It's a bit of a strange feeling to set foot again in a city visited a few years ago. At the same time the feeling of knowing, of finding one's "marks" but also a rediscovery, a new perspective.
Coming back from Thai Nguyen, I was a little apprehensive about this moment of reunion, knowing the chaos of traffic with this whirlwind of 2 wheels arriving from all sides... Here is my feeling on a return to Hanoi, 5 years after our previous visit.
The tricky entrance into town
The return journey to Hanoi was anything but pleasant. A very dusty road, teeming with trucks, and motorbikes whizzing by from all directions required Olympian concentration, with my eyes stinging almost constantly (I didn't have a visor…) and my arm still aching ( see here why ).
As we were about to enter the city via one of the bridges to the east, the police stopped us. I wasn't worried, as I have a Thai driver's license, valid in all ASEAN countries . In the end, I didn't even have time to get it out; thinking my wife was Vietnamese, he was counting on her to act as a translator, since he didn't speak English…
Finally understanding that she was not Viet, he let us leave immediately...
Once across the bridge, chaos was there. The simple thing was to blend in with the crowd and follow the movement... Having taken care beforehand to check my route on the GPS, I brought our bike back without a hitch to the Flamingo Travel offices, in the heart of the old Hoan Kiem district, after a 1 km journey in the mountains of the north of the country.
The importance of weather
Well yes, the first big difference between this stay and the previous one, the weather. If 5 years ago the weather was gloomy in this part of the country, this year, it was a beautiful sunny weather that accompanied us.
And it gives a completely different impression. Gloomy, almost depressive with the cool weather, morning fog and very humid weather, in one case, a city full of energy and not unpleasant in the other.
Of course, this is a slightly exaggerated summary, because no, we didn't hate it or feel depressed during our first stay... But it is obvious that this mild weather for this new visit makes me appreciate the city in a new, more radiant light.
The city is well wooded, the setting around the famous park and its sword island (with the turtle tower) becomes an essential place to come and stroll, you feel a sense of spring with the trees in bloom, the people sitting on the benches enjoying the sun which is not really burning at this time of year.
These trees, I really say to myself, are what Bangkok is missing, big good old trees that provide shade, but add an undeniable charm to this teeming city where motorbikes are king.
Choose your day
Another thing I noticed, if possible, choose the day (or days) when you will be in Hanoi. For us, it's not a big deal since we had already been there, but wanting to take advantage of the good weather and a more powerful camera (and the wide-angle especially!), I planned to return to the previous places of visits, like the One Pillar Pagoda, and see new ones like the citadel.
Except it was Monday… And just like in Thailand, museums close on Mondays… Plus, it was a holiday period (40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, marking national reunification), so it was impossible to approach monuments like the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum…
In short, in terms of cultural visits, we'll come back to it...
Large selection of souvenirs
Already, last time, we each came back with several purchases, including backpacks for me. This year, we are enjoying wandering the streets, albeit touristy, around the lake.
I took the opportunity to repair my shoes whose soles were coming apart at a shoemaker in the street. Before going shopping. In this case, I would even say THE shop… Since in the end, we came back to exactly the same shop as 5 years ago. We like their style of trinkets and Jitima did not fail to make the remark (I doubt that the saleswoman would recognize us 5 years later… Knowing that I do not know myself if it was indeed the same person)
We were leaving fully loaded and I could already see the challenge of having to fit all that into the new backpack we had bought along the way. A backpack which is a bit of a "basic" purchase in Hanoi as you find them in abundance, sometimes hanging around a post or a tree, like leaves from a new kind of tree.
culinary delights
What I was also really looking forward to when I came back to Hanoi was finally having a choice. After spending 2 weeks wondering "hmmm, Pho or fried rice", we really had every type of cuisine available.
We started with a Mexican restaurant (which some would find sacrilege to do in Vietnam), an excellent choice, because it was very good, perhaps because it felt particularly good to change flavors for our palates thirsty for good things.
In the early afternoon, after a short stroll through the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake, we were looking for a café to sit in. Knowing that in Hanoi, it is possible to find some with a view of the lake, hidden in the back shops of the corner.
Our choice was the Lake Vieux Café (or Café Pho Co), where you have to cross the souvenir shop on the ground floor before entering a backyard with original decor. Unfortunately the "view" is no more since a building was built right in front of the balcony and you can barely see the lake...
But it is still a café with a unique atmosphere.
Later in the afternoon, I was tempted by a sandwich break, Vietnam being, after all, also known for its famous Ban Mih.
Finally in the evening, we set our sights on the Ladybird restaurant. Again, a good choice, but the restaurant is quite small so you won't be able to get 15 people in there (well at the same time, I don't think there are many of you traveling at 15...)
The street atmosphere
Hanoi is a worthy representative of an Asian city, namely, teeming with life! We see people there, tourists, locals, on motorbikes, in rickshaws, in the shops, the streets, sipping a glass of tea, tasting a baguette or I don't know what other activity.
Bangkok is already known for its active street life, both day and night, but Hanoi is a notch above, at least in the old quarters, since that's where we stayed most of the time.
One of the reasons being this permanent parade of 2 wheels coming from all sides, here clearly, they are the kings, and pedestrians had better watch out!
Hanoi by night
At night, the city remains just as dynamic, but the atmosphere remains a little more pleasant, less heat, less traffic, markets, restaurants, we spend a last evening breathing from this exhausting but oh so breathtaking journey, now the question arises, will we return to Hanoi?
Answer in 5 years perhaps!
Where to sleep in Hanoi
Not wanting to repeat our hotel experience from five years ago in Hanoi ( see here and compare the dreary atmosphere of that time), we decided this time to book something decent from the start. We chose a new one in the area, the Milton Boutique Hotel , a small hotel that tries to look like it.
The room was not particularly spacious and without a window but very comfortable and therefore rather quiet, especially since the hotel is a little away from the liveliest part, while remaining close to it (barely 500m), all for a price barely exceeding 20€.
And you? Have you ever returned to a city that you didn’t necessarily expect to be there? (This was also the case for me in Amsterdam!) What effects did you feel?
