Hello everyone!
If a first-timer like me is allowed to describe it, the streets of Hanoi, or at least in Hoan Kiem District, is one big tapestry of movement. In that tapestry, you're just one needle that's threading a single fabric throughout the city. The strategy is not to stop and just be confident in your strides. If you stop, you're disrupting the whole loom.
If you know about all the traffic rules, throw them all out in the window when you're in Hanoi, especially in the Old Quarter area. And it's not a bad thing for me. In fact, I find our whole stay in Hanoi profoundly stimulating. It's an eye-opener that some cultures are wildly different from ours, yet they made it work. If the same scenario happened here in the Philippines, I wouldn't dare to cross any road.
We arrived at Noi Bai International Airport at around 8:00 AM, went through immigration, got our checked-in baggage, and then bought a SIM and had some of our US Dollars exchanged for Vietnamese Dong. It was all smooth, and we didn't encounter any problems until the next day when we realized our data for the internet was not unlimited, and it was only good for 3 GB of data. Anyway, maybe due to miscommunication, their unlimited claims meant something else entirely. I'm not really into giving tips about my travels, so if you're into those travel essentials, you can read @thestrollingmind's posts here and here.
We then went to the bus area and immediately boarded the nearest bus that would transport us to the city center. The ride took us about an hour at 50,000 Dong. There wasn't much difference with the expressways in Manila, except theirs are lined with trees. I then started to notice that they would overtake without hesitation. I guess that's their secret: confidence and no hesitation.
I think one of the signs that you're already in Hanoi is you'll pass by the iconic Nhat Than Bridge. From what I've read here in Hive from our Vietnamese friends, Vietnam has so many iconic bridges that have become landmarks with cultural and historical significance. While we were still in awe of that Vietnam-Japan Friendship Bridge, we were already transported to the chaotic city center. The scene suddenly changed from six lanes of expressways to a chaotic urban setting with scooters dominating the streets.
We didn't know our bus stop, so we relied on Google Maps and asked the driver to drop us near our hotel. Like with the other tourists, we were dropped 1.4 kilometers away from the center of Old Quarter. We were debating if we would walk or book a Grab. The hikers in us won as we decided to walk to get an initial glimpse of what we were up to. Our "life and death situation" in the streets of Hanoi started when we entered Bat Dan Street.
To give you an idea of our ordeal, this is @strollingmind's get-up:
While Jovy and Shiela were strolling not far behind us, @thestrollingmind was the lead and I was the navigator. We were in our airport OOTDs while dragging our suitcases. The streets in Old Quarter felt like just half-lanes. I became hyper-aware of all the cars and motorcycles, even with the lack of sleep. As I've said, it was profoundly stimulating.
To say that Vietnam is a scooter or motorcycle nation is an understatement. I was fascinated by Hanoi even before the planning of this trip started, so I did a little bit of research. I was expecting the chaos, but just to be there and experience it myself is totally different. We had to walk on the street because the sidewalks were either parking areas or filled with small plastic chairs where the customers could sit while waiting for their restaurant orders. Every little bit of space is occupied.
While we have this "mall culture" in the Philippines, Vietnam has this "street culture". I've mentioned chaos a lot in this post, but somehow, everything just flows there and it's even charming. There's a charm in seeing the French architecture, unique character and specialty of each street, bustling motorcycles and scooters, and street food delights in one place. If we are to get fancy in describing the streets of Hanoi, there's this juxtaposition of old and new that creates a dynamic or always-moving atmosphere.
While we were inching closer to our hotel, I observed that it wasn't that humid, even if it was one hot sunny day. I realized that the sidewalks were lined with trees! It must be that the wires and cables are buried underground. It's what I like to see in the cities here in the Philippines. Burying the wires and cables underground would really make a lot of difference.
While honking is very much normal, I didn't feel like they would run us over. We had several crossings before reaching our hotel, and I became confident with every crossing. There are working traffic lights at every crossing, but they don't follow them.
We reached Little Diamond Hotel, checked in, and then immediately went to a cafe nearby to have our brunch since we were already starving. I'll share more about the cafe in the next post. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and rest. We decided to visit the famous Hanoi Train Street in the afternoon.
We also decided to just walk to Hanoi Train Street because we were already well-rested and it was just near our hotel. When it was already busy in the morning, the streets became even busier in the afternoon.
Is it just me, or there's a hierarchy in the streets of Hanoi? I noticed that the aunties in scooters are the queens of the streets and the rest must step aside. If there are gangsters in other countries, there are older aunties in the streets of Hanoi. I also noticed that it's okay for them to text or use phones while riding their scooters. Again, no one's judging.
There was also this sweet smell wafting through the air. I don't know if it's the tea they're drinking or those scented candles they're selling.
In conclusion, I'm just happy that Vietnam is the first country I've visited and so far, of the three countries, the food in Hanoi is the best. I'll share more about the food experience in the next post. See you!
Kim Ybañez
Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer, so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.
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