10.10.2022 - Three Days in the Urban Jungle

Noisy, chaotic, and overcrowded, but full of charm - that's how Hanoi can be summed up briefly. I spent a total of three days in the Vietnamese capital. Three days that I will certainly not forget anytime soon. This is partly because Hanoi was my first stop on the trip, but also because I experienced and saw so much during these days. I would like to go into more detail on that below.

It all started on Saturday morning. Since I had already had a good experience with Pho the night before, I thought that it would be a good start to the day - although you have to get used to having noodle soup for breakfast, it is part of the tradition here.

After a hearty breakfast, I started my sightseeing program by letting myself be carried away by the streets for a while. And out of nowhere, there it was, my first contact with the locals. While looking at the Lenin statue, I was suddenly surrounded by five Asians who tried to communicate to me with hand gestures that they would like to take a picture with me - now I know how the animals feel in the zoo. You can see the result above. By the way, this game repeated itself three more times throughout the day. Well, it's not like no one warned me in advance that as a European, I might attract attention...

After the little photo session, I continued to my main destination, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh is the founder of modern Vietnam, a revolutionary leader and president - you can tell that "Uncle Ho," as he is affectionately called here, was important. And that's why his final resting place, along with his embalmed body, can be visited. Fun fact: During his lifetime, Ho Chi Minh spoke out against such a memorial site and wanted to be cremated instead. Well, that didn't work out...

Unfortunately, it is strictly forbidden to take pictures inside the mausoleum, so you can only admire it from the outside. Not the only prohibition, by the way, in addition to a photo ban, there is also a shorts ban, a smiling ban, and a sunglasses ban, among others. Basically, you are supposed to walk by as quickly as possible and attract as little attention as possible. The mausoleum complex also includes the associated museum and a well-designed garden where you can learn more about Ho Chi Minh.

Although Hanoi is a metropolis with millions of inhabitants, the city surprisingly offers a lot of green spaces. There are trees along many streets, several parks, and many beautiful lakes. And one of these lakes is where I went next. Hoan Kiem Lake is centrally located in the city center and connects the former French colonial quarter with the Old Quarter, which I will talk about shortly. The lake is the perfect place to take a break and relax from the hustle and bustle of the city - unless the Vietnamese Book Fair and the GRANDE FESTA of the motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha are taking place around the shore. Compared to the traffic on the streets, it was still an oasis of coziness. In the middle of the lake is one of the landmarks of the city, the Turtle Pagoda, also known as the Turtle Tower. According to legend, a golden turtle lived here, which contributed to the destruction of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, a few years ago, a dead turtle was really recovered from the lake, but it was not (anymore) golden.

Here's a little tip for those who want to travel to Hanoi. If you have the opportunity, choose a weekend. From Friday evening at 7 p.m., the streets in the immediate vicinity of the lake are closed to motorized traffic, and that is really a blessing.

After the relaxed walk around the lake, I headed to the main highlight, the Old Quarter of Hanoi. There's no better place to soak up the atmosphere. There is no central point there, it is enough to simply wander or honk through the streets. The chaos, the countless vendors on the edge and on the streets, are all part of the charm of this city. You can't get closer to real life anywhere else.

At no other place do you learn better how to cross the street. And by that, I don't mean practicing to look left and right. That doesn't really help here. The secret trick is to just start walking (and pray not to be run over). After the stroll through the Old Quarter, I took a short break and refreshed myself at the hostel.

Originally, I set out with the intention of visiting the famous Night Market of Hanoi, but in the evening I ended up at the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake again. The place where the preparations for the festival were still going on at noon had transformed into a party mile in the meantime. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese people, it felt like hundreds of thousands, were gathered in front of the stage and dancing to the giants of the Vietnamese DJ and pop music scene. A beautiful sight that I watched for a total of two hours. Although I didn't understand a single word of what was happening on stage.

With a slight delay, I then continued to the Night Market, which takes place in the Old Quarter every weekend. Here, too, the motorcycles and cars of this city are excluded, and the small streets transform into a pedestrian zone with many stalls and street food stalls with exotic food. As is known, bargaining is common at such markets when buying items, and now it was the case that I needed a special charging cable. Before I reproduce the dialogue verbatim, a note that this is a classic example of how not to do it. Tips are welcome! But now to the dialogue:

• Florian: How much does the charging cable cost?Seller: 50,000 Vietnamese Dong (equivalent to €2.15)
• Florian: How about we make it 40,000?
• Seller: No
• Florian: Okay, here is the money.

Zack, I had just acquired a new charging cable, although probably for way too much money. With this (success) experience, I went back to the hostel and to bed.

Day two in Vietnam also had some surprises in store. On the way to the Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake (one of countless pagodas here), I discovered some dragon boats on the water. After a short conversation with a Vietnamese who looked as if he knew what was going on there, I learned that it was the annual Dragon Boat Festival of Hanoi. I watched the event on the water for about an hour, absorbing the atmosphere around the lake. After a short detour to the pagoda, I then visited the Hoa Lo Prison, where Vietnamese resistance fighters and later Americans were imprisoned during the Vietnam War - a moving place that makes you think. In the afternoon, my first temple was on the program. Since I will certainly see countless more temples in the coming months, and this post is already quite long, I won't go into detail on this one.

I spent the third and final day in Hanoi resting and planning the next stages.

So what is my conclusion about Hanoi? Well, the city demands everything from you, especially if you have never been to an Asian metropolis before and are just at the beginning of a very long journey. The three days have shown me that I certainly need some more time to really get settled. The traffic, the noise, the culture, it's all overwhelming and requires some time to acclimate. However, it is worth noting that Hanoi is incredibly diverse and has a lot to offer. You will definitely not be bored here. After three days in the urban jungle, including a culture shock, I am glad that it will be a bit quieter from tomorrow onwards. Because tonight, I'm taking the night bus to...