On arrival in Vietnam’s capital, exploring the sights and the smells of the streets
Vietnam has always been top of my travel list. From watching James May ride through the country with a colander on his head as a child, to reading about the Vietnam War and the devastation it caused, to iconic films like Platoon and Good Morning, Vietnam, before finally becoming enthralled with the food and flavours, it was the one country that I told myself I would visit and explore. It got to the point that I was actually a little worried that I had bigged it up so much in my head that it couldn’t possibly live up to the expectations that I’d set. As I sat in the airport at Siem Reap, waiting to fly to Hanoi, I wondered whether the Land of the Blue Dragon would hit the heights I’d imagined. Then I landed.
Turns out I didn’t need to worry at all.
The ride from the airport to my hostel was fairly standard. I booked a Grab and headed off to my accomodation, which was directly opposite the cathedral. Good start. After I dropped my bags off, I did what I always do when arriving in a new place: I went for a walk. I had arrived at 9pm, and so I needed to go and get something for dinner. Heading out of my hostel, I was immediately greeted to a sight that I would not tire of: bunting adorning the streets of the Vietnamese flag and the hammer and sickle, with motorbikes parked alongside.
The air was cool, the atmosphere was lively, there were horns blaring in all directions, something you very quickly get used to. There are nearly 77 million motorbikes in the country, so the chaotic roads become second nature after a few days. I very quickly knew that Vietnam was indeed going to live up to the hype. I walked around the area until I found some refreshments. First, I stopped at a juice stall, Tiệm trà trái cây Bibin, and got a freshly squeezed orange juice (35,000 VND, £0.98 – you’ll see why it’s so easy to eat and drink here), where I bumped into an American man who had married a Vietnamese lady and had moved to the north of the country. We had a good chat, he gave me some recommendations and his business card for his ice-cream shop in the north of the country, inviting me if I was ever in the area. Then, he kindly offered to pay for my juice, before departing into the night with his wife. After I finished my juice, I headed next door to have my first Vietnamese phở.
I found myself at Phở Gà Nguyệt, just a four minute walk north of my hostel. A phở place that only does chicken – a varying mix of breast, thigh, back, wings, and offal. When I arrived at 11pm they only had chicken breast left, so they gave me extra meat. The phở cost me 55,000 VND (£1.55 – see?!), while the beer, Bia Hanoi on this occassion, was a whopping 20,000 VND (£0.56!! – dangerous). It was everything a phở is supposed to be – rich, soothing, with big chunks of tender, juicy chicken. The chillies were as spicy as you would expect, and the vibes of sitting on a plastic stool on the side of the street, watching the late night crowd go by with a hot bowl of broth and a cold beer, were every bit as exhilarating as they were in Thailand and Cambodia previously. But Vietnam feels different, it is different. Everyone I’d met who’d been to Vietnam already had told me. Now I was starting to understand what they meant. All I’d done was land, drop my bags off and get some dinner, and I felt the difference. And I still had another six weeks to go.
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The next day consisted of some sightseeing. I decided first to check out the Cathedral, seeing as it was right outside my hostel. As in, I was awoken by the bells chiming on the hour, and I could see it out my dorm window. The scale of the building was magnificent, and walking through the streets you could feel the remnants of French occupation in the buildings: the cathedral was one of the first buildings in Hanoi to be constructed by the French colonial government in the 1880s. It was then shut down after the Viet Minh took control of North Vietnam until 1990, when Mass was allowed to observed on Christmas Eve. It was built in the Neo-Gothic style, which is why it stands out as being very ‘European’-looking. I then took a walk up to Hoan Kiem Lake, just a ten minute walk, taking in the picturesque views of the famous red bridge and Ngoc Son, a temple on an island in the middle of the lake, an ideal spot for peace and serenity in the heart of the bustling city. After a pleasant stroll around the temple, it was time for lunch.
The bánh mì was born in 1950s Ho Chi Minh City, pairing French produce introduced in the 1860s – baguettes, pate and mayonnaise – with Vietnamese staples such as pickled daikon and carrots, chilli sauce, and local cuts of meat. The invention came a out following the partition of Vietnam in 1954, when over a million North Vietnamese moved south. When in Vietnam, you will eat hundreds of them. I certainly did. My first encounter of the legendary food came at The Banhmi by Kun, and was the classic filling of Vietnamese sausage, with plenty of pate and pickled vegetables. The crunchy bread, smooth pate, crunchy pickled vegetables, spicy chilli sauce and fragrance of the sausage was a match made in heaven. There’s a bánh mì spot on pretty much every street in Vietnam, so go and explore.
After that, it was time for a coffee. I’d stopped in a few shops and bought some souvenirs which I sent home, and now I’d worked up a thirst. Vietnamese coffee is essentially rocket fuel. It’s stronger than any coffee I’ve ever had, so a word of warning: if you have it black you’ll be awake for about three days. Luckily, Vietnam does some incredible things with coffee, the most notable of all being egg coffee. Created in the 1940s when milk became a scarcity, egg coffee consists of egg yolks whipped with sugar and condensed milk, and poured on top of an espresso. It’s thick, rich, and desert-like, cutting through the strong coffee perfectly.
Vietnam might be one of the best places to eat and drink in the region, and possibly in the entire world. The variety of broths, noodle and rice dishes, grilled meats, sandwiches, and coffee means you will never go hungry and never get bored. And it’s super cheap as well. More importantly, so is the beer. In some places you go, beer is actually cheaper than water. Some of my favourites outside of phở and bánh mì include bún bò Huế (a spicy noodle soup form the ancient capital), bún chả (a cold noodle coup with grilled meatballs and herbs), cơm tấm (broken rice served with pork ribs, a specialty in Ho Chi Minh City).
My last stop that evening was, of course, Train Street. The famous narrow street where you can grab a spot at a bar, cafe or restuarant as on the side of the tracks and watch a train pass through the centre of Hanoi. Very much a tourist spot, as the drinks and food are much more expensive than elsewhere in the city, but if you’re going to Hanoi you can’t not go. The seats are super close to the tracks so make sure you don’t get run over. Lots of people make a souvenir by sticking their beer cap on the track for the train to flatten it.
Another must-visit spot in Hanoi is Hoa Lo Prison. It was set up originally to house Vietnamese political prisoners under French rule, before it was turned into a prison for American POWs during the War. It has since been converted into a museum. The entry fee is 50,000 VND (£1.40), and for the same price you can rent an audio guide. The museum consists of the original French-built section for political prisoners, the guillotine room, and living quarters for Vietnamese prisoners. Much of the Vietnam-war era section has been demolished, and there is just one room dedicated to the American POWs, including former U.S senator John McCain, who was held there.
After my time in Hanoi, I went north to do the Ha Giang Loop. That’s another story for another time. But Hanoi let me know that Vietnam would be everything I had imagined it to be, and much more.
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