Day 16. Vietnam Diary – Hanoi

Christmas decorations, cheese blanket, Dung Limousine

Day 16. Sunday 2 June 2024

I’m still reeling that it’s June. All those things I planned to do with the long daylight hours in Scotland. I’m still to start my late night activities. For this trip, I left home in Scotland for home in London on Sunday 12 May. I’m probably going to be back in Scotland on Thursday 6 June at the earliest. I know that in that time it will finally look like summer (Chris has sent me some photos of everywhere looking distinctly greener) and I’ll have missed one of my favourite British transition times. I could have gone away at a different time, I’m not complaining in that sense.

Today is my last full day in Vietnam on this trip and I’m definitely starting to reflect on more everyday things. At some point today, I’ll start the packing process, so I’ll find my flat keys. That always gives me a jolt of reality and a reminder of how different my surroundings, and even my everyday life, will be from Tuesday morning when I’m due to land at LGW at around 06:20.

I’m sitting on the 1^st floor of a quiet (for now) coffee shop/restaurant, Nhà hàng La Place, opposite Hanoi “Big Church”. I’m indoors where it’s pleasantly cool. I ordered a 75k (less than £2.50) muesli, fruit, yoghurt glass and a lemon apple iced tea. I’ve never been a yoghurt fan in particular. This was perfect. Muesli that seemed unsweetened, creamy, cool yoghurt, watermelon balls, chunks of mango and slices of banana. Just what I fancied.

I was out and about by 08:30 this morning. I thought for a Sunday that might still be fairly early. Ha. So many people out.

I’m now a little bit further along the street in a tiny Japanese coffee shop, Hajime, and I’ve just ordered “nâu”, which is coffee with condensed milk. I also feel mildly confident I’ll be getting a hot coffee, but who knows.

This is a cute coffee shop but probably not a destination café. There are five tall, large, comfortable bar chairs inside and a few stools outside. It’s basically the size of a double garage with a pleasing mix of makeshift and splurge. The off-white counter, for example, looks good. Disappointingly, this is an espresso-based Vietnamese coffee and the barista is mixing the milk into the coffee, which I enjoy doing myself, in a kind of mindful stirring way. There’s something distinctive about the taste of slow-dripped coffee. Oh my, what do I know? The espresso coffee I have now is OK but doesn’t get me excited about Vietnamese coffee.

Something I can’t help but notice here is that there are Christmas decorations everywhere. I assume they are for the purpose of Christmas but are left around all year. There are some in the flat where I’m staying, on top of the fridge in this café and, truly, in so many other places. Most have been tinsel and bauble related.

I was going to go to another coffee place on this road but I can definitely feel a caffeine buzz so I’ll leave it for a while.

Another thing you see a lot of, especially around designer or luxury shops/hotels/restaurants/bars is Asian women dressed in white, usually wearing short, fancy, white dresses, posing – and white shoes, usually with incredibly high heels – and having their photo taken. I’m fairly sure it’s for Instagram and/or general lifestyle photos.

I’m watching an egg coffee being made. A few things other than egg have gone into it (a brown sauce or liquid, which I suppose could be a bit of coffee, and crystals of pale brown/gold, which could be sugar or some kind of spicy salt mix). The whole eggs have been whisked with it. So, yes, egg coffee is whisked eggs, raw but cooked slightly by mixing with hot coffee. Don’t for a minute let that put you off trying it. Oh, of course, it’s also served with the cup in a bowl of boiling water; now I realise that’s to cook the egg a bit.

What’s happened to all my lovely drip coffees? I’m now in Briefly on Earth. I have another not-quite-what-I-wanted phin coffee. I reiterate that Saigon was my coffee and café highlight, especially Grandmum.

As with yesterday (possibly because it was children’s day, but maybe it’s a weekend thing), the main roads around the lake, Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, are closed to traffic. It makes walking around the area so much quicker and less stressful.

Today, I wasn’t feeling the love for walking around busy streets in humidity. According to my phone, it’s 33°C with a feels-like of 43°C. It’s also forecast to thunder. In Saigon, the temperature was a bit high, feels-like about the same, but there seems to be more shade here, which sort of helps.

I’m vaguely planning to buy a takeaway banh mi to eat at the flat. I haven’t had one (except for the omelette one from outside the market a few days ago) since my birthday banh mi, which tipped me over the pork edge. Wow, that was two weeks ago tomorrow.

I reiterate how bizarre holiday times are. Two weeks ago today I was probably in the War Remnants Museum, ore more likely in my first Vietnamese coffee shop. It’s a great feeling to reflect on the past two weeks and realise how much I’ve seen and experienced. So, so much. I can’t express enough how much I feel – this sounds cheesy but I think the word is probably right: enriched. I haven’t just experienced the wonders of my Vietnam surroundings, I’ve been reminded how much inspiration I get from travel.

I’ll end that there, I’m not sure I’m anywhere near coming out with something profound or succinct.

Maybe because I know I’m flying home – oh wow, “tomorrow” – but I feel ready for my normal life. It’ll also be wonderful not to be so hot and sweaty. Weirdly though, it’s almost easier to be hot and sweaty here because there’s AC and lots of fans, unlike in the UK.

I went to one of the quieter “round the corner” Kem Tràng Tiền ice cream and lolly stalls. I sat on a low stool and consumed a delicious 15k vnd apricot lolly. Almost as good as their coconut ice cream.

I’ve just been wondering what I’d most like to do today. I’d love to be on a quiet beach (close second being by a quiet pool with a good view), in the shade, not anywhere near this hot, with good nap facilities, a good book and occasional swims. Yeah, that makes sense. I’m coming to the end of my tolerance (actually, not “tolerance”, it’s enjoyment) for hectic, busy, noisy, people-y city living. I also haven’t fully embraced not flushing loo paper down the loo. I don’t like not being able to do that.

I’m back in the AC of my accommodation. It still hasn’t thundered – that sounds wrong: the thunder still hasn’t materialised but it’s getting more and more humid. It’s about 12:30.

I bought a (disappointing) banh mi. I opted for a 30k vnd (less than £1) baguette with cheese blanket (sounds so much better than “2 slices of melted (microwave) plastic cheese”), hot dog and smoked sausage. It came with lettuce and I said yes to mayo and chilli sauce. It was OK but the bread wasn’t crispy. I also had a small shredded coconut ball and a gooey banana loaf cake. Both very tasty. The banana cake was 25k vnd, the coconut ball, 7k vnd.

I’m staying indoors until 16:00 ish. It’s forecast to get hotter until then and I really do fancy some down time.

Before I came here, I wondered about a few things, some of which I Googled. I’m going to go through some of the things I wanted to know before I came here, both as questions and as comments/statements.

• If I came again, where would I fly into?

I booked into Saigon and out of Hanoi. It was cheaper (a bit) and the times suited me better. Otherwise, I can’t see it makes a difference.

• Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi?

I had no idea how different these two cities would be. They are a lot different. Hanoi is prettier (but that is no reflection on which is more interesting), more tourist-orientated, easier to walk to main tourist sites (admittedly, I haven’t taken any public transport in Hanoi so stayed around the French/Old Quarter), traffic is a bit easier to navigate and more pedestrian crossing lights (but green NEVER means you don’t need to look and dodge scooters).

Saigon is kind of more varied, I probably enjoyed the food more, I enjoyed the coffee and cafes more, I even think I generally liked people’s attitudes more (there’s a lot online about how different people are in Hanoi versus Saigon, as there would be between London and Glasgow, for example). It was easier to keep my head down and feel less noticed in Saigon (except around the major tourist areas). I found myself almost dreading walking out in Saigon because of the stress of crossing roads. I didn’t feel that overwhelmed or anxious in Hanoi or Hue.

• Where to go in Vietnam?

Every direction, wherever you go in Vietnam (as with most new places) is different and exciting to my British eyes. You can’t see/do/experience everything. I was in Saigon for six nights, Hanoi for seven nights. I could easily have stayed longer and still every day have seen or experienced new and exciting things just in those two cities. I chose to stop between Saigon and Hanoi in Hue, in part because I didn’t want to spend two consecutive nights on a train or bus. I wanted to travel further the first “half” of my journey south to north. It was either Da Nang, Hoi An or Hue in terms of train/bus times. Hoi An is a taxi drive out of Da Nang. I decided against that for a short two-night stay. Da Nang seemed mainly about the beach (too hot and too touristy for what I wanted). Hue had an imperial city, which sounded interesting, and it seemed like a small enough city to be able to see quite a lot even for a short stay.

The train stopped at Da Nang. A lot of tourists got on and off. It looked like a busy resort. I was glad I hadn’t decided to stay there, but that’s just me.

Hue worked out well. But I think I’d have enjoyed anywhere. I got the impression Hoi An is a really interesting place. I’d go there if I came again, but stay four-ish nights.

I particularly enjoyed Hue food. It was also a relief to stay somewhere smaller. I had no idea how vast and interesting and lovely the walled imperial city would be. There are also a lot of places day-tripable from Hue (ditto everywhere though). Two nights was a good minimum. I walked around the imperial city and the old town and all was good.

• Should I just go to Saigon or Hanoi? [I note as I type this up a month or so later, I have already addressed that question – what’s with all the repetition when I’m handwriting?]

Think about what you want to do/see/experience. One might obviously tick more boxes. Bear in mind Saigon is in the south and is a bit hotter. But it’s not like Hanoi is cool in comparison, just ever so slightly easier heat-wise. In winter, I believe it’s quite a lot colder in Hanoi than Saigon.

• Where should I do a cookery class?

I wanted to do just one thing in Vietnam, a cookery class. In the end, I didn’t want to. That was just my mindset. I didn’t come here to socialise! I didn’t fancy the idea of being with a load of strangers, all lined up preparing a few dishes. I am sure I’d have done it and enjoyed it. But I didn’t want to do it in the end. However, Hue would have been the best place for me to have taken a class because I liked the food so much there.

I did a cookery afternoon in Delhi a few years ago. I was spoiled. I met a woman near where she lived, we bought vegetables and fresh paneer from a market and I was able to choose the vegetables to be cooked. We walked back to her flat and, as we discussed, she cooked while I watched and wrote notes. I have made two of the dishes she prepared countless times since and those recipes are very different to any I have in Indian cookery books, and I have quite a lot of Indian cookery books. It was in her home and I was able to ask her questions. It was perfect for me. That’s what I wanted here. I did try to find something similar in Saigon, but I couldn’t.

• How do you cope with the heat, drinking enough water, needing to find loos?

I can’t stress enough how much better a sun umbrella (reflective silver-grey on the inside) is than a hat. And that there are shady streets/areas. You can buy water (rather than carrying litres of it around like I did) every few metres. Seriously, it’s so easy to buy more water. As for toilets, go into a café or restaurant, cool off with a drink, a sit-down, AC or fans and use the loo. Loos have little hoses next to them for washing your toileting areas. There also loo paper WHICH DOES NOT GO DOWN THE LOO. It’s all fine. I never once failed to find a loo when I needed one, and anyway I pretty much balanced what I drank with what I sweated. I also always have antibacterial spray with me.

• Which is better, train or bus?

Hahahahahahahaha. There are pros and cons to both. I think trains are safer than buses in the sense that driving is a challenge. The roads are busy, full of unpredictable traffic, pot holey, etc.

I had 24+ hours on a train and 14+ hours on a bus. I was on the bus during the day so no overnight, but as I got up just after 04:00 to catch the bus, I did sleep on the bus. I had a ViP limousine bus with my own bed/reclining seat. I had curtains to separate me from other passengers and a blind, if needed, for the outside window. I had room for my activity and food bags and there was a USB charging point. Without doubt the most comfortable option.

On the train, when I was under the AC (only at one end of each carriage – I’ll explain why I chose seating rather than a couchette) and in the carriage with few other passengers, I had two reclining seats to myself and it was comparatively OK. For the second train (after the rail replacement bus – a c2-hour delay, not mentioned before I travelled, and as it’s a detour from a rail tunnel collapse and they’d recorded an English translation, I imagine it’s a detour that will be ongoing), the carriage was full. It was busy, noisy, hot at times and generally everyone sat in their designated seat. My designated seat was #64, but I sat at the furthest opposite seat, #1, because it was under the AC. I’m sure I was in someone’s seat. But I wasn’t asked to move.

With trains, my seat was in a carriage with wide reclining seats – or that was in the photo. In reality, there are newer coaches and only go up to seat 54ish. Hence an extra carriage or two on the train for people like me with a seat number over 54. That meant we could sit where we wanted in a quieter carriage. But a less comfortable carriage and no foot rest and narrower seats (64 seats in a carriage rather than 54).

I have almost nothing positive to say about the loo on the train other than that there was running water and it worked (for flush and hand wash and bum hose). It was dirty (only urine, water and looking like it hadn’t been cleaned – the whole toilet room) and the floor was very wet and it smelled bad. Fortunately, there was an open window and a lock. But it was hideous. But it could have been worse. It would be the last place you would want to spend time if you had a sickness or diarrhoea bug. Ugh.

The bus loo was challenging for the erratic movement of the bus. The loo was OK. The floor was at least dry. The bum hose worked. There was no wash basin water (well, the wash basin was full of stuff – possibly toiletries belonging to the drivers). I used the bum hose, loo paper (into the bin) and my hand sanitizer. There are plastic sliders for all to use outside the loo as no one wears shoes on sleeping buses.

We all got off the bus once, at a service station. The only hole in the floor loos I saw were there. Vile and smelly but there was running water.

Train or bus? I honestly don’t know. I veer towards trains until I think of how much quieter and calmer and more comfortable the luxury coach cabins were.

• Is it worth getting a bed on a train?

For me, no. I know I can’t sleep on them – I’ve tried, in more recent years in the Caledonian Sleeper (London to Edinburgh) and in Kazakhstan. I can’t sleep on trains, even with earplugs and eye mask. Some people can. Obviously.

The clincher for me was that your narrow bed is your only seat in the Vietnamese trains. I wanted to look out the window and sit up. The bus beds are much bigger and better for upright seating and window view and being in control of your bit of window.

I also read, and can confirm, that people get on and off trains all through the night. And day. There is a lot of disturbance. Way more than I expected. If you pay for all beds in a carriage (four or six), people will still come in because it might look better than their compartment. Try explaining they have to leave because you’ve paid for all beds. To Vietnamese speakers in English.

The train goes slow, goes fast, stops, starts, AC on, AC off, people watch videos on their phones, loudly, video chats, phone calls, general chatting, eating, shoes and socks off, hot and sweaty, food and drink trolleys, people getting up, people sitting down, people sleeping, train rattling along so fast it feels like it’ll come off the rails (it feels faster than it is at times), train so slow you know you could walk faster, train whistle, jolts, noise, train whistle (yes, repetition, but, bloody hell, a lot of train whistles). The train is not at all smooth, calm, quiet, a consistent temperature, not clean … see it as an experience. People will talk to you. That is both a joy and a nuisance. Some people will talk to you with very bad morning breath. Very bad. Some people will talk louder because it’s clear you can’t understand. I will never understand Vietnamese, however slowly, loudly or close to my face it is spoken. Maybe that sounds rude of me. But some people, in all nationalities, seem unable to comprehend that you will never, ever be able to understand the language they are speaking. It can be very annoying. Likewise, I spoke to a few people on the train with whom it was possible to communicate and I was touched to connect with people.

• Random train things.

There is a hot water dispenser, I believe at one end of every carriage. A lot of people brought pot noodles and ate them, using the hot water, though seemingly a lot of people wanting hot water at the same time; there were a few chunks of hot-water-queuing times.

There is a wash basin area (no door, just an alcove) next to the loos. Good for teeth-cleaning but not remotely clean or hygienic. That was the only time I used bottled water to clean my teeth in Vietnam. I also used a disposable toothbrush from the plane and happily chucked it after two uses on the train.

Dinner was served on a china plate, which staff later collected.

There are rubbish bins and they were cleared out quite regularly.

There are some stops where you can get out to buy food/drink. I know for a fact that Da Nang is a lengthy stop, at least 15 minutes, though for us almost an hour.

Hot food comes round at meal times. I bought a dinner and a breakfast. Both OK. With hindsight, I’d have brought a pot noodle, more snacks and something bready for breakfast (Over my 24-hour journey, in addition to the dinner and banh mi I bought from the trolleys, I had a squashed croissant, a bag of crisps, a mini melted Snickers bar, dried banana, dried mango – dried mango was great, banana a bit too sticky).

For the bus, I planned it better and had a huge bag of crisps, more water than on the train, a tub of salted cashews, a very good pain au chocolat (from Dalat Milk and Bakery, Hue), bananas and oranges and my packed breakfast of bread and pineapple jam and mini pastries from the hotel). I would have happily had pho or something else hot from the service station we stopped at, but I had plenty of food with me.

• Choosing a bus.

Different coach companies start/stop in different places around the city. Some might stop/start closer to where you’re staying. 12go.com as a booking site/experience worked very well for me. They were recommended by The Man in Seat Sixty-One, whose advice and website were invaluable.

It doesn’t seem that you can book buses (or trains?) online less than two days before you travel. Buses and trains do also book up. Rocking up at the station to buy a long-distance ticket will not guarantee you’re on the next train.

Trains and buses go in clusters, ie not regularly over a 24-hour period.

Look at the bus photos on the booking form/their website. My rail replacement bus was a sleeper bus but we were two levels on three rows and legs slotted into a capsule. A LOT less room and comfort than the curtained two levels on two rows that I had with Quang Dung.

Reviews for bus companies aren’t good. Mine was 1.9/5. Another I saw was 2.9/5. Yes, the roads are dangerous and no bus and no bus driver is going to give you a smooth ride. In my bus, I actually had a seat belt, which I fastened. I was happy with that, though I caught that bus a few days after it was in the news about a particularly turbulent flight and how seat belts would have stopped people hitting their heads as they flew out of their seats so I was in a seat belt kind of frame of mind.

I nearly cancelled my bus and tried to get a train or another bus company. That was how I learned that you seem unable to book transport online fewer than two days before travel. Fortunately, I also realised all options would have challenges. My experience with Quang Dung Limousine was better than 1.9/5, thankfully, and we didn’t have any accidents. The driving wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it might be and I got from A to B within a realistic timescale considering how many tens of times we stopped (for people and for deliveries) and that we had an unscheduled one-our delay to fix a damaged tyre.

My coach, ViP travel, had a padded floor (totes luxe!) and I could control my AC so temperature-wise it was perfect.