North Vietnam - Hanoi - Day 1

"One of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares, and the slavery of Home, one feels once more happy." -Richard Burton, Zanzibar

A back street in Hanoi, Vietnam

A visit to Vietnam had been on my wishlist for some time, and for many reasons - Vietnamese DNA is in my blood; my family and I were directly affected by the Vietnam war, and the desire to search back into my roots. I love my food and Vietnam has some of the best food in the world, and, the coffee industry in Vietnam has a history in my family. On this trip, being able to find my grandparents' (my mother's parents) roots in North Vietnam, prior to the civil division, was very personal and emotional for me. 

I often find travelling alone, quite lonely, especially in places that are bursting with flavour, culture and life - it is wonderful to share a common moment with someone who is willing to absorb the zest of life. 

Peter and I waiting in transit at Singapore Airport.

Peter was my former boss 15 years ago, guiding me to achieve City of Yarra 2005 Young Citizen of the Year Award. Peter has become a dear friend, and mentor ever since, with much wisdom to impart. Peter's favourite book is "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene - a story about a love affair with Vietnam. He admires Vietnam's resilience and love its rich history and culture, knowing this, I knew Peter was the best travel companion to travel through North Vietnam. 

My advice when travelling through Vietnam, or any place in the world, is to travel with someone who can speak the lingo - it makes all the difference to your experience, you can either have a "window-shopping" experience, or you can sink your teeth in and take a tasty bite of the country, savouring every note.  

Letting go the need to control the minutiae of life has been a cultivating 36-year achievement. I used to travel with precision, now I observe; listen, and allow the universe to unfold itself to me.

Peter, on the other hand, wanted to book our flights and know details of our itinerary 6 months prior to our adventure. There are good points to researching about the place you are visiting i.e. laws, climate, travel safety issues etc. It was a delight to me, Peter was able to trust my method and go with the flow...you can teach 64-year-old new tricks!

We both agreed to travel light – backpacker style: one medium backpack, and one daypack each. Especially travelling through VN on local modes, backpacking was the best decision ever.

In seconds, google maps showed hotels with
prices - so convenient for travelers on-the-fly.

Landing in Hanoi on our first day of our 3-week adventure, Peter left 95% of our travel decisions to me! I had not booked any accommodation and had no international roaming to make phone calls or easy contact. I knew I wanted to hire our own car to do a road trip around North VN at our leisure. From the airport, we hopped into a taxi straight to Hanoi Urban Transport Management and Operation Centre (16 Cao Ba Quat Street, Hanoi) to obtain a temporary VN driver’s licence. We wanted to do the right thing in order to be covered by our insurance. Unless you have documentation proving you have been living in VN for more than 3 months, the office will not give you a temporary licence, no “buts” about it.

We had to switch to plan C. It began to rain heavy – argh! With our waterproof windbreakers and our backpacks, we started walking up the main streets searching for a mobile telecom vendor. It didn’t take long to find a gentleman selling domestic sim cards – I purchased a 18GB data only micro sim for 200.000VND (the locals say 200VND, short for 200,000VND). In my rusty Vietnamese I asked him to install it for me, which he willingly did. We were now online and connected!

Loading up Google maps, I studied our location to the Old Quarters by Lake Hoang Kiem – it was close, but too far to walk carrying our load. And besides, it was raining.

French architectural influence in Hanoi, "Old Quarters".

It took seconds to hail a taxi. My handy Vietnamese requested to go to the road running parallel the Lake. After some to and fro discussion with the driver, we decided best to go down Nha Chung Road. The taxi man dropped us off on the corner of Nha Tho Road for 20.000VND. He advised this area is full of hotels and very popular with tourist. He was right! Tourist and foreigners were getting amongst the locals in the Old French Quarters.

My excitement began to rise as I knew in that moment our Vietnam adventure had kicked off. I started searching “hotels” on google maps with my current location. A myriad of hotel options popped up across the map, from affordable to luxury. Gotta love Google Maps App!

Hitting the cobblestones on An Trieu, we cold-call boutique hotels. The first hotel gave us their nightly rate, only to up their price once she knew I was a Viet Kieu (Vietnamese foreigner). We chugged down to Church Legend Hotel and they gave us a reasonable price of 35USD/per night for on-the-spot booking. With that price, we got an awesome view of the Old Cathedral.

View of Nha Tho from our hotel room. Nha Tho means Church in Vietnamese.

After offloading our bags, and having a cold shower (literally, because, most hotel rooms have their own hot water system – you have to remember to switch it on if they haven’t), we cobbled the nearby streets. Hanoi is full of life – tourists and backpackers immersing in culture, traders wheeling and dealing, and cooks feeding hungry mouths.

Busy food vendor - 52 Ly Quoc Su Road, Hoang Kiem, Hanoi

Peter and I were on the hunt for authentic Hanoi northern dishes. I made a policy to stay away from touristy eateries/restaurants. I looked for street food traders that had local people eating in hoards or queueing up to order their takeaway and scooting off on their motorbikes.

Cua Hang Banh Goi – 52 Ly Quoc Su, Hoang Kiem, Ha Noi, was our first choice. I chose for us by pointing at a couple’s dinner, ‘I’ll have what they’re having.’ It was light, clean, flavoursome, everything you should expect from Vietnamese cuisine. Banh Goi is a Northern dish, an interpretation or alternative to the cha gio (spring rolls), as the meat filling is pretty much the same. You eat by dipping your meats and salad (herbs) into the light fish sauce broth. Simple. Easy. Delicious.

Banh Goi - the light broth is at room temperature instead of piping hot. 

Buddhist Temple on Ly Quoc Su Road

We continued on Ly Quoc Su Road and was wowed by the noise, its people and atmosphere. A quaint Buddhist temple caught my ears to their songs of prayer. I love the humbleness of its exterior, not like some prominent and ostentatious sister temples around. You can feel their sincere intentions in their prayer.

Smiling from ear to ear at our luck to be travelling through North VN. I could feel my day to day stresses and routine melt away from my neck, shoulders, and back muscles.

As we were heading back to our hotel, we took the small alleyways that were alive with street food traders serving hipster locals good tucker. Small kid-size plastic blue stools were lined up along the narrow alley wall. In Asia space is not a commodity like in Western culture, they do with what space and resources they have at hand. Being told to sit up close to others provides a westernised person (like us) a dose of humility…there is no such thing as personal space here.

Peter not happy squatting! LOL

Peter sat awkwardly unable to find his sweet spot…white men can’t squat! [laugh] The lady host kept hassling Peter to move in to allow a walkway. Peter's knees were up to his ears!

Nem nuong.

Nem nuong is different to how I know it back in Melbourne, Australia. This was simple with no colour or enhanced bold flavours, it allowed the meat to be itself. I enjoyed the added glass noodle through it, giving a textural feel. And the sour mango with chili salt is absolutely fabulous, a healthy snack, and dessert alternative found throughout VN. So simple, so effective. Yum.

Sour mango with chili salt, dried grilled fish with chili sauce, and cassava chips.

Please continue to enjoy reading my journey through North Vietnam by clicking on this North Vietnam - Hanoi Day 2 link.