Hanoi, Vietnam: Bustling city vibes and unbeatable Vietnamese food
- Esther
- Nov 5, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 4, 2020
After hearing so many amazing stories from friends who have travelled here before, I was really excited to be finally seeing Vietnam for myself. Ben was looking forward to arriving in Hanoi too because he'd already spent some time here last year with his family and loved it so much he wanted to come back again!
We first arrived near Hoàn Kiem lake in the centre of the Old Quarter, which looked so beautiful and oriental when it was all lit up at sunset that I think I probably had the best first impression of the city possible.
As we walked away from the lake, Hanoi quickly became a much more bustling, noisy and chaotic place to be. Hanoi is apparently home to about 10 million people and the streets here are just as loud and busy as you’d expect them to be in such a heavily populated Asian city.
One thing in particular that could take me a while to get used to is the way people cross the roads here. You just have to walk straight into the heavy motorbike traffic and let the crowds swerve around you!
I'm probably not painting the prettiest picture of Hanoi but, as I soon found out, there are so many fun things to do in this city, so many cool places to visit and so much good food to try!
Sightseeing in Hanoi
On our first full day in Hanoi, we tried to catch up on some Vietnamese history by going to the Hoa Lo Prison and then taking a look at the memorial of Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam’s beloved ex-leader).
We also had a tour with a student from Hanoi Kids; a really great organisation run by Vietnamese University students looking to practice their English by showing tourists around the city for free.
Our guide was really friendly (as they all have been) and showed us around a traditional Vietnamese house, the famous Qúan Sú temple, the Hanoi Opera House and the city cathedral before taking us to get some delicious coconut ice cream in the city centre.
That evening, we also wandered around the chaotic Weekend Night Market, which seems to go on forever and really does sell everything!
Trying Vietnamese food
When you're travelling with a foodie who loves trying and cooking food from different cultures, you're definitely going to be introduced to lots of new and exciting things to eat. I'm sometimes a little pickier than Ben but I've been loving trying new things out here and all the Vietnamese food we've had so far has been so much better than I thought it would be!
Street food is really popular here – and I can definitely see why. Eating out feels like a really social experience because the streets are packed with people sitting on little plastic chairs and eating lots of tapas-style mini dishes together. When we went out to try the food in Hanoi's busy Old Quarter, we had some papaya salad with dried beef, pork nuggets with sweet chilli and fresh vegetable spring rolls - and everything tasted amazing.
In restaurants, we’ve also tried banh mi (flavourful Vietnamese baguette sandwiches), bun cha (grilled pork with rice noodles) and phô (beef noodle soup). My favourite has definitely been the banh mi sandwiches, and since they usually sell for less than £1 (in Vietnamese Dong) we've basically eaten them every day we’ve been here.
We also took the Hanoi Kids free food tour with some more lovely Vietnamese University students on our first night, who showed us the best food both on the streets and in restaurants – as well as how to eat it properly!
Our guides finished by introducing us to Vietnam’s famous coffee chain Công Caphe, which sell iced coconut coffee drinks that basically taste like sweet coffee milkshakes. I'm now obsessed with coconut coffee and have been ordering it whenever I can!
Although it’s definitely been a bit of a culture surprise (shock seems like too strong a word!), I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of days we've had here in Hanoi. I’m excited to work our way down the country from here and see what else Vietnam has in store.
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