Thursday 10th – Monday 14th October 2024.

My flight to Hanoi was pretty straightforward & uneventful. I did my usual thing of arriving very early, this wouldn’t be an issue accept that the airport is very small and pretty basics so not really anywhere to go and sit while a wait for check in to open! 

After check in a find a little cafe and chill, with a coffee. The flight only takes an hour, and I know I’ve tried to avoid flights where possible but the thought of doing a 12 – who knows! Long bus journey was too much! 😳

I’ve arranged with the hotel to pick me up, it’s around the same price as a cab or Grab and it’s just lots simpler. 

I arrive at my hotel around 5pm. I’m greeted by the amazing William, who is just so attentive, helpful and kind. He explains all the attractions to me, goes through the map, then he also gives me a link to a website he is designing for tourists in Hanoi. I have to say it is fabulous! Not quite finished but so good..  www.hanoimystery.com 

I book a city tour for Saturday, check out my room, large, comfy but no windows, TBF in this instance I don’t mind at all. I am staying right in the heart of the Old Quarter and it’s so built up, my room is at the back and probably overlooks other peoples homes. 

I venture out, being mindful of the traffic. I’ve had lots of warnings about how mad it is! I think it’s busy but no worse than HCM or Phnom Penh. The key is to just slowly walk out into the traffic and the mopeds and cars go around you, you can’t go fast as that’s when they’ll hit you. So far I’m handling it like a local! 😂🤞🤞 

It’s so busy and vibrant! I love it. I have a walk around by the hotel, then find a nice rooftop Bar to have a drink, it’s a lovely bar, Cloud Sky Bar, but it’s a little expensive but then it is on top of a posh hotel! 

I have a couple of Margarita’s and then order some veg fried rice. Lovely William had recommended a place to eat but it’s a bit of a trek, perhaps tomorrow.

On the walk back to the hotel I stop at a sidewalk bar/cafe, there are loads. I sit next to a nice couple from Bristol and we have a great chat and sip our beer watching the world speed past! All these little pavement places have very low stools and tables, I’m pleased to say that I managed to both sit down and more impressively get back up without incident! 😳😂😂

Thankfully the weather in Hanoi is warm and sunny, it is Autum and a busy time here in part because the weather is milder than during the summer when it gets up into the 40s! 🥵

I’m going to go for a wander and make my way to the large lake nearby, Hoàn Kiém Lake. 

Just as I arrive in the lobby a procession is going past, lots of drumming, costumes, flowers and celebrations! It’s fabulous. It’s a celebration for the local temple which is just around the corner. The people in the procession look a little serious until I notice that the locals are waving and smiling at them, I try this and am rewarded with lots of enthusiastic waving and huge smiles! 😍💛❤️ It is a wonderful start to my day. ❤️

William has given me a map, which I’m trying to follow, but it isn’t very detailed and the scale is way off, so everything looks like it’s far away. I give up and just go with my instincts and magically make it to the Lake.

There is a beautiful Temple on the lake, Ngoc Son Temple which I wanted to see. 

The lake is a very popular place for Hanoians and especially for ladies wearing their ‘Ao Dai’ the modernised Vietnamese National Dress and taking part in the custom of dressing up and taking pictures at important, historic or beautiful places. The whole area around the lake is a sea of colour and beauty. The Ao Dais are stunning, and everyone looks gorgeous, it’s quite a spectacle. 

I’ve seen this in other places in Vietnam, but this is on a different level! 😍 Several ladies drag me into their photos, which is fun, I’m also surrounded by a bevy of beauties whilst sitting in a bench! I think they liked my colourful glasses and my mad hair!!  It was so much fun. 🤩 

I then went in to the Temple, which was beautiful. Inside there was an older Vietnamese man doing calligraphy on scrolls. I stood and watched for a while, it’s amazing. Eventually I decide that I’m going to have one done. I chose my words and the scroll and watch as he writes it. It’s really gorgeous. I chose the Words Brave & Strong. 🩵

I end up spending quite a bit of time by the lake. Then I see they have hop on hop off buses and as it’s now quite hot, I decide to do this. I want to go to one particular place, The Women’s Museum, which the bus stops at. The lady at the kiosk says it’s too far to walk.

I get on the bus and opt not to sit upstairs in the bright sunshine. Then a woman sits next to me and proceeds to have a full on argument with someone on her phone which is on speaker 🔈! FFS 🤦‍♀️. It’s so loud! Even the staff on the bus look shocked and smile at me sympathetically! Eventually, after about 10 mins she shuts up, I wouldn’t mind but I can’t understand what the arguments about, so I can’t even be nosy! 😂

The rest of the bus ride is good, a great commentary. 

A lot of the places we go past I’m going back to tomorrow on my tour. 

The museum is fascinating. So inspiring to have a museum celebrating Women and their contribution to the country, its culture and its freedom. I’m really glad I visited. 

Once I’m here I realise that it’s actually not that far to walk from the lake, so I walk back. 

Down by the lake and in fact all over Hanoi there are Vietnamese flags everywhere. This is because on the 10th October, the day I arrived, they celebrated 70 years of the liberation of Hanoi from the French. 

You can really feel the sense of celebration in the city, lots of the women’s Ao Dais are red, the flags, the flowers. They are rightfully proud of their independence. 🇻🇳 

On the way back I have another place I want to visit, Giang Cafè. This is where in 1946 they first made Egg Coffee, due to the shortage of milk someone had the idea to use egg yolk, whisked to form a creamy accompaniment to the coffee. 

Tracey had tried it and said it was yummy. I have held out until I got to Hanoi. 

I eventually find the Café, which is small and not that easy to spot. It is packed, I find a small stool and order my Egg Coffee with Rum! (I feel I’ve earned it!) I’m really a not sure what to expect. 

It arrives and it looks delicious, smells delicious, and wow, it tastes delicious as well! Kind of like butterscotch, honeycomb, caramel, sweet and fluffy. It is honestly so good!! 😋😋😋 I will be having this again! 

By the time I get back to the hotel it’s only 2.30pm, but I’m going to have a rest and cool off. Before going back out later. 

I seem to have done something to a muscle or tendon on my hip/glute area on the left side, after walking for a while it starts Twinging, and feels like my leg is going to give out! Not ideal. 🙁 After a rest it’s usually ok.

After a nice rest and a shower I head back out. There is another Rooftop bar I’d like to visit, mainly because they offer such great views! 

This one, Midnight Sky Bar proves to be a little elusive, I eventually spot the small sign with the help of a backpacker from the hostel across the road! 😂

The bar is sweet, but completely empty, the guy comes up in the lift with me to open up and make the drinks. 

I don’t mind it being empty, I have a great catch up with Rebecca whilst watching the sun go down, sipping a Long Island Iced Tea! ❤️

I wander back towards the hotel and find a place next door to eat. It does a nice vegetarian menu, it’s also right next door to the hotel, which my legs are grateful for! I’ve done over 20,000 steps today. 

My city tour starts OK, the bus arrives pretty much when they said 8.10, I’m ready and waiting in the lobby. 

However I then spend another 65 mins sat on the bus while it picks other people up, I don’t mind the pick ups what I do have a huge problem with is people not being ready! The pick ups should have taken around 15 mins the rest of the time we are just waiting for people to appear! So bloody annoying! Then they get on the bus brazen as you like! 

There are a couple of guys who are very arrogant and entitled. One of them is the designated leader of his little posse, they are only doing a half day tour and he wants the bus to drop them all of at his chosen Restaurant for lunch, even though this is completely out of the way! Luckily the guide says no. They are late returning to the bus after each activity and he pushes in front of me in line twice! What an absolute knobhead! 

There are new people joining the tour in the afternoon, which means another hour wasted waiting for people to turn up! 😠 Altogether nearly 2 hours of the day are wasted just waiting. For someone who is always on time, if not early this is really fucking annoying! 

Anyway, rant over! 😠😂 

The Tour. We start with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. What I hadn’t realised when booking the tour is that the Mausoleum is only open for viewing inside on Saturday & Sunday, luckily for me I booked a Saturday! 

The queues to get in are mad! As is the level of security. Almost stricter than airport security! There are lots of military personnel about, some armed and also lots of police. 

There is no photography allowed near or inside the tomb. The whole viewing was very intense. 

Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho is a most beloved and revered person in Vietnam especially in the north. 

He died in 1969 aged 79. Russia sent specialists to Vietnam to show them how to preserve his body and build the Mausoleum. 

I’m glad I got to experience the Mausoleum even though it’s a weird feeling seeing a preserved body.

After the Mausoleum our next stop was the Museum of Ethnology, which was very interesting looking at the 54 officially recognised ethnic groups within Vietnam. 

Once all the people bothered to return to the bus we headed to a place showing you how Lacquer work is made and giving you the opportunity to purchase some work. 

Then the painful process of picking up and dropping people off before we could go for a much needed lunch. 

I think I really needed my lunch as I was feeling a little cranky! 😂

After lunch we visited the Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, the largest lake in Hanoi. 

Next stop was The Temple of literature, Văn Miêu. 

This was the first university in Vietnam. It was founded in 1070 under the Ly Thanh Tong’s dynasty to honour Confucius. 

It’s a beautiful temple with lovely grounds and students still come here to pray for luck in their exams and their studies. 

I really enjoyed this part of the trip, the area felt calm and peaceful. 

Our last stop was Hoa Lo Prison or as it was called by the US POWs, The Hanoi Hilton. 

This prison complex was built by the French in 1896 and housed Vietnamese political prisoners until the mid 1950s they used a guillotine to behead prisoners and placed the heads outside to instil fear and intimidation. 

American POWs were also held here during the Vietnam war, including Senator John McCain who was shot down over Hanoi. 

Another interesting place to visit, albeit a little gruesome.

All in all a good day seeing some key sites in and around Hanoi. 

I then get dropped off first! Hallelujah! 🙌 although it’s been a fair amount of sitting on the bus I’ve still managed 15,000 steps! 

I’m hungry, thirsty and a little tired. I spotted a great little local place up the road doing Pho! So I go there for my dinner, it’s a little early and I’m the only person there, but  hey Ho! My Pho is bloody delicious 🤤 pho Pho is essentially a variation of chicken noddle soup. If you don’t like coriander, then it’s not for you! 

Home, via the little ice cream place next door. Where an ice cream cone is 10,000 dong, about 60p! Sadly I only have 9,000 or a 100,000 note, so he lets me off the 1,000! 😍😍 

My last full day in Hanoi! It’s seems to have gone by quite quickly. 

I’m going to try and not go mad with the walking as my glute is still not right. 

I start with a nice slow breakfast, aided by the ever present and helpful William. 

It’s another sunny day so I’m going to take a slow walk down towards the Lake and visit St Joseph’s Cathedral, it’s in an area that looks busy and bustling. 

It is very busy! Loads of local people about on foot and on the ever present mopeds! 

The road around the lake is closed too traffic on weekends making it a pleasant place to stroll around. Lots of families having a day out, eating ice creams and dressed in their best clothes! 

I make sure today that I’m taking breaks, I have one by the lake over a refreshing Peach Iced Tea, then another wander and another stop for a beer! More wandering and a stop for a coffee! 

I grab a Banh Mai for lunch which I have back at the hotel and have a good chat to Tracey. ❤️

I go out pretty early evening to grab a beer and sit and watch Hanoi go by. I end up getting chatting to a very funny & entertaining English guy called Simon. He lives in Kuala Lumpur with his very beautiful wife, who is off getting a foot massage. He was great fun to chat with and we had a proper laugh! I then had my last meal, vegetable fried rice, obviously! 

A lovely last evening in Vietnam. 

I’ve absolutely loved my time here in Vietnam, it’s been so interesting and diverse and Hanoi has been a highlight! 

So I’ve traveled across 4 countries and now I need a little bit of R & R! 

Heading back to Australia today, fingers crossed the flights all time out ok, my first leg has already been delayed for an hour, but that’s good as it cuts my waiting time in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Have a great week everyone.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend Jenna. Have the best day. 🎉❤️🎉❤️

Books read.

Grave Talk by Nick Spalding. I enjoyed this, a bit of easy reading. 

The House of Mirrors. Erin Kelly. I started it, but was struggling to be interested. So gave it up! Might try again at some point.