Vietnam – Hanoi 17/5/16 – 18/5/16

So after a 4 hour flight we arrived in Hanoi around 9am for our 17 day organised tour.
A little bit about Vietnam
Vietnam is located on the eastern seaboard of the Indochina peninsula, sharing common boarders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. Mountains and hills cover four-fifths of Vietnam’s territory with the Truong Son Range stretching over 1,400km. Mount Fransipan is the highest peak on mainland Southeast Asia. The most populated areas in Vietnam are the Red Rivaaer Delta and the Mekong Delta, which feature futile soil fed by a dense river network. The democratic republic of vietnam was founded after the 1945 August Revolution, when president Ho Chi Minh declared independence. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has been the official name since 1976.

We were met with a man holding paper with our names on. However he could not speak any English so sign language was the preferences choice of communication. We had left KL with no Vietnamese money at all, so I tried my best to sign to our driving we needed an ATM. After several attempts at charades – which failed terribly – I spotted a queue and there they were 4 ATM’s all lit up. After my third piece of plastic was declined the panic set in so we opted to get to the hotel and try there.
Our hotel was in the middle od the “old quarter” and we were able to check in straight away. This was day 1 of our trip and the rest of the day was free time for us to wander the streets. We soon located an ATM so money in hand off we went. Hanoi is a large city with many interconnecting side streets, ALL looking exactly the same as each other. Never-the-less we somehow managed to be out most of the day and returning to our hotel after some amazing street food. The old quarter was my favourite, it has numerous little streets with restaurants and bars, shops and street food stalls. The whole place is considerably cleaner than Bali streets and you don’t get pestered every few feet to buy something.
Day 2
Today we had to be up and ready by 8am as our guide was picking us up. We also had to check out as we were only staying here for 1 night. We had a full days touring Hanoi City, we visited Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, where he lay in state still to this day, followed by a tour of his palace, workplace, gardens etc. It was beautiful and we learnt a lot on this day. The Vietnamese absolutely loved Ho Chi Minh, as he was a commoner who became emperor and changed everything for Vietnam. That’s why he is still lying in state, and why Saigon changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City. Fascinating learning about him, something that I will do in more detail when back in NZ. His picture is everywhere.
We also visited the one pillar pagoda, built by King Ly Thai To in 1049. The temple of Literature, Vietnams first university built in 1070. Then onto Hon Kim Lake. A very full day. Once back at our hotel, we had 5 hours of free time to go wandering again as long as we were back at the hotel for 8pm. We managed to find the lake in the city and follow trip advisors comments on finding the top 2 bars. Again successfully, number 2 is a building with 5 floors each having its own bar, right on a busy roundabout. If we thought traffic in Bali was full on its bloody terrifying here. To cross a road you just have to step off the kerb and expect cars and bikes to avoid you while you slowly make your way across. How cars miss bikes is amazing. So back at the hotel (we had checked out of at 8am this morning), we were picked up and taken to the train station for our overnight ride to Loa Cho Train station (7 hours way). We had a 4 berth cabin to ourselves and it felt very colonial, wooden cabin, very rickety, very shakes and bouncy and very noisy, but we loved it.