Hanoi, a wistful look back

The week in Hanoi flew by, although it didn't seem like it at first. Anja (vakantio.de/oneway2025/lovely-hanoi) has aptly described it: Hanoi has changed significantly in the two years since our last visit. We were in 'our' neighborhood in the Old Quarter by Hoan Kiem Lake, which we liked so much two years ago. The city is practically bursting at the seams here, with souvenir shops dominating the streets, and tourists definitely outnumber the locals. Perhaps we experienced Hanoi in 2023 - after Corona - in the calm before the big influx. Maybe it was already like this before the pandemic, which brought everything to a standstill, and had just temporarily fallen into a Sleeping Beauty slumber. We do not know.

Aside from visiting the Museum of the Revolution, we didn't see much new. At the southern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, there is a French Quarter that we missed two years ago. Here too, the Egg Coffee tastes delightful - in an environment perhaps even a little more charming and refined. Instead, West Lake, where we've been residing this time, has become our home for a short week.

As soon as you leave the dense traffic, which I found to be more aggressive in Hanoi than at the previous stops on our journey, it becomes pleasantly quiet. Many small shops, everyday life. We have breakfast every morning in a small soup kitchen around the corner. Along the lakeside, cafés line up where we enjoy an impressive sunset every evening - and then end the day with a beer at the Standing Bar, just 100 meters from our accommodation, which we discovered on the first night.

We are leaving Hanoi, leaving Vietnam tonight feeling like we made the most of it. We will surely look back with nostalgia; it was very lovely, and we did not experience any boredom. However, I am not sure if we - we've been here for the fourth time now - will return. But those who ask us, we say with conviction: Vietnam is worth a trip!