Vietnam: 10 reflections after the first days in Hanoi

Here we are! Vietnam is the third country we are visiting during this journey. It was supposed to be the fourth, but plans have changed along the way and we never got to Laos. Will it be the last country on our route? We will soon find out! We spent half of Saturday thinking about what to do next, as we were informed that our Vietnamese visa, which expires on 25 November, cannot be extended. And our return flight is on 1 December (my name day! :)) from Ho Chi Minh. We were thinking about Malaysia, Thailand, even the Maldives 😉 But then it turned out that the visa may be extended after all… There are different versions of information as to how long it takes, so we’ll see. Keep your fingers crossed! 😉

Back to Hanoi… The flight from Siem Reap on-board Vietnam Airlines was quite nice – it took 1.5 hours and there were complimentary refreshments. Maks heartily ate the salami from the set we got. But the staff were kind of grumpy and gloomy… At the airport there was a looong line to passport control and then a looooong journey to the city – in a taxi that costs around USD 15-20. It probably should be closer to 15, I think we overpaid a little :/ Maks fell asleep in the taxi, so we got to have dinner just the two of us 🙂 Friday night and Saturday in Hanoi was not a lot of time for coming up with interesting conclusions, but we are happy to share our first impressions.

Here it goes…

10 reflections after the first hours in Hanoi:

1)      THEY DON’T LIKE TOURISTS ON THE AIRPORTS?

At first glance, Vietnam is not a place where tourists are greeted with joy. I remember the warm welcome in Thailand; I remember how in Mexico I was asked about the Pope and Polish vodka at passport control. Here – nothing. Already when we entered the plane, the temperature seemed to drop. In contrast to the smiling inhabitants of Cambodia, friendly faces and helpful staff at the airport, here, even the stewardesses were not smiling. Grumpy, serious, sad? Even I got reprimanded for putting the trays one on top of another after the meal. It was even worse on the airport… It was impossible to get to passport control in front of others with a child – after all, socialism is about equality, right?

Łukasz tried to find out more about extending the visas on the airport. There was a stand where you could get a visa on arrival. Ours were issued in Poland, but had to be extended. Impossible. He couldn’t even get any information from the sad gentlemen. Our passports were also checked in a gloomy atmosphere. The taxi driver didn’t say a word. Feeling a bit depressed, we got to the hotel…

2)      FRIENDLINESS OF “ORDINARY” PEOPLE, ALTHOUGH IT’S DIFFICLT TO COMMUNICATE

Luckily, meeting so-called “ordinary people” was a nice change. The receptionist at the hotel, waitress, street vendors, kids, adults, teenagers. They were friendly and nice to us, especially when we were with Maks. However, it’s rather difficult to communicate with them in English. You’ll understand about a half of what they wanted to say. In restaurants, be sure to point to the right item on the menu or learn a few names of dishes you want to try. For example, Łukasz knows PHO is his favourite soup. He even knows a few kinds. He crammed the names at a Vietnamese joint close to our place, i.e. at the bazaar in ul. Bakalarska. Now, it makes his life easier.

3)      VIETNAM IS A CULINARY PARADISE!

No doubt about it. The food is delicious, great, heavenly, mouth-watering, finger-licking good. It makes your taste buds happy. We especially like rice noodles – as a main dish and in a soup. Then fried spring rolls, golden and crispy or fresh, with vegetables and a lot of herbs. We also likes small pancakes stuffed with minced meat and mushrooms for example. Ah, we’re in paradise!

4)      IF YOUR’RE GOING TO VIETNAM, TAKE YOUR KID WITH YOU!

Excluding the airport staff that did not respond to Maks’ charm, the Vietnamese love children. They all smile at them, want to touch them, talk to them. One person offered him a tangerine, another kicked a ball for Maks to play. Regardless of sex or age. In this respect, they are similar to the inhabitants of Thailand and Cambodia. I’m glad Maks does not understand all the phrases such as “so lovely” and “so cute”, because he could become too sure of himself!

5)      COVER YOUR EARS?

Hanoi is definitely one of the loudest cities we have ever visited. Especially in the rush hours, around 5 pm, the entire city is honking and beeping. Everyone is on their scooters or motorbikes that outnumber any other means of transportation. They force their way ahead and communicate that they’re approaching by loud honks. For a tourist with a stroller, walking along the streets of the Old Quarter in these hours is quite a challenge…

6)      COMRADE…

As you probably know, Vietnam is a socialist country. If you forget, Hanoi will remind you of that. For example, there is a statue of Lenin just across from the Military Museum. The dominant forces in the country are the military and, of course, propaganda. You can experience it for example in the Hoa Lo prison or the Military Museum. Hoa Lo was built by the French in late 19th century – in the beginning – says the display – to detain Vietnamese revolutionaries fighting for independence. In the 20th century, the Vietnamese locked up American pilots in there. Reading about how the wonderful Vietnamese authorities treated American prisoners, how everyone supported Vietnam during the war, makes you sick. In the photos that go along with these texts, we even found children from Opole who, in 1966, sent notebooks and school utensils for Vietnamese students…

If Hoa Lo is not enough propaganda for you, check out the Military Museum. All the American planes the Vietnamese shot down, all the success and victories… Still, we recommend the Military Museum, if you’re in Hanoi with a little boy… Airplanes, helicopters, tanks. Maks did not want to leave, although he was unhappy he couldn’t go into a plane…

Neither Lenin nor the Military Museum is as impressive as the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, a revolutionary who proclaimed Vietnam’s independence. The monumental building, huge square and grass that you’re not allowed to walk on under no circumstances. Luckily, there was the square. Maks ran around it like crazy, playing with a ball. We didn’t go inside – embalmed Lenin was enough. And you know what? From the outside Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is much more impressive than Lenin’s on the Red Square. But Ho Chi Minh’s body every year, has to travel to Moscow for maintenance works. They have the know-how 🙂

7)      STREET VENDORS – THE MOSY PICTURESQUE SIGHT IN HANOI

Hanoi, in my opinion, is not particularly pretty… We walked through most of it today, and there weren’t any breath-taking sights, faces, stands. The most interesting items that are the most characteristic of Vietnam are the cone-shaped hat and two baskets on a pole carried on a shoulder, full of snacks, sweets, fruit…

8)      IT’S CHEAP!

For now, prices in Vietnam seem very nice. Maybe a little bit higher than in Cambodia, maybe similar. Accommodation prices start at USD 5 in a hostel dorm. For about PLN 160 you can stay in a double room in the very centre in a very nice hotel that serves breakfast. Food prices also vary, but PLN 15 will buy you a meal in a decent restaurant. Train tickets are more expensive though – a ticket to Sa Pa in the north is about USD 32 per person, and according to the brochures it’s a very nice ride. We’ll see for ourselves Monday night!

9)      HAVE i ALREADY MENTIONED THAT THE FOOD IS GREAT? 🙂

10)     POLAND = BA LAN

Poland in Vietnamese is BA LAN… as we found out trying to get our visas extended… When they asked us where we were from, we would repeat Poland a couple of times, and finally they got it: “Ah, Ba Lan Ba Lan”. Now that we got that out of our way, let’s hope we get our visas extended!!

Meanwhile, we are heading north to Sa Pa. We’re hoping it will be beautiful, picturesque, pastoral… colourful clothes of the mountain tribes, great views…