A Place Both Wonderful and Strange – Tash & Ricki's Career Break Travels

Well, really it was “Good afternoon, Vietnam” as we arrived into Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport via Istanbul¹.

After our epic central Asian tour and more interaction than we’ve been used to in some time, we were seeking some peace and quiet. After heading straight to Halong Bay, we certainly got that.

Staying in a bayside apartment building, we mainly only ventured out for food, and in my case a Vietnamese massage. We were a little taken aback by how quiet the area was, often finding ourselves the only tourists walking along the street and sometimes the only people at all. Aside from one particular day we passed a restaurant just as a large group of domestic visitors were arriving. I presume they were from less-touristed provinces as the celebrity westerner effect we encountered in Turkmenistan reared its head again here, and we were accosted by a couple of the Vietnamese who wanted photos and selfies. Any more of this and I’ll get a big head – don’t be surprised if I start offering autographs when we get home.

In retrospect, the otherwise quiet streets were probably due to a combination of factors. Being October, this was shoulder rather than high season, and Typhoon Yagi had ripped through the area just a couple of weeks prior. In fact our original selected Airbnb had to cancel on us due to building damage, and the effects were still somewhat visible in the communal areas of the building we relocated to and in others around the bay.

Although we knew cruises of Halong Bay were popular, we also didn’t appreciate that this was where most of the action is focussed. I suspect many tourists just head straight on to the bay and skip Halong town itself.

Having admired the karst islands from land, we were excited to get out there ourselves and joined a small cruise with Cozy Bay. 

Cozy certainly knew how to pack a lot into 24 hours. “Shore excursions” if you like included a hill climb, swim in the bay and tour of a cave – see if you can spot the “happy finger” (nudge nudge, wink wink) stalagmite below! 

Evening entertainment came in the form of a happy hour and spring roll making. 

As darkness fell, it was time to enjoy the twinkling starry sky and serenity of the bay…or not. Karaoke is big business in Asia of course, and various cacophonies echoed round. “I’m unstoppabllllllle!” someone threatened, competing against some interesting new versions of Hey Jude and Bohemian Rhapsody. I can only assume the squid we fished for were frightened off by the caterwauling rather than lack of skill as fishermen. By the way, in case you don’t already know, “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles” makes a great karaoke choice internationally – quite a few people know it, you can get some audience participation, and perhaps best of all…it’s actually quite short!

Ricki tries his hand at squid fishing. There were better results with “Twist and Shout”

We had some better wildlife spotting the next morning, as a tribe of monkeys watched our kayaking.

It was just as well we’d reintroduced some activity to our schedules, as jumping straight from the quietness of Halong to the mania of Hanoi, where we headed to next, could have been a complete shock to the system.

The old quarter is an assault on the senses. The smell of fresh produce and barbecuing meats, the heat of those grills, mobile vendors shouting and touting their wares… but perhaps most perturbing of all, the sound of motors and perhaps the brush of a scooter beside you.

Bike and scooter riding is another level in Vietnam, and you have to adapt to the rules of the road pretty quickly. Which is that there are no rules. It’s perhaps the only country in the world where I’ve felt like crossing the road might be easier if you just close your eyes and go for it.

“Pavement” basically means a place to park (or even ride) scooters and in terms of traffic lights, green is “go”, amber is “well I still feel like going” and red is “f*** it, I’m going.”. Our food tour guide, Gery, advised us the best course of action is just to show no weakness and whatever you do, do not step backwards once you commit to moving forward. In a moment of perhaps too much confidence, I saw myself becoming a widow as Ricki came close to colliding with one rider (no harm done to either).

Aside from that one blip, I found myself liking Hanoi to my surprise. I was expecting the frenetic pace to be a massive turn off.

Although I did find it tiring having to be constantly on guard while walking, the flip side was there was largely no hanging around junctions and everyone could just move efficiently from a) to b).

The water puppet theatre

Temple of Literature

Some of our a)s and b)s included the Ho Chi Minh museum and mausoleum where we learnt about the life of “Uncle Ho”. Not for the first time this year this included some preserved human remains. Unlike the Argentinian children though, Ho Chi Minh being of more modern times is more recognisable and was intentionally preserved from the time of his death. He looks just like he could rise up from his bed any minute and have a conversation with you. I’m afraid I can’t liven up this blog with any tales of that happening though.

As part of starting to learn more about the Indochina and Vietnamese Wars (or the American War, as the Vietnamese refer to the latter), we visited Hoa Lo Prison. Once referred to by Americans as the “Hanoi Hilton”, it held both Vietnamese and American prisoners at different times in its history. I have to say, there was perhaps a bit of sanitization going on, with the American POW regime being displayed like some kind of summer camp. But many museums/countries are probably guilty of the same.

We nearly created our own personal torture chamber when visiting the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Arriving at the same time as several school groups, if I thought the noise and lack of personal space in the streets of Hanoi was intense, this was a whole other level. Thankfully the museum staff let us return later when things had returned to normal.

I also thought we’d have a quiet day in the country when we joined an excursion to Ninh Binh. Often called the “Ha Long Bay on land,” Ninh Binh attracts visitors with its breathtaking landscapes of limestone karsts, lush rice fields, and serene waterways. And it attracts lots of visitors. The first temple we visited was definitely lacking in serenity, though still managed to retain historical charm.

Thai Vi temple

Thankfully the groups thinned out as we enjoyed a brief cycle in the country. This was our first time on a bike in months, and sadly wouldn’t end in a vineyard this time. It did come dangerously close to ending in a rice paddy for me though as the hat we’d been lent to wear became less conical, and more comical, unexpectedly falling right over my face.

Someone else took control for a rowing trip. With an everlong stream of boats on the waterway and a regimented route, it almost felt like being on a water ride at a theme park.

Finally, we embarked on a walk up one of the hillsides for some panoramic views of the beautiful countryside. I can see why this was left as the last stop of the day, as we were pretty sweaty by the time we reached the top!

Another peaceful excursion for me was to…the hairdresser. There is no help for my dye job growing out, but my bangs and hair length could do with some tidying. What I didn’t realise is that this was the perfect place for it, in that Vietnam takes hair shampooing very seriously. For about a tenner I got a haircut plus a 30 minute head shampoo/massage – it was blissful.

My last stop of note for this blog is Hanoi’s Train Street. As the name suggests, yes there are trains passing here. Where it differs from health and safety-mad Western world is that the train tracks run right through a busy alley of bars and cafes. OK, if I want to stand within touching distance as a train rushes by, I can do this from the platform of Dunfermline City rail station. But can I experience the wheels thundering directly in front of my face while I sip a yogurt-coffee?

To my surprise, the cafe owners actually double as safety marshalls, ushering people behind the safety lines when the warning bell sounds. After all, a silly tourist getting squashed on their business’ doorstep isn’t in their best interest.

Perhaps the scariest thing to occur while we were there though, was our cafe owner rushing out with a machete at a small girl who had been bothering one of the bird cages. I think he had simply been cracking open some coconuts when he spotted her. I think.

As we departed Hanoi for Hue, this time we’d be the ones on the train. This year has had a disappointing lack of rail travel, so we were pleased that South East Asia has an excellent rail network. In fact, our intention is that from now there will be no planes until our flight home, several countries away.

First up would be a sleeper service to Hue. I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive, as the berths are divided into cabins of four and we’d therefore be sharing with strangers.

Luckily we were joining two quiet Vietnamese gentlemen who spoke a reasonable amount of English. They explained they were work colleagues and travelling the full 32 hours to Ho Chi Minh City. Much as I like most of my colleagues, I can’t imagine being confined with any of them in small cabin for this stretch of time.

We would only be joining them for a 12 hour overnight portion of their journey, but in this time they showed incredible generosity, bringing food to us on several occasions. And most importantly they didn’t snore!

Altogether our first train felt like a great success, and we arrived in Hue looking forward to seeing what the rest of South East Asia had in store for us.

Tash’s Treats

Vietnam is a tour de force of culinary adventures, and I’m having trouble matching everything we tried to the photos I took. But here is a summary of the dishes that stood out on in Halong and Hanoi.

Phở – Vietnam’s most iconic dish, a fragrant noodle soup made with a flavorful broth, rice noodles, and toppings like thinly sliced beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). Served with lime, fresh herbs, chili, and bean sprouts for customization. When we ate this in Hanoi, one place we stopped at was literally someone’s living room in a first floor apartment.

We also tried “summer phở” on a Hanoi food tour, which was a dry version with lots of greens, which I possibly preferred to the original.

Bánh Mì – A fusion of French and Vietnamese cuisine, this baguette sandwich is filled with meats like grilled pork, pâté, or sausage, and garnished with pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and chilli sauce. Great for breakfast and lunch.

Bánh Cuốn – Delicate steamed rice rolls filled with a mixture of minced pork, mushrooms, and onions, topped with fried shallots and served with fish sauce (nước mắm) for dipping. We tried this first in Halong and the eatery serving it was so close and cheap that we went back several times. A local addition there owing to the coastal surrounds, was chả mực, squid patties.

Bún Chả – A Hanoi specialty consisting of grilled pork patties and slices served over rice noodles with fresh herbs, a tangy dipping sauce, and sometimes fried spring rolls (nem cua bể).

Chè – Dessert is a strange affair in Vietnam. A diverse range of sweet desserts, often in the form of puddings, soups, or drinks, made with ingredients like mung beans, coconut milk, tapioca, and fruits. Served hot or cold, chè does take some getting used to. We did really enjoy the first one we tried on our Hanoi food tour which included jasmine flavoured water with grass jelly.

Vietnam is also well known for its distinctive coffee, and is in fact the second largest coffee producer in the world. The coffee itself has a very robust, velvety flavour and feel. It is also particularly famed for its “weasel coffee” – where the beans have been digested and regurgitated by weasels. This coffee is very expensive, and many coffee producers simply reproduce the flavour by using a fermentation process.

The serving style is also quite different. At its most basic, usually condensed milk rather than fresh milk is added, which I’ll never complain about. But there are also a number of speciality serving styles:

Egg coffee – A creamy coffee invented in Hanoir, made by whipping egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk, creating a frothy topping over hot or iced coffee. Very indulgent! We tried our first ones in a cafe in Hanoi. We were served just after a tour group who spent quite some time agonising over the menu. As one of the more decisive members of the group became exasperated, Ricki and I got PTSD chills from our own recent group touring.

Yogurt coffee – my choice for watching the train go by. A surprising combination of black coffee and creamy yogurt, often sweetened with condensed milk, offering a tangy and refreshing flavor. I didn’t expect to like it, either texturally or flavour-wise, but now I actually wish more places sold it!

1. If travelling long distance with Turkish Airlines and have a significant layover, I recommend their layover service. They keep it much quieter than I’d expect, but they can either offer you a tour of Istanbul or a hotel room for as many hours as you need, both inclusive of a free meal. As Istanbul has already featured in our mini world tour, and as we were spending over 24 hours in transit, I’m afraid we were boring and took the hotel option. ↩︎