Hanoi is the bustling, almost chaotic capital of Vietnam. The metropolis offers a whole range of sights and serves as our starting point for immersing ourselves in the culture of this Southeast Asian country.
Entry into Vietnam – Visa on Arrival
As soon as we arrived in Vietnam, we had to get our visa. Since we had already provided all our information in advance, everything was processed quite quickly. Five Vietnamese men in military uniforms sit side by side, working in an assembly line fashion. The boss sits behind them in a fine suit at his solid wood desk and doesn't lift a finger. Visa on arrival works very well; after just 20 minutes, we had paid the $25 fee and had the visa affixed to our passports. If you forgot your passport photos, you can have them taken by a friendly border guard for $2 (tested by Chris).
At the immigration desk, we met a Polish man and his girlfriend who wanted to share a taxi with us to the city center, 35 km away. No sooner said than done, and after a brief negotiation, we were in the car for 400,000 dong (approximately €13).
As soon as we leave the airport, the honking begins. People honk their horns for almost every occasion – to signal an overtaking move, to make way, or simply as a preventative measure. So, of course, no one responds to the honking and just drives as they please. Mackek (the Pole) casually tried to explain to our driver exactly where we wanted to go. This only resulted in our driver staring at the map, which necessitated a few risky evasive maneuvers. When we were then told that he never fastens his seatbelt because it's safer, our hopes of arriving safely vanished completely. After about 30 minutes (a remarkable feat in this traffic), we reached the "Old Quarter" of Hanoi, contrary to expectations, completely unscathed and without a single dent, and were able to start looking for a hotel.
Hotel search in Hanoi Old Quarter
This is where the next problem awaited us. We had been given a name and a street from our hotel booking, but they didn't appear on our maps (Google Maps). So we made our way through the alleys of Hanoi, constantly on the lookout for approaching cars and mopeds – but without finding any sign of our hotel or even the street. After about 20 minutes of pointless walking in circles, our motivation was at an all-time low. Just as we were about to change our plans, we made one last attempt in an unfamiliar alley and... we were lucky. Chris spotted the street sign, and we quickly found the hotel.
Hanoi Gecko Hotel
The Hanoi Gecko Hotel (the name under which our hotel, "Sans Souci II," is listed here) is a seven-story building with approximately 20 rooms. The furnishings are functional but clean. The rooms have a minibar, a safe, and a bathtub that can be used as a shower. The safe, however, is nothing more than a metal-reinforced shoebox, which you can easily carry with you. Therefore, we decided to lock the safe inside with a hairdryer (to fool the burglar into thinking there was something inside) and hide our valuables behind the refrigerator—hopefully, that will help.
Jade Mountain Temple at Hoan Kiem Lake
After a relaxing shower and a few minutes of recovery from the constant honking, we were motivated enough to continue exploring the city. Our first stop was the Jade Mountain Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake.
Here, in addition to the numerous incense sticks, the unusual temple offerings are particularly striking. So, it's no surprise to find butter cookies, water bottles, or even a bottle of vodka alongside ancient sculptures and texts.
Hoan Kiem Lake
Afterwards, we continued around Hoan Kiem Lake. This is one of the few quiet (relative to that—the honking of horns is everywhere) and relaxing spots in downtown Hanoi. The place was therefore overrun by Vietnamese couples. It was virtually impossible for us to walk along the waterfront without ending up in a wedding photo.
St. Joseph Cathedral
After a quick bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant (even though some of the local food stalls looked quite tasty, we hadn't dared to try them today), we plunged back into the traffic chaos.
One is always struck by the contrast between the hectic, sometimes dirty street shops and the quiet, well-maintained temple complexes. One of the largest religious buildings is the Catholic St. Joseph Cathedral.
Since we were still very tired from the flight, we ended the evening with a beer and chips from the 7-Eleven store around the corner and dealt with the pitfalls of blog writing.
