I finished up my semester teaching in Thailand I welcomed the arrival of my dad, step-mom and step-brother for a week exploring Bangkok and Chiang Mai. After a week my step-mom and step-brother had to get back to the States but my dad had more vacation time to take advantage of, so we flew over to Hanoi, Vietnam for a few days of historical sites and cooler temperatures. With only five days in northern Vietnam my dad had a long list of museums and war memorials that he wanted to visit in Hanoi, however, I'm much less of a history buff and instead had a visit to Ha Long Bay very high on my list of things to do. Ha Long Bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin, which branches off of the South China Sea and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. Although there are day trips available from Hanoi, the most common way to visit Ha Long Bay is to do an overnight cruise on small ships. I looked into quite a few different companies, but after reading many good reviews I finally decided on an overnight cruise with Galaxy Premium Cruises. 

Kayaking in the bay 

The cruise started with an 8am pickup from our hotel in Hanoi and we loaded into a large van with all 19 customers and took the 3.5 hour journey to the coast of Vietnam. We were on the boat by noon and left port shortly after for our adventure! We quickly befriended the other passengers on the boat and spent the next 24 hours getting to know each other while sharing meals, playing games and doing various activities organized by the ship.

Squid fishing at night

I was initially worried that we would feel restless or bored while on the boat, but they kept us pretty busy. When we first boarded we were immediately stuffed with a huge lunch, serving up plenty of traditional Vietnamese foods. We then had some downtime to get to know the other passengers and enjoy the passing scenery as we headed further into the bay. After letting our food digest a little, it was time for kayaking! We spent about two hours exploring small caves and paddling our way through little books and crannies. The rest of the day included plenty of more food, some swimming for the brave of heart (the water was much too cold for my liking) late night squid fishing and card games.
The next morning we were up early for a quick breakfast (noodle soup, classic Asia) and then we headed off to a nearby cave for some exploration. We visited Surprise Cave, which is one of the largest caves in Ha Long Bay, made up of two main caverns with ceilings reaching up to 90 feet high. It's definitely the hotspot for all Ha Long Bay cruises and ended up being much more crowded than I would've preferred, but it was still great to see. We ended our afternoon by slowly cruising back into port while eating our last filling meal of the trip. 

Morning fog over the bay 

The four hour drive and stress of picking the right company definitely paid off at the end of this trip. We had such a great time getting to know the other travelers on our boat, and we enjoyed the scenery and quiet surroundings that Ha Long Bay has to offer. Although it's out of the way of Hanoi it's something I would definitely suggest for anyone in the area. I'm on a quest to see as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible, so it already had some initial brownie points in my book, but even for those not on that same mission the area is a stunning site to see and offers a relaxing 24 hours away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Hanoi. 

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Logistical info

- Galaxy Bay was one of the pricier options, costing $145 per person 

- It includes transportation to and from Hanoi and four meals