During the second week of Chinese New Year in Feb 2013, we made a wonderful 5 days / 4 nights trip to Hanoi, Vietnam during their spring season. With the weather at a cooling temperature range of 22°C till 25°C, we strolled along the streets of Hanoi, hunt for Vietnamese street food, kayaked in the waters of Halong Bay, relaxed by the lakeside of Hoan Kiem Lake, and observed the Hanoi Old Quarters from the comfort of our hotel room’s balcony. All this for a total all-in cost of RM1,427.85 for 2 persons, inclusive of flight tickets, accomodation, food, travel expenses, and souveniers! Find it hard to believe? Follow me on our journey through Hanoi, Vietnam! J
Day 1
We had purchased our return AirAsia tickets to Hanoi for RM907.75, which comes inclusive of 4 nights stay at Hanoi Eclipse hotel with breakfast and complimentary 2 bottles of water daily. Transportation to KLIA costs RM18.80. We bought 2 bottles of water at the airport for RM3 and had our breakfast at Wrapz for RM7.50. Upon arriving at Hanoi airport, we took a Jetstar bus for VND80,000 for 2 persons to Hanoi town. The bus stop is located just outside the airport arrival area, and the bus will take you to Tran Quang Khai Street, which is nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.
We headed to Hanoi Eclipse Hotel, which is located at Hang Quat street in Hanoi Old Quarters, situated just beside Hoan Kiem Lake. On our way there, we immerse ourselves with the sceneries of Hoan Kiem lake, with the Turtle Tower and Ngoc Son Temple built on islet in the middle of the lake; one at the north and one at the south. Do be on the lookout for the famed but elusive Hoan Kiem turtle, especially on the Turtle Tower islet. The Hoan Kiem turtle is a giant freshwater turtle that may be the only living specimen of its species left in the world.
When you have reached the Old Quarters, you will notice that all buildings here are built in such a way that they have a narrow façade and long body, which apparently is to avoid having to pay high taxes.
Hanoi Eclipse Hotel
Our room comes with 1 Queen-sized bed and 1 single bed
After checking in, we headed to one of the best place to eat Pho (Vietnamese flat rice beef noodles) in Hanoi, known as Pho 10, to have our lunch. It is located on Ly Quoc Su road. A bowl of noodle with generous portions of beef costs VND40,000. We ordered 2 delicious bowls and finished it in no time.
Noodle at Pho 10
Having filled up our stomach, we walked to the St Joseph Cathedral, which is located just a stone’s throw away from Pho 10. This Gothic architecture church was built in the 19th century and it strikes some resemblances with Notre Dame of Paris. The view from inside the cathedral is remarkable as well, with stained glass windows decorating the cathedral. You might have just mistakenly thought that you have reached Europe. We paid an entrance fee of VND 10,000 to view the inside of the cathedral though, imposed by the guide manning the entrance.
St Joseph Cathedral
Inside St Joseph Cathedral
We visited a 2-storey supermarket called Intimex, which is located nearby the church and is just across the street from Hoan Kiem lake. A 5 litres mineral water costs VND17,000. We bought some snacks here for VND50,000.
We then head back to the hotel for some rest and make reservation with the hotel for a trip to Halong Bay for USD80 for 2 persons that include transportation, lunch, and a one-hour kayaking session in Halong Bay.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Xoi Yen at 35b Nguyen Nuu Huan Street to eat a Vietnamese dish called Xoi Xeo. It is basically a type of sticky rice with mung bean paste and fried shallots added as toppings. You may also choose from wide varieties of other optional toppings to add to your Xoi Xeo, such as steamed chicken slices, stewed minced pork, stewed egg, chicken floss, and many others. It also includes a plate of pickled cucumber to accompany your Xoi Xeo. The taste is unique and delicious, not to mention stomach-filling and gentle on the wallet. We ordered a bowl of chicken slice Xoi Xeo and a bowl of stewed minced pork with stewed egg Xoi Xeo for VND65,000 only.
Chicken Slice Xoi Xeo
Day 2
The breakfast from the hotel is provided as set meals. We ordered the bacon with bread and fried egg set and the fried noodle set. Both set come with drinks (selection of Vietnamese coffee, tea, or fruit juice) and a plate of fruits. Special mention is to be given to the bread, which is light and fluffy inside, but crispy on the outside.
Breakfast – Bread with Bacon and Egg
Breakfast – Fried Noodle
After breakfast, we took our bus ride, which picks us up from the hotel, to Halong Bay. The journey took approximately 4 hours, with a half hour break in between at a handicraft centre for us to go to the washroom. You may buy various handicrafts here as well as watch how the ‘artists’ create their beautiful hand embroidery pictures.
Artist busy creating their Hand Embroidery Picture
Upon reaching the harbor, we board our ship for our ride to Halong Bay. Lunch is provided on board the ship and the meal consists of prawns, fried eggs, tofu, fried fish, fried spring roll, vegetables, and fried noodle. The food is so-so but you get to enjoy your meal while cruising along Halong Bay.
Our boat ride to Halong Bay
Seats inside the boat
View of Halong Bay outside the ship
After lunch, we arrive at a floating dock for our kayaking session. We paid an additional VND80,000 to gain access to two caves area. Kayaking was fun as the weather is cooling and the scenery is marvelous. A point to note though if you are venturing into the caves area: it exits into an open area where the water is quite shallow. So, your kayak might get stuck if you get too near to the shallow area. We spent 45 minutes here kayaking around.
Entering the cave
Open area upon exiting the cave
Kayaking around Halong Bay
Scenery at Halong Bay
After our kayaking session, our next destination is the Celestial Palace cave, known by locals as Dong Thien Cung. It is a limestone cave with stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes and shapes, decorated with colourful lightings and is situated on one of the many islands in Halong Bay. If you look closely, some actually resembles the head of a dragon. Interesting spots to look out for in the cave includes a rock that is continuously spraying water upwards, and a wall with flowing water that forms a mini lake beneath. The cave exits to another side of the island, where our ship awaits us.
Lake in the cave
The cave marks the end of our Halong Bay tour. We began our journey home, with stopover for some light snacks at the same handicraft centre we were in earlier in the day. We bought a hotdog for VND30,000.
Hotdog at the Handicraft centre
Upon reaching back to Hanoi, we stopped by the Dong Xuan night market, which is opened only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6.30pm onwards. Various stalls line the street, selling goods ranging from souvenier, food, greeting cards, clothing, and many more. It is quite a busy night market. We bought a waffle-like texture cake with red bean paste fillings, in the shape of a fish, for VND10,000 here. After strolling around the various stalls, we decided to call it a day and went back to our hotel.
Yummy red bean paste cake.
Day 3
After having our breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, which was inscribed into the Unesco World Heritage Site listing in 2010. It is a cultural complex comprising of a royal enclosure that dates back to the Ly Dynasty in the year 1010, with lots of unique architecture buildings and artifacts to be seen. And best of all, entrance to the site is free! Among places of interest at the complex is the Hanoi Flag Tower, which is one of the symbols of the city and was built in 1812. The Vietnam Military History Museum is located here as well. Note that the Flag Tower is separated from the main Imperial Citadel complex and is entered via a separate entrance.
Railway tracks in between buildings while on the way to Thang Long citadel
Hanoi Flag Tower
Entrance to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
The main complex area is quite vast, with many places to explore and lots of photo-taking opportunities. There was even a Vietnamese couple having their wedding photo shoot there.
Dragon sculpture staircase
Stairs leading up to the wall of the citadel
A Vietnamese Wedding photoshoot taking place
An archeological excavation was seen to be taking place as it was discovered that the complex was built on the site of various different dynasty buildings, one on top of the other.
Archeological excavation taking place
We then headed to a place called Maxx Coffee for lunch. We ordered a plate of fried rice, a bowl of pho (flat rice noodle), and a cup of Vietnamese coffee for VND95,000. The coffee was nice but the food tasted so-so.
Lunch at Maxx Coffee
Vietnamese-Coffee-Making
Having had our stomach filled, we headed to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The place is open for public access from 8am till 11am every morning except Monday & Friday. However, we went there on a Monday since we would like to snap some photos of the building itself without the crowd and police manning the place. We will be visiting the place again the next day to enter the building.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Flag pole in front of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Next, we went to the Tran Quoc Pagoda, which is a Buddhist temple located on an islet near the south eastern shore of Hanoi’s West Lake. It is the oldest pagoda in the city and was constructed in the 6th century. Access to the islet is via a bridge. On our way there, we bought 10pcs of facial mask that most Vietnamese are wearing when walking around Hanoi from a street peddler for VND90,000. Although the temperature is cooling in Hanoi during spring time, the air is actually quite dusty.
Wearing Masks at Tran Quoc Pagoda ;)
We then walked around the northern part of Hanoi Old Quarters. We passed by barber operating beneath birdges, some shops selling wedding decorations, and an outlet selling preserved fruits decorated as animal figurines. We also passed by the Hang Dau Water Tower, which was built by the French during the colonial days using laterite from the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. The water tower has not been in operation since the 1950s and is currently a landmark building in North Old Quarter. We then visited the Cho Dong Xuan market but nothing much can be seen here as it is a wholesale market selling mostly clothing.
Barber operating under a bridge
Preserved fruits outlet
Hang Dau Water Tower
For dinner, we went to an outlet called Bun Bo Nam Bo at 67, Hang Dieu for a delicious Vietnamese dish named no other than Bun Bo Nam Bo! It is basically a rice noodle dish with strips of beef, bean sprouts, lettuce, pickled carrot, crushed roasted peanuts, all poured with generous helpings of sweet and sour sauce. The taste is unique and delicious. For those of you familiar with the Malaysian Chinese food called Yee Sang, the taste is somewhat similar to it. We also ordered some roast fish cakes wrapped in leaves, which was delicious as well. All in, it costs us VND122,000.
Bun Bo Nam Bo
Fish cake
We then had a stroll along Hoan Kiem lake to enjoy the night scenery. Both the Turtle Tower and the Ngoc Son Temple located on islet in the lake are lighted up at night to make it a sight to behold.
Turtle Tower
We dropped by Intimex supermarket to buy some snacks for VND56,900 before heading back to the hotel. On the way back, we managed to buy a piece of hand embroidery art picture that was similar to the ones we saw while we were went to Halong Bay. It costs us USD6.
Day 4
We took our breakfast in the hotel. Then, we headed to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We had to follow instructions to locate the entrance point as you would have to line up to go through their security check. Bags are not allowed to be taken in so it has to be kept at the counter near the entrance. There is no entrance fee to gain access to the place but photography inside the building is strictly prohibited. The embalmed body of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, is preserved inside the central hall of the building and is protected by military honour guard. The body is kept inside see-through glass case with dim lightings.
Next, we went over to the Presidential Palace, which is located just beside the mausoleum. Entrance fee is VND25,000 per person. The building was built in the 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina. Ho Chi Minh also built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house with carp pond here as his residence. The interior of house could be viewed from the corridors.
Presidential Palace
House of Ho Chi Minh
Next, we dropped by the One Pillar Pagoda, which is located nearby as well. The pagoda rises on top of a lake and is supported by a sole pillar.
One Pillar Pagoda
Then, we headed to the Temple of Literature (also known as Confucius Temple). Entrance fee is VND20,000 per person. The temple was once a centre of learning in Hanoi. Vietnam’s first national university, the “Imperial Academy”, was housed here. The whole area is quite big, with gardens, ponds, and Vietnamese/Chinese Architecture buildings that offer great opportunity for snapping great photos. There was also a hall where traditional Vietnamese music instruments were played to provide visitors the chance to experience how Vietnamese ‘orchestra’ sounded like.
Entrance to Temple of Literature
A tower inside the temple compound
Inside the temple
After exploring the whole temple compound, we decided to head for lunch at Xoi Yen again. J On our way there, we passed by a park beside Hoan Kiem lake with a large statue of Ly Thai To, who is the founding emperor of Ly Dynasty of Vietnam and also founded the city of Hanoi.
Statue of Ly Thai To
For lunch, we ordered 2 bowls of chicken slice Xoi Xeo for VND74,000. Then, we went back to the hotel for some rest and also to make our taxi arrangement back to the airport the next morning. The taxi costs VND300,000.
After some rest, we went out for some shopping at the streets of Hanoi Old Quarters and managed to get a handmade hand bag for VND70,000. We also bought some Vietnamese French bread from a road side stall for VND10,000. It’s quite nice as it is crispy on the outside but soft and moist at the inside. Next, we went hunting for the famed Hanoi ice-cream at an outlet called Kem Trang Tien, located at Trang Tien road at the southeast direction of Hoan Kiem lake. The ice-cream cost VND12,000 and the taste is quite nice and mouth watering.
Kem Trang Tien ice-cream. Yummy!
For dinner, we decided to drop by Xoi Yen and ordered a chicken floss Xoi Xeo and a minced meat Xoi Xeo as takeaway as we intend to relax in our hotel room for dinner while watching TV. It costs us VND42,000.
Day 5
It’s time to bid farewell to Hanoi. As we have to depart from the hotel at 6.30am, we do not have time to take the hotel breakfast.
Overall, it was a memorable trip. Too bad we didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the legendary Hoan Kiem turtle! ;)
