Vietnam Part 1: Singapore to Hanoi
When talking to people about travelling, my conversation somehow always ends up drifting towards one trip: Vietnam 2023. I have had multiple shorter solo trips before but this was my first multi-week long trip, one that I have taken right after graduating vet school. I had a few months before starting my first job which I planned on splitting between travelling and being back home in Indonesia.
I flew from London to Singapore for a little stopover before heading there for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see a couple of old friends and 2) Telling my parents where I have been was much easier than telling them where I will go next.
Some food at East Coast Lagoon Food Village
After staying with a friend for a night, and then staying at possibly the worst hostel I have stayed at (Spacepod@hive) - I was on a Scoot flight to Hanoi.
After taking the bus from the airport to the city centre, I checked in to Nexy Hostel for the next two days. Hanoi was bustling, but growing up in Jakarta I did not feel that overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I was keen to see what this city offered and explored some of the parks, the food (had my first bún chả), and of course, had my first of many 10k dong beers from Beer Street.
Joined by an Australian traveller, Andrew, I had my second and better bowl of bún chả, had a few more beers and ended our night in a night club. Highlights was seeing a little Poodle being lifted into the air and also the club shutting down momentarily to allow for 'police raids'. It was silent and dark for 10 minutes, before the music resumed again.
The next morning I was excited to try some egg coffee from the recommended Cafe Giang, followed by yet another bowl of bún chả to sooth my mild hangover. Little did I know I was going to have the best bún chả of my life that evening. (Yes it is one of my favourite dishes full stop.)
Bun Cha Dac Kim
I (secretly) have always had my reservations about seeing shows in Southeast Asia as an Southeast Asian, but I was glad to be proven wrong after seeing the Water Puppet Show in Hanoi. Incredible music and gives you an appreciation for the local culture historically.
For the first time in my life (admittedly mostly attributed to visas being a requirement for me to travel), I did not have a set itinerary for this trip. Growing up as a kid I was always told motorcycles was a big no-no.
During our dinner Andrew convinced me the fellow travellers he claimed the Ha Giang Loop was the best thing they did in South East Asia, one thing not on my list. More specifically, he was booked onto Flipside Adventures, few beers and hectic Whatsapp bookings later - I was in. And that turned out to be what I still refer to as a 'Top 3 Life Experience'