A story of my seven-day adventure in the Northern Vietnam in September. This story has been divided to 3 parts: Halong Bay, Hai Phong and Ha Noi.
My adventure started with some military plans as I would prefer to do a trip like the local or a DIY travel....with some help from my Vietnamese friend. DIY travel can be very cheap if you know the basic things about the destination. That is the purpose of the blog to help other to plan a budget trip.
It is VERY difficult to tour these cities 100% by your own. Why? firstly, communication breakdown, not many local people can speak English; secondly, the information that usually found in the internet are not reliable, the bus station that they mentioned may not be there anymore; thirdly, SOME local people may highly charging you on everything as you are a tourist. This happen any part of the world not just exclusive for Vietnam. If you know the local people, your travelling will be silky smooth. Look for someone in the facebook maybe?!
My Hanoi story should begin from the airport arrival. The nearest airport called Noi Bai Airport located about 45 minutes from Ha Noi old quarter. The easiest and cheapest way to the city centre is by the minibus. From the arrival hall go out the terminal and walk to the right, you will see the minibus sign with few vans are waiting for pasenggers. The minibus will cost you VND40000 in 2013 (RM6, USD2). It will only depart when it is SARDIN pack, usually around 15-30 minutes waiting time. On the way to downtown, I was shocked with the numbers of motorbike on the street and how the driver manuever tightly side by side each other. As I was told, about 60% of the local have motorbike as such this accounted up to 6 millions in Ha Noi alone!
The minibus final stop in the city will be at No.1 Quang Trung Street, the location of this stop is actually on the south east of the infamous Hoan Kiem Lake. When I was in Hanoi, I stayed at Jasmine Hotel which is located on the north west of the lake, so just a walking distance. Upon arrival at Quang Trung Street, I was swapped by the motorcycle taxi or locally know as 'Xe om'. Just say sorry and no if you do not want to use their service. Their usual charge is around USD2-3.
So, now I have safely arrived at my hotel, get a bit of rest, look for map at the receptionist counter and plan where to go first. Then I took a sroll to all the sites but you need a strong legs for this. I personally recommend you to walk around the city, you will see more and experience more of the local culture. HOWEVER, you have to bear with heart palpitation moment when you want to cross the street. The local advice me just go and cross, don't stop, the bikers will manuever around you with less than 5% hit. Throughout my stay, i have crossed hundred of streets with success (although the palpitation never subsided :-).
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| The red bridge of Ngoc Son Temple |
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| The turtle tower |
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| Hoan Kiem Lake, Old Quarter Ha Noi |
After a good rest in the hotel, I first walk around the lake, started from the north which was marked by the Ngoc Son Temple, a temple with red bridge; then moved toward the south which was marked by the turtle tower. Continue the stroll to the south until I saw a street named 'Trang Tien'and walk to the left, at the end of this street I saw a building with significant French influence, the Opera House of Ha Noi. It reminded me the Opera National de Paris but at a smaller scale.
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| The Opera House of Ha Noi |
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| One of French architectural flavor building at Ly Thai To street |
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| Line of shops specialised in shoes near Lo Su street |
At the roundabout infront of the Opera House look for 'Ly Thai To' street and walk through this street until the Lo Su street. Now, I have reached the south edge of the heart of Hanoi old town. Do explore the streets and shops surrounding this area, with the help of local map from my hotel. I used the Hoan Kiem Lake as my guide, the exploration ended with a cup of tea at one of the cafe located at the north of the lake.
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| Street food vendor selling spring rolls |
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| Shop specialised in bamboo products, Old Quarter Ha Noi |
If you are interested, why not call off the day with the Water Puppet show. Just beware that the language used for the show is in Vietnamese, if you cannot understand the flow of story, just enjoy the creativity, colourful and local musical instruments.
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| Time schedule of the water puppet show and prices |
Another new day, where are we going next? Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, one pillar pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Ha Noi botanical garden and Temple of Literature. Again I started my adventure from the south of Hoan Kiem Lake, from Hang Khay street I stroll to Trung Thi street until the Hau Tau Plaza, with a chaotic junction. On the right, just crossed 2-3 streets and look for a street named "Đường Điện Biên Phủ". I continued the strolling on this street until the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. If you planned to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh, do go early in the morning as the public opening hour is from 09:00 to 12:00. Lines of visitors, including visiting foreign dignitaries, pay their respects at the mausoleum every day. Be aware the rules regarding dress and behavior are strictly enforced by guards; legs must be covered, hands must not be in pockets and nor arms crossed. Smoking, drinking, eating, photography, and video taping are also not permitted anywhere inside the mausoleum.
After the mausoleum, I visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the One-Pillar Pagoda, which were located on the left side of the mausoleum, just follow the crowds. Then drop by at any stall to get some refreshments.
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| The One-pillar Pagoda |
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| The Ho Chi Minh Museum |
Next, I walked towards the right of the mausoleum and went straight to the main road, the Presidential Palace and Vietnamese Ministry Buildings are located here. Caution! Photography is prohibited on this street. If you continue walking, you will reach the Ha Noi Botanical Garden and the Truc Bac Lake, a very huge lake. I took a break here to rest my legs and caught my breath. A bottle of green ice tea is very cheap in Vietnam.
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| Ha Noi botanical garden | | | |
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| The Truc Bac Lake, North of Ha Noi |
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| The Flag Tower, War Museum at Duong Dien Bien Phu |
When I was ready, then I walked back toward Đường Điện Biên Phủ, at the first roundabout, look for street named Chu Van An. At the end of this street, you can see the Temple of Literature. The temple hosts the "Imperial Academy", Vietnam's first national university. For me this is among the best place to observe oriental architecture and to escape from the chaotic traffic. After re-energized, I walked back to Nguyen Thai Hoc, strolled to the right, and walked for about 2 km to end the day at Hoan Kiem Lake.
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| The Temple of Literature |
To buy local souvenirs, most of the shops are located at the north corner of this lake. Show your talent on bargaining to win suprisingly low price on most of the things. What can I conclude from my Northern Vietnam adventure is that Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay are the must see sites to experience a pre-organized chaotic city and a calm mesmerized bay. Nice experience!
Trivia: almost 50% of the Vietnamese have a surname of 'Nguyen'.
the traffic was craaaazy!n u were right, just cross it..
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