Hanoi + Taipei — mika ohata

I got the chance to travel for two weeks with one of my closest high school friends, Nina! We share the same taste for fashion, passion for travel, and hatred for mayo! Were we born from the same womb? During college, we studied abroad during the same time in London where we traveled to Morocco, Berlin, Budapest, Iceland, etc. A few years later, here we are, traveling through Asia together <3

We spent our first two days exploring Tokyo. It was Nina’s first time, so I did my best to go to the “must see” Tokyo spots! We went to Tsukiji Market, Ginza, Tokyo Imperial Palace Area to see sakura, Shibuya, & Harajuku. I took her to one of my favorite izakayas in Shibuya called Kushiroya (九四六屋）- highly recommend the sashimi and the pirikara potatoes (spicy potatoes filled with cheese)!!!

Day 1:
We left early the next day to head out to Hanoi! Since we flew out of Narita, we had to leave my place around 5 AM in order for our 9:30 AM flight >.< After reading reviews online, we were definitely skeptical of riding Vietjet Airlines, a budget airlines similar to Ryanair or Easyjet in Europe. During the booking process, it automatically adds on a paid luggage to your total, so we ended up paying for a checked bag each for one-way. They also have a 7 kg carry on limit for BOTH purse and carry on. But to our surprise, we checked in, got on the plane without any extra fees, and even took off on time! AMAZING! Vietjet was significantly cheaper than any other airlines flying from Tokyo to Hanoi, so we definitely lucked out.

After arriving in Hanoi, I was starving after only eating a measly airport sandwich for brunch. But we decided to make our way to the city before stopping to do anything. We booked a SIM card from a travel company, Klook, which we picked up at one of the airport booths in the arrivals hall. For unlimited data, it was a great deal, only around $6 for 5 days! From there, we caught the shuttle bus downtown which only costs 35,000 VND or about $2. If you’re decided between public bus (less than $1) or shuttle bus, I would splurge the extra few dollars for the convenience of the shuttle. Since we were staying at an airbnb, we couldn’t get dropped of super close to it, but it still took us semi-close to where we wanted to go. With our duffel bags, walking in the humid air was rough, and we were definitely sweaty after a 20 minute walk to the airbnb. But for $2, how can you go wrong?!

After settling in to our airbnb, we went out to explore the old quarter. On our way to the main area, we stopped for some drinks and then stumbled upon a place to eat a late lunch. In hawaii, we only have pho and some other simple Vietnamese dishes. There are so many other types of foods other than pho. The signage was all in Vietnamese and honestly had no clue what any of the items were. We tried bahn beo, which is a mochi like food made with tapioca flour and topped with pork floss, shrimp, cliantro, and fish sauce. Our first meal in Hanoi was a total success and I would highly recommend trying this if you’re ever in Vietnam! After that, we made our way to explore the old quarter. The area is so lively and filled with tons of babies, dance groups, tourists, etc. During the weekend, there is night market where there are a variety of vendors selling gifts, food, etc. I would divide the area into three different sections: mainstream retail shopping, tourist and vendor shopping, and food stands/restaurants. We shopped around a little, but mainly ate for the rest of the day. We had some fast food fried chicken, coffee chocolate bread, and ended the day with a bowl of Bun cha, a delicious noodle dish with grilled pork and a side of deep fried spring rolls.

Day 2:

The next day, we booked a Ha Long Bay overnight cruise. We woke up early to meet the shuttle driver around 8 AM. If you’re traveling to Hanoi, a Ha Long Bay tour is a must. There are many types of cruise boats and companies depending on your budget and time limit. After a lot of consideration and comparison, we decided to go with the Pelican Cruises that my friends previously went on. There are also many sites that offer tour packages such as Agoda, Best Price VPN, or the official website. But we found the best deal on Best Price VPN. We opted for a two day, one night tour with shuttle bus transport. The cruise included two meals each day, activities on board, and we added on the shuttle service from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay for a little extra. In total, the whole thing came out to around $150 each which is a steal for any overnight cruise, especially coming from the US.

Ha Long Bay is located around 3 hours away (by car) from Hanoi. We made a quick bathroom pit stop at a pearl farm along the way and arrived around 11 AM to the cruise dock. From there, we checked in, and waited to board the boat. Once on board, we were greeted by the staff, given our room keys, and served lunch a little after we took off. If you’re doing this cruise, I would highly recommend eating breakfast before you get on the shuttle. We were starving by the time we were served lunch! I guess in a way it was good that way too though. For lunch, you are served a full on five course meal. Everything we ate was excellent and we thought the food was really good. During lunch, you sail through the start of the bay and are greeted by beautiful islands on both sides of you. It’s truly a magical place.

After lunch, we stopped at a place to kayak for around 30 minutes. Although it was expected to storm that day, we were lucky enough to have the sun peeking out while we were kayaking.

After kayaking, we re-boarded the ship and made our way to Ti-Top Island. While on the island, you can choose to either hike to the lookout point or “relax” on the beach. Since it is a popular spot for many boats to visit, the island was hectic and the beach was almost not enjoyable with so many people on the shore. Ti Top island offers amazing views of the bay and the chaos of all the different boat companies in the area. After hiking through the humid air, you end the hike with a 360 degree view of the area. I was SWEATING hard but the view was worth the journey and sweat.

We re-boarded the ship where we had some free time before dinner. After taking a quick body shower, we went up to the deck area to get some happy hour bogo drinks and relaxed as the sky turned dark! For dinner, we enjoyed another five course meal of delicious food and finally ended the night relaxing in bed.

Day 3:

The next morning, I woke up early to see the views of the islands in the bay through our window. One of the most appealing aspects of this cruise are the cabins. The rooms were so clean and the room offers a great view from the full-length windows. For breakfast, we had a breakfast buffet with a pho station, fresh fruits, and other breakfast foods.

After breakfast, we stopped at Sung Sot Cave, which is a large cave that visitors may walk through. Ha Long Bay is a Unesco Heritage Site which was created naturally over time as the sea level sunk. Today, there are around 2,000 islands making up the incredible area. After visiting the cave, we ended the cruise by eating a buffet lunch, settling our bill, and sailing back to the dock. While most things were included, drinks were sold separately. However, unlike most cruises, the prices were not ridiculously expensive and we only paid a few dollars each for our drinks. We had the BEST time on this cruise and would recommend it to anyone who wants to go. The staff I corresponded with working at Best Price VPN were very helpful and responded quickly to my inquiries. While on the cruise, the staff on board was friendly and very polite. And for the price, you really got the best deal for an affordable, luxurious overnight cruise.

The only negative thing I have to say is that sadly, since there are so many cruise boats and the area has become so commercialized, you do see some trash in the water. It’s really sad to see such a beautiful landmark being littered and polluted by us everyday. I would love to see more of an effort to protect the area as the years go by.

After arriving back at the dock, we made our way back to the city, and got dropped off nearby our second airbnb around noon. The airbnb was centrally located near the old quarter. We dropped our bags and went off to explore! Our first stop was to get some Vietnamese coffee at the coffee shop nearby. The Vietnamese have such an interesting culture. You can find a cafe or coffee shop at almost every block. And most often, it is packed with locals enjoying a drink and enjoying the time together. After that, we ended up walking around another part of the city, close to the famous Bun Cha restaurant where Anthony Bourdain and Obama ate at. We stumbled upon a local market, ate some bomb street food with fishcake, cucumber, and spicy sauce, and finally made our way to the restaurant, Bun Cha Huong Lien. Bun Cha had originated in Hanoi, so you should definitely try it here. One thing we loved was that everything was so cheap. While we shared most meals, most dishes ranged from 10,000 ~ 60,000 VND which is around $5 at most. It’s truly incredible what you can get here for so little!

After dinner, we went shopping near the old quarter. A lot of Asian countries are known for the bamboo and weaved bags that you may have seen. I ended up getting two netted bags for around $8 each, while Nina got a weaved octagon shaped shoulder bag for around $10. I visited Bangkok in Feb and saw similar bags being sold. But the bags in Vietnam were definitely way cheaper. For dessert, we searched a shop nearby, and ended up enjoying some fruity dessert - mango in yogurt, and mixed fruits with coconut milk. It was a great way to end the night!

Day 4:

After one night at our airbnb, I had a really hard time sleeping and was super itchy all night. I woke up with no noticeable bites, but definitely felt some on my face :(

We had a late start to the day and made our way to try Bahn Cuon, a dish made of rice noodles stuffed with meat, mushrooms, and served with some cilantro and other herbs. After wandering around the cute streets, we then made our way to eat pho! The first restaurant we tried to find was closed, so a local recommended to try, Pho 10, which happened to have quite a long line out the door. It was filled with locals and tourists, so we trusted that it was good. And it did not disappoint! Although the broth was a bit lighter than I expected, the meat and noodles were really tasty, and seemed really authentic. For an after lunch treat, we enjoyed another cup of Vietnamese coffee (Yum!) We learned that Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee. They love their coffee! And they love it strong! Vietnamese coffee is often served with thick condensed milk to make a very sweet flavor. We decided to have a lazy day after this to relax a little after all the traveling we’ve been doing.

After lunch, we visited Pho Bich Hoa Phung Hung which is a short street with some painted murals and artwork. It’s really easy to walk everywhere within the city. If you stay in the center area, you can walk within 20 minutes to each destination, but might be deterred by the heat. Luckily, the weather was a bit overcast which made walking in the streets a bit cooler than usual. We made our way back to the center where we walked around Hoan Kiem lake, visited the temple in the city, and ate more Bahn Beo before our food tour. We also tried another dish similar to Bahn Beo but served with a shrimp chip underneath. While it was tasty, the Bahn Beo won in our hearts!

At 5 PM, we headed to the meeting spot of our free food tour organized by the same company we booked the Ha Long Bay Cruise from. We met our tour guide near the lake, along with three other people, a couple from the US, and a solo traveler from India. Our tour guide, Kevin, did his best to ask us about the foods we haven’t tried yet and wanted to make the experience more personalized towards us. We went to the first stop where we tried Bahn Cuon again. Before we tasted it, there was a bit of a scene between the US couple and the tour guide. Basically there was a language and cultural barrier where a joke was taken the wrong way and the couple left the tour. Nina, the other solo traveler, and I were left in the restaurant a bit frazzled and confused on what to do. But anyway the tour went on! This Bahn Cuon was served with a variety of herbs like mint and cilantro, and served with a fish sauce based sauce with some calamansi juice squeezed into it. Next, we tried some beef and squid salad. It had some mango slices, dried squid and beef, and a quail egg inside.

After that, we walked for a bit and tried some noodles in a shoyu based sauce, topped with peanuts, chicken, pickled veggies and cilantro. For our fourth stop, we ate some pickled and dried fruits at a local shop. Then made our way to the same desert place we went to our first night! Our final stop was to try the famous egg coffee! This was one of the food items on my to-try list, so I’m happy we got to stop here. Egg coffee is very dense. It is made with whipped egg yolks, strong coffee, sugar, etc. The coffee is a very unique Vietnamese dish that you must try! This was probably my favorite stop on the food tour as it was the most unique to me.

For a free food tour, I thought it was a great deal and we tried a bunch of different street foods. Our guide was a bit frantic, but he did his best to give some insight into the culture and background about Vietnam and the food! Overall, it was a great way to end our last night in Vietnam! By the end of the tour, we were definitely full of eating (basically all that day) and decided to spend the night laying in bed, digesting our food.

Day 5:

When I woke up this morning, I had about 15 red bug bites all over my face. Sadly, we think that the airbnb had bed bugs or something that bit me. Nina also got attacked by a few mosquitos and got some bed bug bites as well. Despite the cute airbnb, we were a bit disappointed that we experienced this. I felt extremely itchy, but powered through the pain as best I could.

We woke up a bit early to finish packing and grab some breakfast before heading to the airport. The airbnb host recommended trying Xoi Xeo, which is a popular breakfast dish of sticky rice topped with mung bean. While some people are hesitant to try street foods in foreign countries, we had no issues and no fear of trying it. Although the dishes and food items might not be the most sanitary or safe, as long as the place has some locals eating there, I would trust it. For only 10,000 VND, we shared a bowl of Xoi Xeo, which was so delicious and different from anything I’ve ever tasted. After that, we shared a bahn mi for a last taste of Vietnam. Everything that we ate was SO delicious. I’m personally a big fan of cilantro and herbs, and Hanoi did not shy away from those ingredients. Although a lot of it is flavored the same way, I really enjoyed eating all of the street food and enjoyed trying new Vietnamese dishes I’ve never heard of.

If you’re staying in the old quarter, I would recommend to take the airport shuttle for 35,000 VND to the airport. The departure area is located close to the old quarter, and is very easy to get on. Since the shuttle makes no stops on the way to the airport, it’s a very convenient method to travel!

It was my first time visiting Vietnam, and I would definitely want to go back. I loved the food and the cost of traveling was so cheap. Nina and I only spent around $50 each for all five days for all meals and shopping! Although our airbnbs and cruise was already paid for, overall it was a very affordable trip. We found the locals to also be very nice and friendly. When we tried to bargain, they a bit soft-spoken and never rude. They gave a fair price in our opinion when we bought things at the market. It was truly a great experience.

On the other hand, one thing we did not like was crossing the street and the driving culture of the city. It’s definitely scary to cross the street as pedestrians do not have the right of way! The city streets are noisy and motorcycles pollute the air. But it added to the city vibe for sure. I will definitely be back one day <3 Until then, I'‘m dreaming of the day when I can eat delicious Bahn Beo again…