hanoi – Hereandthereclaire.com

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.

Sunday 6th – Thursday 10th October 2024

After some confusion about which hotel I was staying at, my bus eventually picked me up at 10am. Again, a really spacious and comfortable ride, the driver pointed out we even had massage chairs!! 😂 I didn’t get this ride all to myself, in fact it was full of a mixture of tourists and locals, some of whom I think had a deal with the driver independently as he picked them up and dropped then off at random places. The journey took around 3.5 hours and was overall pretty good.

Hue, seems nice, wide streets, nice old buildings, not mad busy.

My hotel is pretty central, and nice, quite big and seems to have a fair number of Australian tour guests. Once I’m checked in and booked a couple of tours with the hotel I head out to explore. Taking my trusty knackered umbrella as it’s drizzling!

I walk down towards the river, The Perfume River, apparently it used to smell very lovely, sadly not anymore. There are some nice gardens alongside the river and I spot an art gallery, which I’ll go back to.

I end up down in the centre where all the bars and restaurants are. Tracey had told me to check out a bar called “The DMZ” which I came across almost straight away. It looked busy and lively, so I thought I’d pop in for a beer.

It was ‘very’ lively, full of Aussies all here to watch the National Final of the Australian Rugby League, NRL. I arrived just as the match started. 😂🏈🏈

I settled in to watch! It was a good game, with the Penrith Panthers beating the Melbourne Storm. The Panthers were wearing pink kits which I liked! 🩷 I ended up staying for a couple of beers, then a couple of margaritas, having a dance to ‘Country Roads’ with a very happy Penrith supporter! 😂 all in all an unexpectedly fun afternoon/evening😍

I have booked a half day tour to visit the Imperial Palace, the Pagoda and a short boat trip. The trip was a full day but the afternoon activities didn’t appeal, so I opted to finish just before they do lunch.

The weather is less than ideal! Absolutely torrential rain, I feel my little brolly isn’t up to the task, so borrow a larger more sturdy one from the hotel.

Our first stop is the Thien Mu Pagoda. This Pagoda was built in 1601 and it is beautiful, as are the gardens surrounding it. Lots of amazing Bonsai. Unfortunately on the short walk from the Minibus to the Pagoda I get completely soaked! Huge puddles everywhere, soak my shoes, the rain soaks the bottom of my trousers, trying to protect my bag, which has my phone (my camera) in means that my back gets soaked. I am literally soaked through! Luckily it is warm rain, but it is a little uncomfortable 😳

But, it is what it is, nothing I can do about it, my clothes will dry, eventually!

After the Pagoda it’s a boat journey down the Perfume River. I will admit to being a little nervous about getting on & off the boat, my track record on this isn’t great, especially in the rain. But, I bossed it! 😎

The journey was pretty uneventful. The river isn’t used for trade, or even fishing, so there’s not a lot going on.

From the river we make our way to the Imperial Palace and Citadel.

Hue used to be the Imperial Capital of Vietnam. The Citadel contains the palaces that housed the imperial family as well as offices of state, gardens and buildings used for other important functions.

After the end of the monarchy in 1945 the buildings suffered heavy damage and neglect during the Indochina wars from between 1945 – 1980. The grounds are undergoing restoration, the Kings Palace has been fully restored.

It was a very Imposing site and I absolutely loved the grounds, especially the beautiful gardens. As impressive as the restored Palace was, it wasn’t my favourite bit, a little too shiny.

I had started to dry out a little, which was nice! It was still raining but not heavily. After the Imperial Palace the next stop was the large central market. To be honest this was a bit of a waste of time, I’ve been to so many markets that this held nothing new. I left the tour at this point and had a nice stroll back across the river, during a dry spell. I stopped for a coffee and just as I sat down inside the heavens opened again!

When the rain is heavy here, it’s next level heavy!!

I simply sat, enjoying my coffee and reading my book! 📕💦🌧️💧

By late afternoon the rain has finally stopped so I head out into town for some early dinner. The area with all the bars and restaurants is an easy walk from the hotel and I’m sure it gets busy later, when I’m tucked up in bed! I’m back in my room by 6.30pm! I have a lovely catch up with Nikki and finish my book, which I’m loving. I have a big tour the next day so try and get an early night, but it just isn’t happening! I’m still awake thinking/over thinking 🤨 at 1.30am! I must eventually go off as I’m in a lovely deep sleep when my alarm goes off at 6am!! 😫

Today’s tour is to the DMZ or Demilitarised Zone. This is the area that divided Vietnam into North & South and also the area that saw some of the worst fighting during the Vietnam War.

There is a lovely couple from my hotel going on the trip as well, Jody & Dilesh who are from the Netherlands. There are also a few more Dutch people on the trip, as well as an Aussie guy, a Kiwi and his Vietnamese friend. It’s a really nice group. Our guide is called Hoa (pronounced qua) She is absolutely fantastic, so incredibly knowledgeable about everything. It’s quite a long drive to and between sites, but Hoa uses this time to explain the history behind the Indochina Wars, all 3. She also explains everything from a neutral perspective, but this is somewhat different to the perspective we usually get which is definitely biased towards the West, USA and non communist sensitivities.

She also plays some interesting songs that are about Vietnam or anti war songs. Universal Solider, Born in the USA, Have you ever seen the Rain, Ken Sanh Song. This all adds to the mood.

Our first stop is Quang Tri Citadel. This is the site of the a battle called Lam Som 72 the goal was for the Americans to capture or retake the Citadel, an area of only 2,000 square meters fighting went on for 81 days and the USA dropped 328,000 tons of bombs on the area. The site is now a memorial to the thousands of Vietnamese soldiers that died defending the site and whose remains were destroyed with the buildings.

From here we drive alongside the Cam Lo river on Road 9, an important route that goes to Loas. This is also where large parts of the Hoh Chi Minh Trail are.

Our next stop is at Khe Sanh Combat Base. This was a US Marine Corps outpost. It was built in 1962 and used until 1975. It’s not far from the border between Vietnam & Laos.

Khe Sanh and whole area around here saw some of the most brutal combat of the War claiming lots of casualties on both sides. They still have old helicopters, Hueys, Chinooks and cargo planes & tanks at the base.

It’s interesting to hear about the Vietnamese soldiers, the Viet Cong, NFL or LA from a different perspective. America poured huge amounts of $ into the war and used massive amounts of bombs and arms. The Vietnamese had less money so they fought back in a much more low tech way, making use of the terrain, collecting and repairing abandoned US equipment. When you see the area on a rainy day with the rivers flowing fast and thick mud everywhere I can’t begin to imagine how it felt for a young American boy to arrive and be expected to fight an unknown enemy in a completely alien environment for some vague political reasons!

The more I see, hear & understand about the Vietnam War the more tragic and hideous it becomes for all of those involved.

The weather on the trip was very changeable! We were so lucky that every time we arrived at a destination, the weather cleared!

When we arrived at Khe Sanh you could barely see anything, there was mist and cloud covering the whole site, this miraculously cleared and you got to see the mountains surrounding the site.

From Khe Sanh we travelled up into the DMZ and the bridge that crosses the Ben Hai River. Half of which was in North Vietnam, painted blue and half in South Vietnam, painted yellow.

The flag pole on the north side still remains but the one on the south side has been taken down! The flag is huge! During the conflict the flag poles were used to make a point, getting higher and higher, until the one of the North side reached 38 metres.

It’s an interesting place to visit, It just didn’t feel very well looked after.

From here it was a short drive to the Vinh Moc Tunnels.

These tunnels were made by the villagers, to protect them from the ariel bombing. There are 100s of these tunnels all over the region.

They are on 3 levels, 8 – 10 meters, then 12 – 15 meters the third level is 20 – 23 meters. Inside the tunnels they had a meeting rooms, a surgery room, a nursery, kitchens and toilets.

In total 17 babies were born in the tunnels, 15 of whom are still alive today. The tunnels were used between 1966 – 1971 the villagers would go into the tunnels during bombing, in total 9,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the Vinh Moc tunnel area.

The height and width have been expanded since then to accommodate us larger tourists! But it’s still pretty poky and very hot 🥵 I can’t imagine being down there for days on end, but people were, it’s what saved their lives.

The excavated earth was transported during the night to be dumped into the sea, or placed into bomb craters to hide any evidence of the tunnels construction.

It was fascinating to visit, I can’t say I enjoyed being in the tunnels, but glad that I did it. The photos from inside aren’t great, as I was holding an umbrella, using my phone as a light and trying not to slip or hit my head!

The whole day was incredibly interesting and I learnt a lot.

It was also lovely chatting to and getting to know Jody & Delish. Jody is a little claustrophobic and she managed to do the whole tunnel tour! Kudos to her. 👍❤️

By the time I got back I was thirsty and hungry. I decided to just go to the hotel restaurant, but when I got there they had a big party of people and not many staff, so I figured I might be better off heading out, which I did, much to the dismay of my aching feet! 😃

I had a celebration cocktail to mark the 1 year anniversary of my meeting with a Rosemary Bush! 😂 which involved a child’s party, Prosecco, Jack Daniels (or possibly not!) and a strategically placed Rosemary bush! 🤪💚😂 I blame Stephanie!! 😂

I spent my last full day in Hue just mooching about. I had a nice leisurely breakfast (not the best I’ve had) and started writing my blog, which always takes longer than I think!

It was raining, surprise, surprise ! 😳 I waited until it stopped then made my way across the bridge to the Central Market. I knew that upstairs they had lots of ladies making clothes and I needed my favourite trousers repaired. They have elasticated bottoms and the it had gone in one leg, plus one of the seams was coming loose.

It made a change to be walking in the sunshine, even if it was only for 10 mins!

On the way I popped back into the Gallery that I’d seen on my first day.

Once I got to the market I made my way to the second floor and spoke to one of the ladies, I explained what I needed, after convincing her I didn’t need a new dress, a new jacket or any trousers, even if she did have then in a ‘Big Size’! 😂 she took my hand and led me through the many many stalls and pointed down the stairs and told me to go down then out!

I did as she said, asked another older lady, who also took me by the hand and led me outside the building, along the path then through an old doorway and up some dark and dodgy stairs into a room full of people sewing!

Another lady came over, I again explained and showed her what I needed, for some reason she seemed thrilled about this! She gave my trousers to a nice gentleman who wasn’t sewing anything and told me it would be 50,000 dong (approx £2) she then hugged me, twirled me round hugged me again, grabbed my hand and led me back down the stairs! 😂😂 it was all very odd but very funny!!

I so wanted to get a photo of the room with all the sewers in but I felt it would be rude. I returned in an hour to collect my perfectly repaired trousers, I paid him 100,000 and everyone then all started saying bye and waving at me! 😍❤️❤️

After this I walked back across the river, grabbed a coffee, a delicious Cafè Moui, sat out a brief downpour then returned once again to the hotel to finish writing and to book my next accommodation.

For my last evening in Hue, I’m going to have a ride on a Cyclo.

There is an old guy outside the hotel who has asked me if I want a ride at least twice a day since I arrived, so today I’m going say yes!

When I get outside there are 3 guys, the lovely old guy and 2 younger guys. I ask for him, he looks very pleased.

After a lot of discussion, Google Translate and help from the concierge we finally figure out where I’m going and how much! 😂 I’m literally just going down the road but even then I feel guilty being ferried around by a guy who looks 112! 😳 But he’s happy, it’s fun so I just enjoy it and when we arrive I pay him double, which is still only £3!

So, I’m leaving Hue tomorrow and going to Hanoi for 4 nights.

I thought I might go from Hanoi to Japan or possibly somewhere else, Chiang Mai, Phuket, for a couple of weeks of chilling. However the weather in SE Asia is pretty wet in most places and I have far too much stuff to take to Japan.

So my decision is to return to Australia and stay at Rebecca & Chris’s for a little while and then plan a Japanese trip, with less luggage! And my onward travel from there.

I think it might also be nice to stay in one place for a couple of weeks! 😍 And I get to see my beautiful daughter. ❤️

That’s it for now guys.

Have a great week.

💛🤎🧡💛❤️🤎🧡❤️

🎉 🩷A very Happy 5th Birthday to the Beautiful Clementine! 🎉🩷

Books read:

Random Acts of Heroic Love. Danny Scheinmann. An excellent book. I loved everything about it.

Thank you Jane for a great recommendation! ❤️❤️

Please keep your book recommendations coming.