Hanoi Hustle & Vietnamese Culture

20 October

“The atmosphere of this city is hectic and fast-paced, I love and hate it at the same time. The train street is shut off to the public due to an accident involving a tourist a few months ago, we met a guy from the Netherlands on the same quest of catching a glimpse of this iconic street, he took us under his wing and in we popped through a market stall, the backend of someone’s kitchen and a flight of stairs, to find it right in front of our eyes. The street is monitored by the police which meant that we had to stay hidden, and enjoy this experience with our own eyes. Locals were frightened that their businesses would be fined or shut down if we were caught. Over a drink, we took in this the surroundings of this unique street.

We spent the evening in Skyline Rooftop bar, buy two get one free. We bought one each and shared the third, we were on a budget after all. Being above the chaos of the city after being in the midst of it all day was extremely calming, I’ll never get bored of appreciating a city from above. The glow from the sunset, wow.”

---

Going from Gili T to Hanoi was a slap in the face. Though a good slap if that makes sense. Thrown into the hustle of city life, culture, traffic, so much traffic; a constant sound of honking and beeping dominated the sound of this crazy city. It was a huge transition but one I was ready to embrace. And excited for.

Vietnam offered the greatest cultural shock throughout the entire trip. From the food to the social etiquette and language barrier (a huge appreciation for translation technology), the power of a smile became evident, if all communication fails, simply smile. It was crazy but refreshing. I liked that we had to improvise with communication, understanding menus, etiquette, and everything required to navigate our time in the country.

We stayed in Bia Hostel & Rooftop Bar, just off Beer Street, unknown to us this is a famous street (There was a film crew in production on the main corner of the street while we were there) and right in the heart of Hanoi and the nightlife hustle - fantastic. We got to know one of the girls that worked there, Vie. She introduced us to a place that sold fresh Vietnamese beer by the jug for 70,000 Vietnamese Dong per jug (approximately 8 glasses) which is £2.42. And this gal (me), not particularly a fan of beer even approved. This became our go to for the rest of our time in Hanoi. We also went to a local restaurant (we were the only tourists there) ordering a local dish which was a platter to roll your own spring roll type dish, insane. One of the best dishes I had, as our experience of food thus far didn’t particularly impress me, most of the time it we pointed at the menu and hoped for the best certainly making way for an 'interesting' meal.

One night in particular comes to mind where I was served raw ingredients and had to cook my own meal, not at all what I was expecting but I rolled with it and got there in the end, the meat was actually flavoursome.

Our first day was spent walking the length of the entire city, exploring every corner, appreciating the hectic lifestyle in every way from the city's architecture to simply crossing a road.

Top tip: Look straight ahead and hope for the best. Regardless of what is happening on the road just keep walking. Really.

We finished off with a beer on one of the streets surrounding the Beer Street, on tiny chairs. Well, they were actually quite a good size for me, but it was hilarious seeing people sitting on these, a similar size to the chairs you get in nurseries/early primary years. It’s a thing there, normal décor. Another interesting quirk. Brilliant.

One of the things I noticed was the number of people, walking around the city getting photos with flowers, as in they would purchase a bunch of flowers and take pictures on random street corners, not particularly beside an attraction or nice background. Hm, this must be one of the 'done things' by locals and Asian tourists.

Our first day sightseeing:

Hanoi is full of alleyways and hidden spaces with cafés, stores and businesses. You could explore the city endlessly. We discovered a café down an alleyway, great coffee and a really interesting space. For the record, Vietnamese coffee is amazing. I don’t like coffee, or really any warm drinks for that matter but hot or cold, this coffee is one of the best things I have ever tasted.

Ha Long Bay, one of the Seven Wonders of the World of Nature. I didn’t really understand what I had actually signed up to see until I got there, I thought it was a couple of islands in the sea but there were thousands. We had booked a 2 day/1 night cruise. Rewind.

Picked up at 8am, a bus was taking us to the harbour to board the boat, three quarters of the way there it stopped at Oyster Bay. I had earphones in, nodding off every now and again so wasn’t really paying attention. I swore that I wouldn’t repeat the events of what happened, but looking back it gives me a lol so here goes, straight from the journal…

“I’m never doing this story justice, a had to be there moment. Wake up, bus has stopped. We’re both confused to as why. Get off without luggage, or actually, without anything at all, not even my passport. As we walk away the bus pulls out into the motorway and drives off. I started shouting and chasing after it until I was at the edge of the motorway and couldn’t go any further. I’m staring at the back of the bus as it speeds off. Hands on head. Heart beating through my chest. Sound is muffled, vision blurred, can’t catch a breath. Shannon is gone. Wading my way through the crowds where a woman directs me towards Shannon, she definitely saw the whole thing unravel.

The bus was parking. Only parking."

Continuing on, Ha Long Bay, thousands of islands, yes.

“Ha Long Bay itself was amazing, the landscape is a lot bigger than I originally understood. Thousands of hilly islands situated in a huge area of water – there’s no doubt it deserves to be a wonder of the world.

The tour itself? Na. Everything that frustrates me about tourism. Tick boxy. Photos. Everyone doing the same thing. I had imagined appreciating the landscape from the boat, isolated (the landscape is huge) with optional activities but I felt like I was on a school trip with a strict itinerary. Meh."

We met great people during the cruise and really enjoyed their company. Shannon and I made the mistake of answering yes to 'Do you eat everything?' when the answer should have been, everything except fish. Meal after meal we were served fish, a whole fish laid on the table in front of us, wading through it with my knife and fork. Oysters too, and thick, see through, phlegm textured 'soups'. Yeah, the food wasn't great. But, the landscape made up for it.

---

Back to the city where we met up with a few people that we had come across on the Ha Giang Loop, a great night in Old Man's, one of the strangest vibes I have experienced in one place. A strange, strange vibe but made for a fun night all the same.

I have jumped from experiences to thoughts and opinions to covering various aspects, this itself evokes the hectic-ness of Hanoi, so much goes on. Reflecting upon my time there, every time I thought this blog was finished, another memory or cultural quirk would spring to mind, of course it just had to be added. That’s Vietnam for you, full of tricks. A charming place. I have only scratched the surface of my time there.

Next up; the main event of Vietnam and one of the highlights from the overall trip, 2 nights/3 days motorbike tour of the Ha Giang Loop. An absolute must if you plan to go to Vietnam. 10/10. We actually did this tour within our first few days of Vietnam but it deserves a blog post all to itself.

---