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Trip – Vietnam – Hanoi

© by Agnieszka Soska
May 3, 2006 on 11:33 am | In Aga's Blog, Patric's Blog, Trip, Vietnam
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We just came back from a 3 day weekend trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. That was an amazing experience, the most interesting & exciting, I think, that we have made so far since we started our internship in Singapore. Actually there are so many things that I would like to mention about that I do not know where to start

I hope, that even if I do not manage to give you the whole picture of the places in Vietnam that we saw, the great pictures will do the rest!

We flew with Vietnam Airlines, not the typical “tourist” airline like Tiger Airways. I mention this because of the food they served. We expected something very Asiatic and got a dish that was very much like we are used to eat in Poland or Germany: a beef stroganoff, mashed potatoes and salad. Well, anyway, the flight was ok, and this was not the first time we had the chance to enjoy the local Vietnamese cuisine.

Vietnam is one of the few remaining relicts of socialism in this world. And of course the landscape, the culture and the people themselves are influenced by the system they live in. When booking the flight, we did not know that the weekend we chose for our trip was when the Vienamese people celebrate the reunification after the Vietnamese war (or as they say the american war) and a long time of French colonialism. So during this weekend not only the traffic was extremely heavy, but also the propaganda posters and the government flags were everywhere!! I couldn’t stay indifferent to that…since the system change in Poland I haven’t seen it “live” anymore and even in my country I was too little to really remember how the daily life in socialistic reality looks like.

During our 2 day stay in Hanoi, we saw many things typical for a country with socialist regime. Apart from red flags hanging everywhere during the national holiday weekend, one can easily notice the very low life standard of the countries citizens and the legal rules which often seem to be irrational:[ good example for a not very rational legal solution is (or used to be) the habitation tax based on the facade width which has made the Vietnamese people building their houses make up for it in height. It caused the houses look really funny with their extremely "skinny" facades (look at our pictures), On the other hand, however it has also a practical explanation: Vietnam doesn't have much land and its population is increasing unbelievably fast. This causes the property in the cities to have very high value and space to be occupied very carefully].

Another characteristic element is that there are no western brands to be found in shops. Actually there are no shops in a normal sense (:)) just simple, “market type” stalls selling literally everything, but mainly goods of very poor quality. The only exceptions are: local art and paintings specifically as well as the local craft (e.g. crockery or the beautiful hand made chop sticks) which are very popular among tourists visiting Hanoi. A communistic country also has limited contacts to other countries: The visa cost us 100 SGD (about 50 Euros)! The prices we paid for things bought in Hanoi were at least 10 times the price paid by local customers. And last but not least, there are Lenin statues to be met in the streets…something that is slowly pushed into past even in Lenin’s father land – Russia.

We spent two days in Hanoi in the city’s Old French Quarter, in the Sunshine Hotel (recommended by the lonely planet) and felt like we were overflooded by the cities unique, typical Vietnamese atmosphere. We were amazed to see the narrow streets invaded by scooters and bicycles. You have to picture streets crammed with a multitude of two-wheelers that outnumber cars by 100 to 1, extremely buzzing and honking; they make the air so polluted that it is almost impossible to breathe – that’s why many of the people wear very characteristic, special face covers-air filters.

You also have to picture us crossing the street, when what you have to worry about is not two lanes of cars but a dozen lanes of mopeds with no sense of traffic regulations. THERE ARE NO traffic regulations on Hanoi streets as it seems: the bigger vehicle is always right and while crossing the street just let the cars/mopeds pass you. DO NOT STOP is the primary rule stressful enough for us to get a slight headache at the end of tiring but very exciting day in Vietnam’s capital city!

There are not many typical sightseeing spots to recommend in Hanoi. The places special atmosphere, its noises, its smiling people and its great food are the things you just cannot miss!
There are however two things that are a “must” while visiting Hanoi:

• the Water Puppet Show at the Mua Roi Nuoc theatre at the northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake

• a local food court named (“Quan an Ngon“) and located in 18 Phan Boi Chau street

At the foodcourt we enjoyed a truelly amazing dinner! The food was fantastic, you just must love the Vietnamese people favorite – the famous spring rolls. The food court looks actually like an outdoor restaurant with beautiful wooden furnishing and variety of very local, authentic food. You can eat a la carte, or simply go to single stalls with a waitress and order whatever looks or smells good to you you won’t be disappointed, we promise!
And of course do not miss the whole Old Quarter district – with its narrow, crowded and loud streets, old houses and tiny market stalls it is the real heart of the city. It’s the best to book a hotel somewhere nearby or directly in that part of Hanoi, and live in the heart of the bustling Vietnamese capital!
There is a very nice, beautifully lit up alley: Bao Khanh, on the north edge of the lake, where small cafes and bars (often placed on the houses’ roofs) are inviting you for a glass of beer (Bia Hoi as the local brewed beer is called), Vietnamese snacks or tasty deserts. If you are a beer fan, it is certainly worth dropping by to the local pub/small brewery where local “red beer” is served (Ma May street), a few meters away from the hotel we stayed at. Last but not least, if one feels they have a spare hour or two, try out the local massage offers. For 10 US$ you get an hour of pleasure for your body and soul! And if this is not sufficient, the ladies can always get a manicure or a pedicure (4 US$/each). If you are staying in the Sunshine Hotel we can recommend the SF Spa (16 Hàng Buồm – Hoàn Kiếm – Hà Nội)

On the second day we decided to do a one day trip to Halong Bay which we booked at one of the many travel agencies in the old quarter. The trip cost us 18 US$, including the transportation in a minivan to the harbor, the entrance for the Halong Bay area, the boat trip, lunch on the boat and the entrance to the caves.
The bay consists of 1,969 limestone monolithic islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Ä�ầu Gổ (Wooden stakes Cave) is the largest grotto in the Halong area.[wikipedia]

The bay was World Heritage listed by UNESCO at the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994).
The trip was one of the most impressive tours we have been so far. Even the 3 hours ride from Ha Noi to Halong Bay harbor, wasn’t boring at all. This country offer such a diversified landscape, in a million different colours dependent on the sunlight, that no one should miss. The trip itself was relaxing, well organized and due to the beautiful weather simply glorious.

Since we did that tour to Halong Bay on April, 30, which is reunification day in Vietnam, the place was packed with tourists (see photo). However it did not spoil the special allure and charm of the bay!