[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 28 April 2013. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]
27 March 2012, Tuesday
Morning Call: 3:00am
It was a super early start to the day, as I woke up at 3am, hopped on a taxi at 3:56am and arrived at Bangkok’s international airport at 4:18am (fare: 500 baht). I chose an early 6:45am Air Asia flight because it was the cheapest option.
Not much closing thoughts for Bangkok as I have been there several times, so I have visited most of the touristy spots like the Grand Palace before. Anyway, I spent only two nights there, with one full day spent shopping and chilling at the malls, nothing very enetful. If you haven’t been to Bangkok before, you should really make a trip there because it’s relatively cheap, there’s good food, shopping is great, and the Thais are really friendly people. So many good reasons to go. You can easily spend five days in Bangkok and not get bored, and return with a suitcase full of good buys.
Vietnam: Hanoi
Time difference: Hanoi is 1 hour behind Singapore
Exchange rate: 100,000 Vietnamese Dong = S$6.30
The flight from Bangkok to Hanoi took about two hours, and I landed at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport at 8:40am. It was an exciting day because mum and dad were flying in from Singapore to join me for my Hanoi leg. It had been a while since I last saw them, 18 days to be exact, so I missed them quite a bit.
As they would only be arriving at 12:25pm, I made my own way to the city first. I had arranged a private car to pick them up (US$16), but for myself, I opted to take a taxi from the airport, which eventually worked out to be the same price as well – US$16. In Hanoi, you can use US dollars and Vietnamese Dong interchangeably. The ride from the airport to the city took about an hour. I departed the airport at 9:18am and arrived at my hotel, the Hanoi Old Centre Hotel, at 10:15am.
Hanoi Old Centre Hotel
www.hanoioldcentrehotel.com
Address: 19 Hang Hanh Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City (Old Quarter)
This hotel was recommended by my mum’s Vietnamese colleague. As its name suggests, it is located in the Old Centre/Old Quarter, within walking distance to Hoan Kiem Lake. The Old Quarter today has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi, and many of its streets still retain their original commerce, where its merchants and households in the past specialised in a particular trade such as silk and jewellery. So you will find that many of the streets are still named after the original product or trade, such as Hang Thiec (Tinsmith Street), Hang Bac (Silver Street), and even Gia Ngu Street (Underwear). The Old Quarter is where you get a feel of the old Hanoi. There are also some hip cafes and restaurants in the area, so it is a good place to stay.
We had made a reservation for a Superior Triple Room at US$48/night (including breakfast), but when I checked in, the staff told me that the room wasn’t available, and offered me two double rooms instead, at no extra charge. It was a better deal because we didn’t have to all squeeze into one room. So I happily checked into my own room with a big queen size bed. As there was still time to spare before mum and dad arrived at the hotel, I decided to take a walk and recce the area first.
My first stop was Hoan Kiem Lake, just two minutes walk from the hotel. It is the spiritual heart and focal point of Hanoi. It is also known as “Lake of the Restored Sword”.
The other attraction on the lake is Ngoc Son Temple, also known as the “Temple of the Jade Mountain”. Leading to the temple is the distinct, red-coloured wooden bridge called The Huc Bridge. There is a small admission fee to enter the temple, but I wasn’t very interested to check it out so I just hung around outside, where I could still get a good view of the bridge.
The lake is not very big, and I walked one round around it in about half an hour. Along the way, I saw many people exercising and jogging around the lake, and also a few couples having their wedding photos taken. It was nice, just that the skies were cloudy and gloomy. I prefer sunny weather and blue skies because photos just turn out better, and it naturally makes me feel happier.
Walking around Hanoi, the most obvious thing you will notice is that there are a lot of motorbikes. And I really mean A LOT. I think the number of motorbikes on the road easily outnumber the cars by 20 times. They are everywhere – on the road, on the sidewalks and even inside the shops. Everyone seems to know how to ride a motorbike, and I’m pretty sure some of them are underage.
Needless to say, crossing the road is a challenge and it can seem daunting at first. In fact, you can tell who’s a newbie in Hanoi by the way they cross the road. Actually, the trick is to just walk straight across confidently and the motorcyclists will know how to avoid you. If you show any form of hesitation or walk and stop haphazardly, that’s when accidents are likely to happen because they wouldn’t know the path you’re taking and thus, wouldn’t know how to avoid you. So just remember to walk straight across confidently, but don’t run, and you’ll be fine!
After a short recce, I returned to the hotel to wait for mum and dad to arrive. I was glad they made it safely and gave them a good hug when they finally stepped out of the taxi. After depositing their luggage in the room, it was already around 2:30pm and I was starving. We asked the friendly female receptionist for recommendations and she pointed us to Little Hanoi restaurant, which serves good food at affordable prices. She gave us a map and showed us how to get there. The staff at Hanoi Old Centre Hotel are all very friendly and helpful, but it takes a while to get used to their English pronunciation of certain words though. J
Before we went to Little Hanoi restaurant, we made our way to Kangaroo Café first, which is actually a local tour operator cum café. I had made prior reservations for a trip to Halong Bay, so we had to go to the office to confirm the trip and make payment, as we were heading out to Halong Bay the following day. Compared to Sri Lanka, India and Nepal, I did not do as much extensive research on Vietnam, so I just picked Kangaroo Café based on the recommendation from Lonely Planet. Actually, there are TONS of tour operators around Hanoi, and it is better to take your time to compare them on the ground before deciding on one. In any case, I had already made an online reservation with Kangaroo Café, so we went ahead with it.
The Kangaroo Café office is located at 22 Bao Khanh, a short walk away from our hotel. We went for a 3-day, 2-night trip to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island and it cost US$155/person. All transport, accommodation, meals and guide are included. Apparently, Kangaroo Café prides itself on conducting tours for small groups of up to 14 persons, so the ship doesn’t get overcrowded and you get to enjoy a more pleasant experience. I believe you can get a similar package from other tour operators, and at a cheaper price too, so my advice is to scout around after you’ve arrived in Hanoi before deciding on one. But as always, safety first, so make sure the ship is not too run down, and that it is not overcapacity.
Official business done, we finally headed over to Little Hanoi restaurant for lunch, also a short ten-minute walk away. I looked through my files and I can’t find any records of the address, and an online search turned out a few different restaurants called “Little Hanoi”, but I believe the one we patronised was the one at 14 Ta Hien, not the one at 23 Hang Gai Street.
It’s a small outlet located within a small alley. The décor inside is quite nice, with warm lighting, wooden furniture, antiques displayed around and many birdcages hanging from the ceiling. We ordered chicken, beef, pork, vegetables and a soup. It was very tasty, just a tad too salty, but overall it was quite good. I can’t remember how much it cost because dad paid for it (that’s the good thing about having your parents around, they pay for almost everything, haha!).
After lunch, we walked to Hoan Kiem Lake and took a relaxing stroll. We then headed to one of the coffee houses overlooking the lake for some Vietnamese coffee. There was no agenda so it was really just time to relax, take in the sights and to fill mum and dad in on my adventures thus far.
We then went back to hotel for a short rest, before going out for dinner. We fancied some beef pho, so once again we asked our friendly receptionist. She recommended Pho 10, located at 10 Ly Quoc Su Street, about ten minutes walk away. Our hotel is in a really good location; almost everything good is ten minutes away!
The restaurant was quite crowded with locals, but we managed to get a seat. We ordered three big bowls of beef pho, and they were really good. And the best part is that they cost only 110,000 dong in total, around S$7. Cheap and good!
Before we retired for the night, we took another stroll around the Old Quarter. It was amazing that even at night, there were still so many motorbikes around. In fact, there seemed to be more than during the day. I guess the Old Quarter is still where all the locals hang out, adding to its authenticity.
So it’s the end of Day 19, and Day 1 in Hanoi. Next up, Halong Bay!