Backpacking in Vietnam. Hanoi (Part VI)

In the last article from my journeys into Vietnam you can find my tips about Hanoi and my recommendations what to see here in just a day. 

From the vibrant night life to the cultural experiences like The Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo Prison, Hanoi has part of the hectic ambience of Ho Chi Minh and at the same time you can find many places to chill out and escape the bustling streets. 

If you have followed my stories about Vietnam you already know that my last stop was Ninh Binh. From that point, somehow (catching a bus and a ferry), we made it to Cát Bà Island which is the place where most of the tours to Halong Bay start. 

Due to extremely bad weather and heavy rain we couldn’t see much of the area, therefore I will skip that part and share with you more from my stay in Hanoi.

My tip about Halong Bay: you better don’t go there in July -  this is the rainiest season ;)

Getting there

Getting to Hanoi from Cát Bà Island will take you around 5 hours and if you end up there in July like me, I promise you will be going through some adventure.

The ticket cost 250 000 VND and it includes buses + ferry. 

First, we took a bus from Cát Bà to the ferry. The 30 min journey into that boat looked so dramatic as if I was just rescued from the sinking Titanic and put into a lifeboat. 

Heavy rain and huge waves were crashing around us.

Trying to survive during a storm on a ferry in Vietnam 

The ferry left us at Haiphong city where we changed to another bus which finally took us to Hanoi. 

Where to stay

People have different comfort zone, but to me Hanoi Blue Moon Hotel is a decent place which is good for a short stay. We rented the room for 1 night and it was a good choice. The price was reasonable - a double room cost 415 000 VND (18$) and the location is perfect - in the Old Quarter, nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.

Things to do in Hanoi

We had exactly 1 night and one full day for Hanoi and considering not that nice weather in July it worked well done for us. 

Of course if you have more time you can easily spend 4-5 days in here. 

What I recommend you to do:

1. Hanoi Free Walking Tour

This cute girl with the umbrella and the guy on the photo were our local guides for half a day in Hanoi.  They showed us the best of their city, we tried the local food together and we laughed a lot together. 

I often search for the free walking tour options in different cities because this is an incredible chance to see a place through local’s perspective and to make new friends. 

2. Hoan Kiem Lake and The Huc Bridge

Our tour started from the most prominent landmark in Hanoi: Hoan Kiem Lake. The meaning of the name is “The Lake of the Returned Sword”. 

The legend says that a Le Loi King (one of the famous emperors and heroes in Vietnamese history) used a sword in the battles against Chinese. After the battle had finished a giant turtle emerged from the water and asked the emperor to give the sword back. 

The lake used to be full of giant turtles sighted there in honor of that emperor. Nowadays people say that there’s only a few turtles left in there. 

The Huc Bridge is the perfect finish of the beautiful landscape. 

Painted with a vivid red colors this bridge will lead you to the Ngoc Son Temple - a sacred place for Buddhists.

There is an entrance fee of 30 000 VND

3. The Temple of Literature

Why is this temple so famous? The temple which was built in 1070 by the emperor Ly Thanh Tong became the first university in Vietnam. 

The university is not only very old but it’s also known for the great difficulty of the education, where only an extremely gifted students were able to pass the exams with excellent marks. 

A courtyard of The Temple of Literature

Nowadays local students often visit this beautiful place to pray for luck before an important exam. 

It seems that turtles have special meaning in the Vietnamese culture. Students often touch the heads of the giant turtle sculptures in the university courtyard which is believed to bring them luck. 

4. Hoa Lo Prison

The prison  used to be a French colonist prison during French occupation until mid 30’s. Most of the Vietnamese kept inside were political prisoners. 

Later, when Vietnam became independent the prison was given back to the Vietnamese government. During the Vietnam War it was used to withhold American prisoners. Even though the Vietnamese are making a huge propaganda out of this, trying to display how nicely the American prisoners were treated all the time, it’s an interesting place which deserves to be visited. 

5. Night Life

I was surprised to find out that people from my country (Bulgaria) and people in Hanoi have a common tradition - eating sunflower seeds!

Ok, it’s a bit hard to explain this habit that Bulgarians do have,  but basically what we often do during the weekends is just go to out, meet with friends, sit in the park, eat sunflower seeds, drink beer and spend hours and hours in silence which could be only interrupted by some short question that requires a simple answer of just “YES” or “NO”. 

It doesn’t sound fun? Well, maybe you should go out and try this in Vietnam ;)

6. Local food

Our friends from Hanoi free walking tour took us here:

If you make a little research you’ll find out that other travelers call Bun Cha Dac Kim “ The Bun Cha Institution” (for those of you who don’t know bun cha is a barbecued pork with rice vermicelli). 

If you end up in Hanoi like me, this place is definitely a must-visit!

Where to find it? 

Here:

What I’ll remember from my 10 day journey in Vietnam is having so much fun, eating amazing food for no money, being brave and adventurous and letting the things happen on their own way.

Let’s not forget all this great people I've met on my way. Without you, my trip wouldn’t be the same.