Today, Raj and I started our Vietnamese adventure. The 3.30am wake up call was just as painful as we'd envisaged, particularly as we didn't go to bed till 2am - damn Boardwalk Empire! The flight was pretty good, nothing too dramatic. We arrived at the airport, showed our visas and breezed through security. What did become slightly irritating was our delayed baggage. It would appear that Hanoi airport only has 2 baggage belts, which seems a bit ridiculous for a capital city! Almost 2 hours later, my bag arrives and another 30 mins later, raj's bag comes through. Finally, we were at last on our way. We took a cab to the hostel which was a journey of approx. an hour.
We stayed at the May de Ville Backpackers hostel which is located in the centre of the old town in Hanoi. As check-in wasn't until 2pm, we left our bags and took a wander around. Hanoi in brief, is a city filled with motorbikes. Pedestrians really don't get much of a look in. To cross the road, you quite literally walk into the middle of the road and the bikes/mopeds will glide past you. That really is the only way to cross a road, trust me. The rain was chucking it down, so much so that the option was to grab a coffee somewhere. By this time we were drenched but thankfully my stuff was bone dry (cheers to the peeps that bought me my rucksack liners and industrial plastic holders for my phone etc , I will now never travel without them). We headed back to the hostel and caught the end of the Spider-Man film before finally checking-in.
To say this place is a hostel would really do it no justice. It's a decent hotel. You can stay in a dorm for $4/night or have your own private room for $10. A no brainer as far as I was concerned! The room was really nice with a lovely large bathroom and hot water, which is considered somewhat a luxury here. The rest of the evening was pretty boring, I had a nap and we ate dinner at a French/Vietnamese restaurant which was delicious. We also took a brief walk around the night market but it wasn't anything to shout home about. The only drama was Raj losing the key to the padlock for his bag. We almost had use for my Leatherman (cheers Iain and boys) but as I was fast asleep, Raj had to resort to asking the little handyman at the desk to hacksaw it off. Luckily, it worked and he didn't have to spend the next few days in the same clothes, something we were both very thankful for! Before hitting the hay, we managed to secure the common room to catch the Hungarian F1 GP. For those that know me, you'll know that this made a me very happy lady. Hamilton even won, result!
Monday 29 July
We woke up fairly early, ate breakfast and headed out to explore Hanoi in a little more detail. The city itself isn't that impressive but certain streets in the Old Quarter are rather quaint. Yet again, the heavens opened so out came the umbrellas and pac-a-macs. Weirdly, I packed waterproof bags for my belongings but forgot a coat for me...oops! We wandered over to the Pagoda which is on the edge of the north lake. A very pretty building but not particularly tall so can easily be missed. We also explored parts of the South side where the other lake is situated. It was a fairly pleasant walk, particularly as the sun had decided to come out.
In the evening, we were hoping that we could catch the water puppet theatre but it was full! Instead, we went for a wander. Neither of us had remembered the map, but this didn't deter us in the slightest. We even managed to find the Knightsbridge of Hanoi with all your classic fashion houses. The highlight of our evening was the restaurant we stumbled across for dinner. It somehow caught my eye as we walked across the street. It was heaving with tourists as well as locals, which normally means the food is good. I ordered crab for dinner. I love seafood and I had heard that it was amazing in Asia. Well, they are not wrong. Expecting it dressed, I was pretty shocked when a whole crab landed on my plate. Not to be out done, I finished the whole thing. It was out of this world and well worth the walk. The trick now was finding our way back. I don't think either of us had quite grasped just how far we'd walked...
First impressions of Vietnam: it is and it isn't what I expected. There are certainly some elements which haven't surprised me, such as the culture and general appearance of the country but there are also some that have. Street food is famous all over Asia but I've yet to see it be eaten on little plastic chairs and tables. I had similar furniture when I was a kid! This may sound like I'm being negative but actually, I love it! What's better than watching the world go by whilst eating amazing freshly cooked food? Nothing! I wasn't expecting the roads to be quite as bumpy as they are. Bus journeys can be painful on the old bottom!
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