Journey in Asia: Friends In Hanoi

Welcome to my second Journey in Asia post! Remember when I mentioned that I went to Tokyo for the first time (more like second time since I went to Tokyo once for one night so I barely saw anything) with some friends? Well, 3 out of the 4 of us went together on that trip! It was a long plan coming!

1. Cafe-hopping in the French Quarter

We were quite tired once we arrived in Vietnam, so we decided to look around the French Quarter while grabbing some coffee and dessert! We heard that Vietnamese coffee was unique with its sweeter flavour, so although I rarely drink any coffee, I decided to give it a try. And I got to say, Vietnamese coffee will probably ever be my only exception when I need a dose of caffeine.

2. Raining in the Opera House

On our first day at Hanoi, it rained heavily, and the water got into my shoes and made my socks wet, which was a disgusting feeling... But that didn't stop us from looking around the French Quarter and the Old Quarter, even if we stopped by the places for a short while. The Opera House, for example, was a beautiful place to wander around, but unfortunately, it was closed when we visited. So we just stood outside the exit and waited for the rain to die down a bit.

3. Visited the Hoan Kiem Lake

Fortunately, we visited the more beautiful places later on in the day, when the rain stopped! I really enjoyed walking around the Hoan Kiem Lake, or Lake of the Returned Sword, as there were two main places to visit there.

Firstly, there was The Huc Bridge, also known as the Rising Sun Bridge. It connected from the main city to Jade Island, where the Ngoc Son Temple, also known as the Temple of the Jade Mountain, stood. This island was dedicated to the legend of the emperor who was a given a magical sword which helped him defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty. With his victory, the Golden Turtle God returned to the Hoan Kiem Lake.

The temple had a lot of ancient artifacts inside, but I wasn't able to take a good picture since it was very crowded inside. There were a lot of people inside the temple, who I believe, were sending their prayers. There was an incense pot outside of the temple as well where people can place their incense sticks.

4. Dinner at the Legend Beer

The Legend Beer is at the heart of Hanoi, with different bars and restaurants in each floor. We went to one of the restaurants inside that offered Vietnamese cuisine, and it had a beautiful view of the Hoan Kiem Lake from its large-sized windows. It was a great first dinner, where we had spring rolls, soft-shelled crab, calamari, and dragon rice.

5. Trip to Ninh Binh

On our second day, we went to Ninh Binh, which was my favourite destination in the whole trip. It was a 2-hour ride from our Airbnb, where we first arrived at the Hoa Lu Ancient Village. This village was founded by the first emperor of Vietnam, and was also Vietnam's first capital. Here, they had the old, original flag of Vietnam, as well as a lot of ancient artifacts.

Afterwards, we cycled to Trang An, so we could have a boat cave tour! The cycle there was around half an hour. I haven't cycled in, what, 10 years? So I definitely felt nervous when our tour guide told us we would be cycling in the main road! When we went to a dark tunnel, I got too scared of riding off track, so I would always swerve and hit the tunnel wall! DO REMEMBER TO STAY SAFE, KIDS! But I was lucky that I didn't injure myself, except for the minor scratch on my finger.

When we arrived at Trang An, my group had to separate into two, since the boat couldn't carry all of us. So my siblings and I went on one boat, while my friend and her sibling went on the other.

The boat ride was an hour long, where we crossed around four different caves. The scenery was beautiful at first, with a lot of green mountains, and temples on the water. But it eventually got a bit boring after seeing the same scenery over and over again. If you ever go there, I recommend you take the longer trip, so that you could stop the boat and stop by the different temples around the area!

One way we tried to make it fun was race against my friend's boat. Our rower got amused by our antics, and so, she gave us a paddle to row with her! She also taught us how to count in Vietnamese so we could row in rhythm together, which did bring a lot of laughter.

Finally, after the boat ride, our final destination was at the Hang Mua Mountain. You have to climb up 500 steps, and it gets steeper and steeper as you climb. If you get tired, there's a rest stop halfway, where there's a small shop. You can get fruits, ice cream, sausages, and drinks! You could sit by the steps or the chairs provided at the shop as well.

As you are about to finish the hike, the staircase diverts into two final destinations. You can either climb up to see a tower or to see the dragon statue. A lot more people hike up to see the dragon statue as it is higher up, which allows you to see a better view of the place. So we decided to visit the latter as well. The hike up leads to a rewarding sight. The viSew at the top is rewarding as you see a wide, 360 view of Hang Mua. You can see houses, the view of Trang An from above, as well as the Lover's Bridge.

6. Visited the West Lake

The West Lake was different from the Hoan Kiem Lake. There was no bridge leading up to an island. The West Lake was an entire area with different tourist spots. Firstly, we went to visit the Temple of Literature, where you can pray for good grades (which most of us need aka me lol). A lot of people came here for Chinese New Year, where you could buy fai chun, which has Chinese calligraphy on red paper. You could also go visit the temple where you can talk with Vietnamese university students, who want to improve their English, or write your prayers on the temple wall invisibly with your finger.

Afterwards, we went to Hanoi Railway Street, which was only a walking distance away from the temple. The street was filled with different cafes you could just sit at in peace or you could grab the opportunity to take photos on the railway (while the train is not there).

The vendors will warn you with a whistle when the train is about to approach, thus, you would just have to stand by at the cafe and wait for it to past by. It's an amazing yet scary view to look at since the train is really up close to your face, and you could feel it pass by with the harsh breeze.

We then went on to Phung Hung Street. At night, the street was lit up with beautiful lanterns from above that had some paintings on it. You could also take pictures against the mural walls, which had paintings that showed some historical views or people.

7. Karma at Tran Quoc Pagoda

Finally, our last stop of the trip was at Tran Quoc Pagoda. Although it has a beautiful day view, it had a very different feel at night with the bright lights that outlined the temple. This pagoda is still located in West Lake, and is also the oldest pagoda in Hanoi. It is also where the monks live and teach about Buddhism to the public.

The Buddhism's teachings are shown in posters around the pagoda, showing you illustrations on the Law of Karma. Although some are entertaining, (like how if you travel around for fun, you will be immobile for the remaining of your life), I think there is some truth to it. With every action is a reaction, and I feel like that is what the Law of Karma is teaching people.

And that's a wrap! One thing to keep in mind if you ever go to Vietnam, watch out for any Grab bikers. Grab offers you an option to use a bike to travel to your destination. But the thing is, they won't tell its license plate. They just tell you to walk over to a nearby bike that is shown on its map so that the biker can give you an access code. Kind of dangerous, if you ask me. I almost got scammed by this guy wearing a Grab uniform. He didn't have an access code nor any knowledge on how to use the app. He couldn't even read the map! Use the car option instead. It's safer, since you can check the license plate, for crying out loud.

And that was the end of our Hanoi trip! Stay tuned for my update of the Journey in Asia trilogy with my next stop: Korea!