The capital city of Vietnam, and a crazy place to be! A great look into a typically East Asian city. You’ll love it, we promise.
Transport, traffic and other issues...
Ouch. At first glance, Hanoi (and the other huge Vietnamese city, Saigon) has the scariest roads you’ll ever encounter. A seething mass of motorbikes streams past you, weaving amongst each other, constantly within inches of crashing and yet somehow always managing to avoid it... Don’t panic. You will make it across the street. The key to the organisation amid the chaos is that all the drivers are expecting people to swerve in front of them, and when this happens they just casually swerve to another side. The drivers they swerve in front of gently swerve away too, and if there’s nowhere to swerve to, well, there’s always the brake. The whole thing has a serene, calm feel to it, and you can take this to mean that if you walk out into the middle of it, they will swerve around you, too. We promise. It can be daunting to step off the pavement into a rush of oncoming traffic, but they really will avoid you. Would it make it an easier decision if we point out that they often drive on the pavement, too? Apparently that’s a valid option when you’re driving down a one-way street in the wrong direction! Anyway, just do it. You’ll be fine.
Just to give you an idea of the craziness, check out the following:
Getting around
Hallelujah for countries that haven’t yet adopted the mass of Health and Safety laws that govern every movement of those in the UK and USA! Such a country is Vietnam, and one of the biggest benefits of this is the existence of moto-taxis. The guys that hang out next to their motorbikes on street corners are not just loitering. Well, they are, but they’re waiting to take anyone who needs a lift on the back of their bike to wherever they want to go. No helmets, of course, and you must be very careful not to burn your right calf on the hot exhaust pipe – you’ll probably come across a westerner or two with their right calf in bandages at some point. Consider yourself superior that you knew about this in advance and avoided it. Third degree burns are not fun. If you want to add that extra degree of risk and terror to the journey, you could even sit side-saddle on the back of the bike. Look around you – plenty of local ladies do it. Moto-taxis are easily the cheapest and most efficient way of getting around town, as they can dodge traffic better than car-taxis. Fix a price before you get there, and make sure you have an address of where you want to be, otherwise heaven only knows where you’ll end up.
Taxis, too, are a good option, although they are considerably more expensive. However, they are far cheaper than the taxis of the Western world, so go for it. Some of the more official looking taxis have seatbelts and metres. Some don’t. Again, make sure you have an address and that the driver understands where you want to be. Sort out a price before you get there, or, if there is a metre, at least ask for a rough idea.
And we should probably mention the tuk-tuks. Vietnamese tuk-tuks, in case you’ve never seen them, are quite a lot like overgrown bicycles with a seat attached the front, generally pedalled by elderly Vietnamese men who have more strength and stamina in their wiry little bodies than most people from the West will ever have. These guys are often people who happened to be supporting the wrong side (in this case, the American side) in the Vietnam War, and as such were no longer able to work in the profession that they trained for, and are reduced to pedalling tourists who weigh more than they do around the city in the blistering heat and humidity. It’s a tricky one, because refusing to use them for their own goods is a bit counterproductive, because then they won’t be able to have any income. We only ask that, if you do decide to go for the novelty value of being cycled around the city, you don’t ask them to go too far, or if they have to go up hills, maybe you could get out and walk that bit. We’d also point out that being at the front of a vehicle that you aren’t controlling on crazily busy road is a scary business. Even more traumatic than crossing the road.
Buses and coaches are really only applicable for long distance journeys out of the city. They don’t really have them around the city. Same for trains.
In terms of walking, you can walk the Old Quarter. You could probably even walk from the Old Quarter, down to the bottom of Hoan Kiem Lake and around the French Quarter. But that’s about it – any further than that and it’ll take hours. On the other hand, there are few other places that you are likely to need to go if you are only there for a few days or weeks. If you are aiming for Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum or anywhere else around there, get a taxi. It’s only a few dollars worth of Vietnamese Dong.
Stuff to See and Do
The Old Quarter
One of the best things to do in Hanoi is to spend a good few hours moseying around the Old Quarter. This area is fantastic – it is a maze of criss-crossing streets, and all of them are themed. You’ll doubtless come across shoe street and bag street, and silver street and sewing street. If you go far out enough you’ll probably come across the barbers who work on the side of the street, complete with mirror stuck to a handy tree, and the floor surrounding the barbers’ chairs just sitting on the pavement are surrounded by black hair! Brilliant. There are also some wonderful streets to buy some beautiful souvenirs on, such as Hang Ga, or if copied DVDs are what you’re after, head for Hang Bac (careful taking them out of the country – yes, it is illegal). There are also some shops with things like fossilised elephants’ teeth – these really aren’t things that customs officials are going to overlook. Don’t do it, no matter how tempting.
Hoan Kiem Lake (and the temple in the middle of it)
Hoan Kiem Lake is lovely, and has some rather interesting legends attached to it. It’s also the 5am hotspot for the residents of Hanoi to do their T’ai Chi and aerobics. It’s also comparatively cool at that time of the morning, so going for a crack-of-dawn stroll amid people of all ages stretching and swinging their arms about is a great experience. You can even join in, if you want.
Water Puppet Show
The quintessential Vietnamese experience: The Water Puppets. It’s a bizarre thing to do, but it’s traditional, to go and see these inflatable puppets being manipulated and jerked around the stage in a pool of water in a fairly impressive imitation of dance. The puppets act out various scenes from rural Vietnamese life and Vietnamese legends. Make sure you pick up a leaflet in your language which explains what’s going on – you’ll be completely lost otherwise. Avoid the first two rows unless you want to get splashed. You should pick up tickets in the morning of the day you want to go from the theatre by Hoan Kiem Lake, on the side of the Old Quarter – the ticket office usually opens at 11am/12pm.
Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
Still swamped by adoring Vietnamese, seeing Ho Chi Minh lying in state has become one of the one of the major things to do in Hanoi, just as going to see Lenin is practically compulsory in Moscow. It’s also free, which can only be a good thing. Poor old Uncle Ho, revered by his people, but who never lived to see the freedom of his people that he fought so hard for, is laid out on display, looking for all the world like a wax-work. It is also, we might add, against his wishes – Ho Chi Minh wished to be cremated, for hygiene purposes. It’s closed Mondays and Fridays (so that they can... umm... touch up Uncle Ho’s make-up, we assume) and for the whole of October and November (possibly to make a new wax work. Who knows), and the rest of the time it’s open from 8am until 11am. Get there early, as the queues get ridiculous. Don’t wear anything revealing, don’t take a camera if you don’t mind checking it in (don’t worry, you’ll get it back) and don’t laugh. Or smile. Or make eye contact with the nice guards with big guns.
And around the Mausoleum...
...You’ll find the Ho Chi Minh Museum, inside which you won’t be able to read a word, but is worth going to purely because of the fantastic collection of photos of Ho Chi Minh. You’ll also find, around here, Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house, where he lived in a very simple manner, as befits someone who genuinely believes that Communism can work; the Presidential Palace; and the One-Pillar Pagoda from the 11th century.
Temple of Literature
This peaceful and tranquil site is the location of Vietnam’s first ever University, and it’s been around since 1076AD. It’s an important piece of Vietnam’s history and a beautiful example of old architecture.
Foooood. Mmmmmmmm. Vietnamese grub.
The cuisine of Vietnam is delicious, and has subtle differences depending on whereabouts in the country you are. Northern Vietnamese cuisine is often quite sweet, with sugar being added to dishes more liberally. In theory, Vietnam benefits from the French culinary influence with the addition of bread products to its typical dishes. In practice, Vietnamese bread is sweet, and finding decent Western bread is not easy. Here are a few typical dishes:
Banh Bao –
“Banh” is bread (from the French “pain”), but this can refer to many different consistencies of bread. In this case, banh means dumpling, and banh bao is a bready dumpling stuffed with meat, often with a small hard-boiled egg inside. You’ll see these being sold on the streets, coming out of huge steaming vats. They are extremely cheap (about 20p each), very tasty and a good thing to eat to sustain you as you stride through the Old Quarter.
Bun Bo –
You will see signs for the fantastic bun bo in tiny street restaurants full of Vietnamese perched on tiny plastic chairs. If you see this, pull up a chair and ask for some bun bo. In the north of Vietnam (not to be confused with Bun Bo Hue, more commonly found in the middle of the country), bun bo is a mixture of noodles, bean sprouts, fish sauce, vegetables, crispy shallots and beef (bo), and quite possibly a few other things that escape us at the moment. It’s absurdly cheap and incredibly good.
Nem Ran –
Otherwise known as Spring Rolls (and will probably be written as such on the menu), you can either get them with shrimp or pork, and they consist of rice paper rolled up and stuffed with various leaves and vermicelli. It’s good stuff. You get little dips to make it even better.
Cha Ca –
Hanoi even has a street called Cha Ca for the best Cha Ca restaurants. Ca is fish, and Cha Ca is a way of cooking the fish, with various leaves and herbs, including turmeric, in a way that is absolutely delicious. Characteristically, Cha Ca restaurants only serve this dish for the whole restaurant!
Pho –
Pronounced “fur”, this is about as typically Vietnamese as you can get. Basically, it’s noodle soup, usually with beef though you can order it with other meats or just plain, and it’s frequently eaten for breakfast.
Cafe Sua Da –
Vietnamese coffee! Some say it is like tar, others enjoy the extreme thickness and sugariness. Cafe Sua Da – Coffee with Sugar – is actually thick, tar-like espresso coffee with condensed milk poured into the bottom and stirred in. This is the drink to have here, although if you’re a coffee snob you’re bound to dislike it. But this is what you should expect if you ask a Vietnamese person for a coffee.
Restaurants
Cha Ca La Vong – 14 Cha Ca
On Cha Cha Street you will find this place that is popular with locals. As noted above, Cha Ca is a fish dish, and you sit down as they plonk a mini stove on your table, and throw some fish and herbs in a pan over it. Eaten along with vermicelli, this is a great dish but remember that there will be no other choices! About $5 a head for food, drinks are separate.
Cyclo – 38 Duong Thanh
This is a wonderful high-class Vietnamese place that you should go to when you feel the need for a bit of a treat, or want to justify dressing up a bit to yourself. As the name suggests, the inside seating of the restaurant is, very swishly, inside cyclos. As wonderfully novel as this is, it’s also very nice to sit outside in their courtyard and eat there.
Highway 4 – 5 Hang Tre
Named after the particularly scenic piece of road up in the northern mountains of Vietnam, this bar-restaurant is a celebration of all Vietnamese foodstuffs, including various deep-fried bugs and local liqueurs. Apart from this stuff (or as well as, if you’re brave), the food here is excellent, as is the ambience. The service can be a little hit-and-miss, but on the whole it’s good, and you’ll have a lovely evening here.
69 Bar – 69 Ma May
A fairly cheap and cheerful restaurant but with a nice ambience, and a good choice of Vietnamese food and the compulsory pizzas and burgers.
Tamarind Cafe – 80 Ma May
Great veggie restaurant! The food is a mix of Asian and Western, but it’s all good, the prices are very reasonable, and vegetarians can fell less discriminated against in this meat-free haven.
Puku – 60 Hang Trong
Not somewhere to go if you’re only after a traditional Vietnamese dining experience, but if you’re craving a bit of western food in a comfortable, homely, friendly, wi-fi enabled environment, this is the place to be. It’s an air-conditioned piece of heaven within the craziness of the Old Quarter. It’s also slightly hidden – head to 60 Hang Trong, then look for the sign above an alleyway and head down it. Go up the stairs on the left, and you’ll emerge into this wonderful place. Try the pumpkin soup – it’s great.
Nightlife
Unsurprisingly, this is not like Western nightlife. That said, you can find bars and clubs that have obviously been influenced by the west where you can find a few cocktails. But Hanoi isn’t about dancing into the small hours of the morning.
One of the best things to do is take part in Hanoi’s Bia Hoi culture. Bia Hoi is fresh beer, beer that lasts about 24 hours and is drunk by the glass on the streets for about 10p a go. It’s a great atmosphere, sitting outside on tiny blue and red plastic chairs and chilling with your friends.
Bars
Le Pub – 25 Hang Be
Popular with expats due to its slightly higher price and definitely better cocktails and wine than most bars, Le Pub (which has a twin in Saigon) is a rather nice place to be – good atmosphere, good drinks, good service, good food, good coffee (unusual in this country), you get the idea. The only problem with it, really, is that you quickly get used to saying: “50,000 Dong? For one drink?!”, forgetting that 50,000VND is £1.50.
Highway 4 – 5 Hang Tre
See above for ambience etc, but the use of local liqueurs is good. Dan, the owner, is a bit of an entrepreneur, and he’s started his own Highway 4 brand of the stuff. The cocktails are, therefore, certainly unique.
Bia Corner – Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen
At a corner where the streets converge, you’ll find bia hoi on sale! This is characteristically where all the backpackers perch, and the whole thing has a decidedly western feel. The bia ain’t up to much either. It’s a nice atmosphere, but if you really want to get the bia hoi feel, you need to dig deep in to the Old Quarter and find a bia hoi place that’s full of locals. Shouldn’t be hard.
Funky Monkey – 15 Hang Hanh
An attempt at a western bar, so the drinks are, again, more expensive. The music is loud and it’s hardly the most up to the minute stuff. But it’s somewhere to go if you’re feeling western bar-deprived.
Dragonfly – 15 Hang Buom
Tucked away up in the Old Quarter is the Dragonfly bar. Quite a nice chilled out atmosphere with cheap drinks but a good bar-like feel to it.
Bobby Chin – 1 Ba Trieu
Oh, Bobby Chin. Branching out from the Old Quarter, on the other side of Hoan Kiem Lake you’ll find the decadent Bobby Chin. Drinking here is like (we imagine) drinking in a Turkish harem. There are sheer red curtains draped everywhere, nargile pipes bubbling away and filling the place with sweet apple smoke, and the kind of dim lighting that suggests general naughtiness. The atmosphere is good and the service is generally excellent. You can guess the drawback – it’s expensive. Probably not worth going there for dinner, but worth it for drinks.