Through all my travels, visiting old towns always become the must-do in every places. From South East Asia to West Africa, old towns always there to offer you a glimpse into the roots and authentic community of a place.
I went to Vietnam recently, and guess what. I loved it. Well, my first Vietnam encounter in Ho Chi Minh did not impress me back in 2014. But this time was different. Glad that I’m back!
This time I did not go to Ho Chi Minh again, instead I went to Hanoi – Ha Long Bay – Hoi An and Da Nang. I did not plan the trip meticulously as usual because as I discovered from articles the main attraction is actually centered in the old town. So I don’t bother to make one. I was completely rely on the map and follow where this feet would randomly taking me.
HANOI
Old town or Old Quarter of Hanoi is incredibly vast and captivating. It’s a crazy busy place with so many things happening, with 36 streets sprawling from west to north of Hoan Kiem Lake, it’s like a bustling hub where you will always stumble upon something interesting.
The first thing I embraced in Hanoi was The Food. There are so many good food in Vietnam, make sure you try different dish every time you eat. From Pho, BunCha, Banh Mi, and the list goes on. Vietnam’s food is very identical with coriander that always successfully enrich the flavors of whatever dish you have. Fun fact, some of meals that I ordered mostly don’t come with rice. Instead they come with glass noodle. Nevertheless, all of the meals I had were so delicious.
Another Hanoi thing that I am glad I tried was the Egg Coffee. I know it sounds pretty yuck-y just to hear the blend of egg+coffee. But believe me it is surprisingly not. You can not even tell that the egg is part of the blend although texture is a bit thick. There are a lot of coffee place selling Egg Coffee, but if you want the authentic one, go to Giang Cafe.
When the evening comes, Beer Street is where you want to go to immerse the hustle bustle of Hanoi. It is an intersection that connected some of the street that full of bars and hawkers. Well, for the introverted like me, it is a great place to look around but not to stay even for one quick drink or dish as it will quickly drain my energy.
Since ‘random’ is my middle name, I was very much interested to visit a ‘speakeasy‘ bar that I randomly spot on the map. My eyes was stuck to a label called ‘Nectar Hideaway‘ when I hover around the southern are of the lake on Google Map. Aaaand… no regret at all!
I felt shivered a bit when I arrived to the abandoned building that has ‘Nectar Hideaway’ sign in front of it. I went inside and walk through a dimly lit corridor that leading to the stairs at the corner of the building. Thankfully, the lights flickered to life as soon as they sensed my movement. My eyes spotted a small text sign that says the speakeasy is st 4th Floor.
Doubt began to creep in as I arrived to the 2nd floor. The place really felt shady with no one around, I did not hear any noise too. But then, I found another sign by the stairs seemed to encourage to keep going – like they know exactly what I felt lol!
And tadaaa! Apparently that random speakeasy I found on the map is real! I like how the place is pretty intimate and cosy. Not to mention it’s buy1 get1 cocktail that only cost less than USD 8. Certainly a much better place to spend the evening at for person like me.
Anyway, the highlight of Hanoi in my experience falls to : Hanoi Train Street. Yeahhh it’s very touristic indeed but what makes it a great experience is not the place, nor the train. But the effort to get there!
I knew that the place no longer open for public, even if they are open you need to get lucky in order to be able to enter the train street. Since 2022, the railway area was closed due to safety reason, there are officers that will stand by in every entrance to stop everyone that looks tourist to enter the street. Well, they still stopped me though I have Asian appearance that often mistaken as Vietnamese.
When I finally decided to leave the area, I saw a local lady talked to another tourist that seems to offer them to get inside the street. I stared at her from across the street, and lucky me – she stared back at me. Then she came towards me, offering ‘coffee?’ with hands pointing to the railway street, I nodded and followed her right away.
It turned out she tried to lead us on a detour to the other side of the railway entrance, only to find that we still couldn’t enter due to the strict prohibition by the officers. Not giving up, she then guided us into a random local’s house. LoL! I was confused at first but the group followed her anyway, we weaved through somebody’s bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens until we finally emerged on the other side of the house, right by the railway tracks.
The lady grinned, seems satisfied that she could trick the officer easily. She then handed us menus and arranged a small chair in front of her café. I wasted no time in ordering a coconut coffee and settled into the chair, eagerly awaiting the train scheduled to pass by in half an hour.
After half an hour passed, it wasn’t the train that arrived, but rather an unexpected turn of events. The café owner suddenly instructed all the customers to hurriedly retreat inside the house and closed door and all windows. “Security check,” she whispered. “We need to lay low.”
I was like : ‘WHAT?’ Couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. There we are, crammed into a tiny café by the railway, air in the room was hot and humid because too many people squeezed in the room. When the security finally passed our cafe, I heard sigh of relief as everyone emerged from their hiding spots and quickly took a safe space outside to wait for the train that was soon to come.
Despite all the twists and turns, we finally managed to witness the passing of the most-awaited train anyway! Yay!
HOI AN
I flew to Da Nang and rented a taxi to get to Hoi A that located only 40 minutes away. I picked a hotel by the river that provided cute bikes to explore around so I don’t need to rent separately.
Hoi An is a small preserved village that are thick with its ancient architecture influenced by Vietnamese – Chinese and Japanese. Unlike the bustling and raw-looking Hanoi, Hoi An offers more of laid back and tranquil village atmosphere. Although if you observe more, it is easy to see that the village was having a massive restoration in the past decade as every building now transformed into very nice-looking restaurant and cafes to add allure to the town itself.
During the day time, cycling around is my favorite thing to do. I could just easily passing through the old streets, hunting must-eat food, finding a picturesque corners, and visiting souvenir shops or cafes for quick break after battling with the heat and humidity.
Other special thing you can enjoy while in Hoi An is visiting the Coconut Village, take the Bamboo Basket Boat and stream through the Coconut Palm Forest. It was actually fun and very Vietnamese thing as I haven’t seen any boat like that in other country. Along the river you’ll encounter many unique attractions in the middle such mini-concert, spinning bamboo dance, and some fisherman showing off their fishing skills. To get to this village, I asked the hotel to arrange the transfer and the boat.
Hoi An also offers different ambience during the night, so make sure you stay at least for the night here. When the sky turns to dark, you’ll see lampions on the boat start to lit up creating a nice and pretty sights along the river. People will queuing to take the boat and I suggest you should too! I know it’s very touristic thing, but believe me you’ll enjoy the unexpected serenity once you were on the boat.
BONUS TRACK! – DA NANG
Da Nang is famous with their stunning beaches, not for it’s old town. But since I was not on the beach-mood. So I opted for visiting the giant hands (the place called Golden Bridge) that was trending on TikTok, that apparently located in a theme park named Sun World. I stayed on the hotel inside the theme park that unfortunately I would not recommend. I think it is better to just find a day-tour to visit the theme park rather than staying in the area.
Although, if staying in the area, you will get privilege to enjoy the Golden Bridge early in the morning when the place still not open for public hence it will rather empty like picture below. Stunning, isn’t it?!
