I used to feel strange hearing and reading about people in other parts of the world welcoming summertime around June every year, considering that is when the rainy season begins in my country. But the climate is messed up right now, so the heat (ignoring the fact that the downpours are becoming more frequent during the daytime) kinda makes me feel like it’s still summer out here. Certainly, it is as hot as the time we were out an about, exploring Hanoi, Vietnam.
I bet that, like me, most of you do not have Hanoi, Vietnam in your radar for places to go. I’m glad to have been able to experience firsthand why it’s such a fascinating and interesting city to explore. Here is my attempt to tell you why, with some pictures thrown in.
1. Hanoi is an ideal jump-off point to almost everywhere else in Vietnam.
You can come to Hanoi without a plan or an itinerary, and yet you will have a relatively easier time coming up with one. Or you can just seek the aid of the numerous travel and booking offices scattered around The Old Quarter. You just have to walk around and, in every corner, you’d find these booking offices, which also often operate as foreign currency exchange agents. Sinh Cafe Travel is definitely one of the many offices we’ve seen while walking around The Old Quarter.
Just step into any of the offices of these tour operators and you can get started on your Vietnam exploration trip, whether it is for a Hanoi City Tour or visiting other places outside Hanoi, such as Halong Bay (we already booked prior hand with Vega Travel, so…), Sapa, Danang, and Ho An. It was during a visit to this office that I realized how many adventures can be had in Vietnam, other than in its two famous cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.
2. You can explore Hanoi’s key points ON FOOT.
Usually, the worry on most tourists’ minds when visiting a new place is on how to actually get to one place, so what follows is usually a lengthy process of looking up transportation options, transport timetables and schedules (and matching them with your pre-planned itinerary), and maybe even the budget you have set aside for your transport.
That’s one of the least of your worries in Hanoi, since it is relatively small that you can actually reach most of the key places on foot! The helpful receptionist at our hotel very helpfully (and with some good-natured eyerolling) showed us, with a map, how this can be done.
We didn’t have plans to particularly check out the Flag Tower of Hanoi, but we were still able to see it as we were walking around, and also from the gate at the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.
We did cheat for a bit and tried out the rides offered by those shuttles that resembled golf carts, but longer (I forgot what it’s called, sorry). It was during this ride that I got up close and personal at the “transportation of choice” in the streets of Hanoi.
Personally, I think going on that bus ride (which is not free, by the way) was fun, but not necessary. All you get are passing glimpses of the various key places around the Old Quarter, but not really get to explore them. The driver will just point them out and, if he’s not good at English, all you’ll get is some hand gestures and pointing here and there. No explanations.
So if you ask me, I’d skip the ride and go walking instead.
Oh, here’s another option, especially if you want to have a quicker tour around the Lake. These rickshaws offer rides, for a fee.
3. The hustle and bustle is aplenty in the streets of Hanoi, and it goes on day and night…
Just because the influences of the past are strong in Hanoi does not mean that it strictly gives you that “old” and ho-hum vibe. The hustle and bustle that you’d usually see in cities is also present here, even in The Old Quarter. And it seems to be a 24/7 thing, not just during the day, but even late to the night.
Back up. This is one thing that I find, in equal measures, impressive and a bit terrifying at the same time.
On one hand, I am impressed at how everyone seems to know how to ride a bike (motorbike or motorcycle, depending on how it is called where you are. In mine, it’s just “motor”. XDDD) and I can see how it’s small size makes it a more efficient option, especially in the narrower streets and alleyways of the Old Quarter. Male, female, teens and even children ride on them. Even moms in heels pick up their kids on these bikes!
But here’s the thing, these are also being used in the major roads and highways, alongside huge buses and monster trucks. And they don’t just use these small vehicles to transport passengers, but even larger loads and cargoes!
Conscientious drivers are probably going to have a fit if they come here for the first time, because there is traffic flow and counterflow everywhere. It’s scary to just cross the street, and I’m normally gung-ho at that. But here, you just don’t know where they’ll hit you from.
One time, we were walking on a sidewalk when there was a honking behind us. Yep, this lady just rode her bike on the sidewalk, which was meant for people, and just honked at us. The funny thing is that it seemed the humans walking on the sideWALK were the ones on the wrong lane. Duh.
And it’s not like there are no men in uniform about, because we saw some of them.
4. Despite that, it’s still pretty laid-back.
The quietest time I’ve seen the Old Quarter is probably the early morning, when the establishments are still closed or business is just about to start.
If you’re like me, and sometimes find yourself overwhelmed by a city’s urban vibe, then you’d still appreciate how, despite the hustle and bustle, there are still a lot of spots where you can get some relaxing and relatively quiet time.
Perfect example: taking a walk or just hanging out around the Hoan Kiem Lake. Aside from that, you can visit any of their parks, like this one we passed by while we were walking from the Saint Joseph’s Cathedral and looking for the Hoa Lo Prison.
Or, outside The Old Quarter, while we were on the way to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, we spotted this park from across the street, mainly because of this statue of Russian communist leader and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.
This botanical park is named the Thong Nhat Park, but it is more popularly known as the Lenin Park, established by the Vietnamese government to commemorate the man’s 110th birthday.
Beware, though, some parks can be quite crowded, especially the ones near the Hoan Kiem Lake. This was a weekday but there were so many things happening on this park across the street, but it doesn’t seem like this family of three minded getting into the fray.
5. Feast your eyes away; it’s free.
Just walking around will give you a lot of things to look at, and you don’t even have to pay for them! Architecture-junkie? Check. Window-shopping? Double-check!
The Hanoi Opera House was closed to visitors when we got there, but that’s all right, because looking at its facade was more than enough.
By the way, the Hanoi Opera House is adjacent to the Hanoi Hilton, and right across the Stock Exchange building, which still looked charmingly quaint, in my opinion. Even the Hilton’s design seemed to be in keeping with the overall look set by the Opera House.
If luxurious shopping is your thing, here’s a high-end mall you can check out. Did we go there? Not really on top of our list of priorities, so we didn’t. It looked so charming from the outside, though.
6. It’s caffeine-heaven.
Not a particular draw for me, but I know more than a handful of people who would probably jump at the chance to go somewhere that they can readily get a fix of excellent coffee.
I say “excellent” not from personal judgment, but from the general consensus that Vietnamese coffee is very good. Hey, they’re not the 2nd largest coffee producer in the world for nothing! (This tidbit was shared by our guide in Ho Chi Minh, whom we met later on during this Vietnam trip.)
And if you needed any indication of how the coffee culture is strong in this place, you just have to notice the number of coffee places in the area, yes, even outside The Old Quarter.
I guess this is one of the things we failed to do while we were there. Except for one coffee place, we didn’t get to visit a coffee shop in there. (We had a takeout in one, but we weren’t too happy with how the “commercially” prepared coffee tasted like.) These places seemed interesting enough, even from the outside.
This third-level coffee shop is right beside the building where the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater shows are.
Oh, and this Note Coffee has lots of post-it notes inside. I remember going to a tea place at Camp John Hay earlier this year with the same concept and having my time occupied by reading all the notes written stuck on the wall.
If you wanted to get some coffee grounds, then you will find no shortage of coffee stores here, selling all kinds of coffee at prices relatively cheaper than the ones sold at home. I’m not a manic coffee drinker (I can go for two to three months without coffee and I’m still peachy~) but man, the aroma of coffee beans when you pass by one of these stores is sooooooooo salivating!
7. Oh, and you won’t go hungry!
Whether you’re in for fine dining or you like street foods, or your preferences are somewhere in between, you’d have no trouble finding a place to get some grub! I am devoting another future post on our foodventures in Hanoi so watch out for that!
Going around is fun and definitely a feast for the senses, whether you want it with that busy city vibe or a more relaxed stroll outside the Old Quarter. A friendly reminder, though: wear comfy footwear. It’s so easy to get carried away by the sights and sounds you’d forget about the state of your feet. So choose footwear that your feet would thank later in the day.
As we bade Hanoi goodbye the next day, there is no doubt that she gave us a lot of good memories, and the fact that she shared it to the three of us, who haven’t spent time together in years, made it even more special.
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