MY VIETNAM TRIP: PART ONE

Hello readers. I am glad to announce that I am back with another series on my Travel blog. This time I went to the beautiful country of Vietnam with a good friend of mine. We went to 3 cities in total over a span of 7 days. This series will be, as usual, divided into 3 parts. In case you, or anyone you know is planning a trip to Vietnam soon, then do read this blog. I have included a lot of tips and personal opinions that might be helpful.

We booked our flights and hotels around a month in advance so our entire trip was done in under 90 thousand rupees (per person). All of our flights were VietJet. Online, we had heard tons of bad reviews about VietJet and how they keep their check-in counters closed so you’re forced to pay extra money in case you don’t want to miss your flight. As a result, after seeing so many reels on Instagram titled “WORST EXPERIENCE”, we were visibly concerned. For all of our flights we decided to reach a minimum of 4 hours before the departure time. In all honesty, the reviews online felt exaggerated. We did not have a bad experience with VietJet at all. Sure, it isn’t the best airline out there but you get what you pay for. Their food sucked and there were no screens on the airplane. In the domestic flight they charged us for the meal too. And yes, web check-in is not available for their flights. But all of those were just secondary concerns. We had gotten all of our tickets for a relatively cheap price. As far as I remember, 30 to 40 thousand rupees for one domestic and 2 international flights. Ultimately, a good deal I must say.

Our first stop in Vietnam was the city of Hanoi. We landed there on 2^nd July in the early morning. We were gonna stay in the Hanoi Emerald Waters Hotel near the Old Quarters. Around 1k to 2k rupees per person for a stay of one night and 2 days. Again, not a bad deal. And their hotel was clean, neat and well-maintained. The staff were friendly and the hotel room was also big enough for 2 people. Our check-in was scheduled for 2 PM so naturally, we left our luggage at the hotel and went out to explore the city.

Now, as a well-travelled person, I must say one thing: Hanoi requires only one day and not more than that. There isn’t much to do in the city that you won’t find anywhere else. The only experience in Hanoi that was genuinely novel was the Train street.

In the morning we explored the famous Hoàn Kiếm Lake. There was a temple and a small bridge that was built in the middle of the lake. It personified the city’s history in a graceful manner. The temple’s structure and architecture was intricately designed. It paid homage to Vietnam’s ancient history and had murals and idols decorated everywhere. Of course, to see the temple and the bridge there is a ticket of 50,000 Dong. Now this might come as a shock to you but 50,000 Dong is not as big an amount as it looks like. In fact, 1 Dong is just a mere 0.000038 USD. For my Indian audience, 1 Indian Rupee equals 275 Dong. So 50,000 Dong was just 181 rupees.

The first day we did not go for the bridge and temple. Instead we just took photos around the lake and then went to have a little breakfast in an Indian restaurant in the Old Quarters. We then explored the Old Quarters a little bit and then went back to our hotel to check in.

Then in the evening we stepped out to really explore Hanoi. We first went to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Beautiful architecture. We even saw a painting of Mother Teresa there. Took some photos and then left. Then we stopped at a European style café and had coconut water and green tea. Took some more photos and left. Then it was time to go to Vietnam’s most prized possession for tourists i.e. Train Street. Mind you, in all of our escapades so far, we did not use public transportation. We walked. Sure, not everything was close but we regularly took stops so as to not drain ourselves out.

Now the Train Street was really something. So far, Hanoi seemed just like any other city. There was nothing new. But this place genuinely surprised me. I was satisfied because I saw something that I had never seen before. The street in itself was actually not very big. And we’d read online that there would be barricades everywhere and police would check our bags. In fact we even read somewhere that entry is not allowed unless you have a café owner with you, walking you safely to your café. Naturally, when we reached there, we expected the place to be packed and were ready for chaos. But to our surprise, everything was really chill. There were barely any tourists, no police officers, and no café owners trying to get us to buy something from their outlet. We only found one woman who kept nagging us to sit in her place. We tried telling her, “Later” but she would not budge. In the end we gave in and followed her back to her restaurant. Initially we decided to order just one French fries and then leave. But somehow after seeing very few tourists, we decided to stay there for dinner.

For first-time travellers, let me also tell you that in Train Street, the frequency of trains is actually not very high. In one day maybe 10 or 11 trains will pass by in total. They have a fixed timing so it’s best to go 10 minutes before that and secure a spot. Of course, the best time would be evenings, but it is totally up to you.

When it was actually time for the train to arrive, we were pretty excited. All the locals were ushering us to step back and not stand too close to the tracks. Rightfully so, because when the train actually passed, it passed by dangerously close to our faces. Just extend your hand out a little and you’d get injured. But keeping that aside, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you are going to Vietnam, do not miss out on Train Street.

 

The next day we had our flight in the evening at around 5 PM or so. So, in the morning we decided to go back to Hoàn Kiếm Lake and actually go inside the temple this time. Honestly, if you are belonging to that particular religion then I would definitely urge you to go inside. But if you’re not interested in temples and deities then feel free to skip the tickets. Later on we went for some shopping in the Old Quarters, had lunch in a café and headed back to the hotel to checkout. We had booked a cab from the hotel itself. Ironically, they sent a minibus just for 2 people whose driver was an introvert and did not speak an ounce of English. When he dropped us off at the airport, he charged us way more than what the receptionist had originally offered. We politely explained to him about our deal with the receptionist and he gave back the remaining change.

Inside the airport, we did a web check in through VietJet’s kiosks and stood in the ‘Luggage Drop for Web Check In’ section. Sure enough the lines were long and by the time we were done with security, only about half an hour was left for our plane. So if you opt for a domestic flight in Vietnam via VietJet, please reach 3 to 4 hours before your flight.

Our next stop was the city of Da Nang. We were much more excited for Da Nang than for Hanoi because from the photos it looked cooler and also, beaches!

When we landed in Da Nang it was almost around 7:30 PM. When we booked a Grab from the airport, we found out that things were slightly different around these parts. You book a Grab and then you won’t be alotted a driver like usual. Instead you have to go to the Grab pick-up area. There the Grab drivers will ask you where you want to go and then decide if they want to take you as passenger or not. Basically like Mumbai. Thankfully we did not have to wait around too long. In Da Nang we had booked the Novotel Premier Han River. And boy was that the best decision we took.

When we reached our hotel we were stupefied. It was a giant skyscraper with so many amenities such as a rooftop bar, swimming pool, fountains, etc. Unfortunately our breakfast was not included. So we decided to pay for one day’s breakfast (which cost us 7,00,000 Dong!). And our room was located on the nineteenth floor with a view of the entire city. Check out the photo below.

 

We were absolutely mesmerized. Such a beautiful view! Consequently, we were really excited to explore Da Nang and something told me that this would be much better than Hanoi. (Spoiler alert: It was). Catch the rest of my story in the next part!