We landed in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 20th, and little did we know that we would end up spending about 15 days in the city, sleeping in five different locations, and eventually flying back home from there. Needless to say, if you ever go to Hanoi, let us know because we know the city like the back of our hands at this point. Locals will tell you (because they told us) that Hanoi is the “real Vietnam.” This is where you go if you want to really experience the culture and live as the Vietnamese do. Ho Chi Minh City is a more modern city that apparently caters to Westerners much more than Hanoi. We enjoyed Hanoi, but we were probably there too long and everything was very hectic with the virus. Here is our itinerary while in Vietnam, and you will see why things were a little disjointed.
February 20-23 - Hanoi
February 23-29 - Cat Ba Island
February 29-March 4th - Hanoi (our friend flew in to meet us)
March 4th-7th - Sa Pa
March 7th - Hanoi for a night before we were taking off to Cat Ba again with our friend
March 8th - Ha Long City because we got to the boats and were told Cat Ba was closed due to the virus, so we had to stay here
March 9-14 - Hanoi where we stayed in two different places, watching worldwide developments in regards to the virus before eventually making the decision to fly back home
So as you can see things were a bit chaotic, but we got plenty of quality time in Hanoi :). The first thing I would say about Hanoi is that it’s not necessarily filled with a lot of tourist sites and/or attractions. If you do a quick Google search for things to do in Hanoi you will get the following suggestions:
Hoan Kiem Lake - It’s a lake in the middle of the Old Quarter of Hanoi. It’s pretty and there is a little temple in the middle that you can pay a low price to reach. The temple takes about 10 minutes to walk around and the lake itself takes about 30 minutes to walk around.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - Ho Chi Minh was/is the most influential person in the history of Vietnam and his mausoleum is located in Hanoi, not in the city named after him in the South. The grounds and the mausoleum itself are beautiful and very well kept. To prove my point, there are signs everywhere that if you are chewing gum you will be kicked out. The mausoleum is only open a few hours in the morning and the lines are supposedly absurd. We didn’t go inside, but instead just walked around the grounds one afternoon.
Thang Long Imperial Citadel - A large complex of historical imperial buildings. It used to be filled with royal palaces and other structures, but most of it was torn down by the French. Apparently there are still discoveries being made, but the whole site is pretty underwhelming and not very well taken care of.
Hoa Lo Prison - This was probably the highlight of the Hanoi sites we saw. The prison was used by the French colonists in French Indochina for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war, during the Vietnam War. The stories were interesting and obviously seeing the living conditions prisoners were forced to endure was startling. There was also a section for John McCain who was imprisoned there for a while when his plane was shot down in 1967.
Vietnam Military History Museum - Be prepared for a lot of reading here. There are 3 buildings with a top and bottom floor that cover Vietnam’s war history. Probably the most interesting thing was just seeing their take on the “American War.” They prefaced everything by saying “American Imperialists” and there was a whole section dedicated to other countries in the world that supported Vietnam as opposed to the U.S.
And that’s about it. So as you can see there are not a whole bunch of sites to see while in Hanoi. With that said, just walking the streets while eating, drinking, and shopping can keep you busy for days. If you look at the tags on a lot of your clothes you will notice they originate from Vietnam, so that means about every other shop is dedicated to clothing that either failed quality control checks by the original factory or is counterfeit. But everything looks real and is CRAZY cheap.
The food in Hanoi was pretty tasty. We weren’t necessarily going to famous restaurants like we did in Bangkok, but instead just went after specific dishes which most restaurants served. The staples were:
Bun Cha - This was my favorite everyday meal. Bún chả is a Vietnamese dish with grilled fatty pork served over a plate of white rice noodle and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. Delicious, cheap, and filling.
Cha Ca - This was my favorite dish, but wasn’t an everyday type meal. The dish consists of catfish, vegetables, and herbs. The dish is served in a big frying pan that sits on an open flame, in the middle of the table. You have a little cup that you put noodles in, the catfish nuggets, and sauces. We all really enjoyed this meal.
Bun Bo Nam Bo - Bun bo nam bo literally translates as ‘noodles with beef from the south’, and is actually called a noodle salad. It’s made with thin rice vermicelli noodles (bun) and served with marinated stir-fried beef (bo).
Pho - Everyone knows Pho! I actually didn’t see as many pho restaurants as I thought I would. We sought out a couple of specific places and it was delicious, but I think since we are so used to seeing it now in the states, it wasn’t as much of a novelty.
Bahn Mi - Bahn Mi sandwiches are viewed as snacks in Vietnam. They are smaller in size and churned out very quickly so you will see lines of people snacking while standing.
Random Food and Coffee - Hanoi is a big city so there was a wide array of options and we were there for two weeks so we tried a lot. Surprisingly their coffee was incredible. Especially the coconut coffee!
In conclusion, we thoroughly enjoyed Hanoi, but four days might be a bit more appropriate as opposed to 14.
