6 – 14 September 2023

After a bumpy plane ride (which someone seemed to not notice) we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam. Our only plans for Vietnam are that we have a 30 day tourist visa, we have 2 night of accommodation booked in Hanoi and we must leave via a land border crossing into Cambodia near Ho Chi Min city in the south of the country in 30 days. The next few blog entries will show you our travels from the north to the south, showcasing  the sights, sounds and culture of this magnificent country.

Our first taste of Vietnam was the Grab (Uber equivalent) ride into town. The e-sim transitioned brilliantly from Maylasia after picking up the Vietnam mobile network so we were able to securing our ride. We hopped in the car, with me in the back and Pete in the front. The only issue was that they drive on the opposite side of the road and Pete inadvertently hopped into the drivers seat. After everyone had a good laugh, he jumped into the back with me and we made the 45 minute drive into the city. On arriving at the hotel I went to jump out of the car just as a motorcyclist drove up on the walkway next to the car door. I hit the mirror of the motorcycle but thankfully didn’t damage anyone or anything. The poor Grab driver must of hated the fact he picked up these 2 clueless tourists.

We checked into our $24 per night room and decided pretty quickly that we were not staying beyond the 2 nights. The bed was like sleeping on a wooden plank, there was no window (only a fake one looking at a wall), the power points were dodgy (the lights would dim when you plugged something in) and the bathroom was tiny. Apart from that, the location was pretty good. 

We spent the next few days exploring the city by foot. We saw train street where the train literally skirts along the sides of shops and cafes. We visited the Vietnamese Woman’s Museum where we learnt about the role women played in the war, their family life and the fashion industry. The museum was 3 stories high and had an audio guide which was extremely helpful to understand the exhibits. We would highly recommend the museum to any visitors. We walked to the Ho Chi Min Mausoleum complex which was closed as the President was in town. We were told to come back the next day, which we did. Unfortunately for us, USA president Jo Biden was the President in town and half of the roads were blocked off. It seemed like all 8.5 million of Hanoi’s population were trying to navigate the complex road network to get around the blockages. Since we couldn’t get into the complex, we walked to the Lotte Hotel Sky Deck to see Hanoi from above. At 272m above street level (65th floor) the views were magnificent. Glass sections made for a unique view of the street far below. The next issue was for the poor Grab driver who picked us up from the Lotte tower to get us back to our accommodation. Trying to navigate the streets is hard enough, but when the police jump in front of your car with barricades and tell you you can’t drive down the street you need to, makes for a slightly irritated driver. After doing a 1000 point turn and dodging the 400 motorcycles he headed in a different direction. The driver was so calm and patient and we finally got close enough to jump out and walk the last bit home, some 50 minutes after leaving the tower, only 6km away. I think it will be the hardest $6 he ever earns.  I’m surprised we don’t have a black mark against our Grab profile! We will forever blame Biden for not seeing Ho Chi Min in his sarcophagus.

One one of our many walks, we looked for a different hotel to check in to. We booked into one where we have a balcony, bigger bathroom, bigger room and comfier bed. It is located in an alley with so many little shops and food stalls. At $65 a night, it was a brilliant choice to move.

Other places we visited were St Joseph’s Cathedral, a catholic neo gothic church built in the late 1800’s. The church bells ring at 5am to wake everyone up (including us), for prayers at 12pm and then again at 6pm and 7pm. Beer street was a must stop for us. It’s where 1000’s of people sit, drink and eat on tiny plastic stools. The beer (bia hoi) is a fresh brewed beer which only lasts 24hours before it is no longer good to drink. It’s cheep at about $0.60 a glass, is a mid strength beer and tasty too! One evening after visiting one of the popular beer corners, we went to a restaurant for something to eat. This was more to use a proper toilet than actually eat there (squat toilets are an issue for these precious westerners). As it turns out, the food was great and the patrons hilarious. I was eating my noodle soup and Pete was trying to cool his dinner down by mixing it around. The other patrons thought he was having trouble with his chopsticks so offered a fork. We tried to tell them he is fine, but the meal was just too hot to eat. One of them came over with 2 shot glasses of what we assume was rice vodka. The vodka was in what could only be described as a huge glass fishbowl with a mini ladle. They taught us how to “cheers” in Vietnamese…Mot, Hai, Ba, DA! After a couple of shots, a yummy meal and a few more beers we headed home.

We booked into a cooking class and market tour to learn some new cooking techniques and new foods. We cooked beef pho bo, fried spring rolls, papaya salad, bun cha and egg coffee. We thoroughly enjoyed this activity and will definitely do a few more over the next few months. 

The weather so far has been hot and humid, but the people have been so friendly and helpful. They love nothing more than helping when you look confused or unsure of what to do or where to go. The traffic has been hectic to say the least. Motorcycles and cars go where they want, when they want, so you have to be careful as you walk. More often than not though, you just walk out on the street and they try to dodge you like a game of frogger (for those that remember frogger I’m sure you’ll understand). I’m sure we’ve been cursed at when nearly being hit on more than a few occasions. It definitely takes some getting used to but should be quieter in the smaller towns.

Well, after walking about 10km each day since leaving home, it’s time to continue our Vietnam journey southwards by rail. We have booked train tickets and a bungalow in our next stop of Ninh Binh. We are excited to take the train as often as possible to enable us to see as much of this beautiful county as humanly possible.