So I ended up booking a flight connecting through HCMC which gave me superb views over the city on approach:

Ho-Chi-Minh-City during sunset

The domestic terminal of Vietjet resembles more of a bus station but an airport. I won’t be complaining though, as my flight to Hanoi seems to have been the only on-time flight the entire evening. I landed safely at 10.30pm, quickly found an Uber and was in the hostel by 11.30pm. I had booked a bed in Luxury Backpackers Hanoi, continuing my streak if good and modern hostels in the region.

Somewhat private beds at Luxury Backpackers Hanoi – around 7 SGD per night

The next morning I set out to explore the city. First stop was the Nhà thờ Lớn Hà Nội, or St. Joseph’s Cathedral. From there I walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and then up north into the Old City.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral, built to resemble Notre Dame.

View of Hồ Hoàn Kiếm

Tortoise Tower on a small island in the middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake)

Friends

Friends

I then stopped for my n-th Banh Mi, this time at Banh Mi Pho Hue (118 Pho Hue). Although you can get banh mi (baguette) everywhere, apparently this is a true northern style banh mi shop that has been around for 50 years. Indeed a very good Banh Mi.

Banh Mi Pho Hue

Next stop was the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Đen Ngọc Sơn), also located on a small island on Sword Lake. The lovely Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge (Cau Thê Húc) leads towards this temple dedicated to Confucian and Taoist philosophers.

Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge

Temple of the Jade Mountain

Temple of the Jade Mountain

Entrance to the Temple of the Jade Mountain

Short break for some very good Vietnamese coffee

Next on my list was the Hỏa Lò Prison, originally a French prison during colonial times. It was later converted into a prison for American pilots that were shot down during the Vietnam War. Slightly heavy on the propaganda and obviously not an unbiased narrative (prison was horrible during colonial times but more of a Hilton during the Vietnam War) but nevertheless very impressive.

Inside Hỏa Lò Prison

Hỏa Lò Prison – guillotine from French colonial times

Back to the Old City to see the Bach Ma Temple, one of the oldest in town.

Inside Bach Ma Temple

And around the corner is the Hanoi Ancient House, a well restored century old home. Not a whole lot to see but worth the 10’000 VND or so entrance fee.

Hanoi Ancient House

Street in the old town

That concluded the sightseeing for me for the day. I didn’t bring my laptop and needed to do some work on the computer. Unfortunately finding an internet cafe is nearly impossible nowadays. Finally I found one through Google Maps. Getting there took me 45mins by taxi. It turned out to be a cafe focused on computer games but at least the connection was fast. Next time I’ll bring my laptop. 

By the time I was back near my hostel, it had gotten a bit chilly so I warmed myself up with a noddle soup.

Tasty noodle soup in Hanoi

The next day I first headed out to the Ho Chi Minh Museum. 

Ho Chi Minh Museum

Parts of it are well done and I learned quite a bit about Ho Chi Minh’s younger days in Europe and Asia. Other sections were less interesting to me as they either featured dozens of photos of Vietnamese and French politicians shaking hands to show how good friends they are or some very extravagant art pieces.

The grounds are huge and include the mausoleum as well as some gardens. I was wearing shorts so couldn’t enter the mausoleum but knew that in advance and didn’t fancy queuing anyways.

Temple next to the museum

I could however walk past the mausoleum:

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Right next to the mausoleum is the former French governor of Indochina’s residence which was later converted to a presidential palace.

Presidential palace

Pond next to the presidential palace

A short walk from the palace is a large Lenin statue, another trace of the country’s socialist attitude.

Lenin statue

Across the street is the flag tower of Hanoi:

Cột cờ Hà Nội

As well as the Vietnam Military History Museum in which I was very interested in. Unfortunately they closed for a 90mins lunch break (which museum does that?) 20mins after I got there, so I didn’t really make it to the more recent exhibitions unfortunately.

Outside area of the Vietnam Military History Museum

I had lunch near the train station and opted for a street vendor with a long queue selling Banh Mi. I wasn’t disappointed. The 10’000 VND (0.60 SGD) got me a very tasty sandwhich.

Banh Mi vendor

Hanoi train station

And a coffee break next door

I hadn’t seen any markets yet, so took a motorbike to Dong Xuan Market in the Old Town. Wow! I’ve never seen so many clothes in one place before:

Inside Dong Xuan Market

Some delivery vehicles were struggling inside Hanoi’s narrow streets.

Near Dong Xuan Market

It started to get dark by the time I was through the market. I stopped for a beer at the popular Beer Street and then returned to the hostel. I had a 1.30am flight to catch hence had plenty of time. So I gave the airport express bus (# 86) a shot. It leaves every 20-30mins from the train station and then has a few more stops along town. It got me to the airport within about 40mins and cost 40’000 VND. The airport is very modern and I spent the last few hours there, waiting for my flight to Manila.

Lao Airlines A320 at Changi Airport

I ended up booking Vientiane for SGD249 (~3 hour flight), saving the more touristy Luang Prabang for another time. For the aviation geeks amongst the readers (hi dad!), it is worthwhile pointing out that the 4x weekly Singapore-Vientiane-Luang Prabang flight is flown by an A320 initially manufactured for Afriqiyah Airways of Lybia. But then the Lybian Revolution started and Airbus found a new owner with Lao Airlines. Colonel Gaddafi didnt’t go for the cheap outfit for his planes, so each economy seat has a personal TV (that isn’t functioning). All signage inside the plane is in Arabic and Laotian… possibly a unique combination?

Ready for boarding at Changi Airport

Inside the plane intended for Afriqiyah Airlines

Wattay International Airport (VTE) is tiny. To give you an idea how small it is,  I landed in Vientiane at 16:05 and half an hour later I was in my guest house (by public transport).

It was a beautiful Friday evening and I went to the Mekong where the 1st Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championship was held:

Beach Volleyball Cheerleader

And just behind the beach volleyball fields were the leftovers from the previous week’s 2nd International SandArt Festival. Seems like there is plenty of stuff going on at the Mekong.

Even Singapore’s Merlion was represented

The atmosphere was beautiful with families enjoying the Friday evening and a couple of guys taking to the skies with some kind of paragliders.

At the Mekong

I was happy just trying out the Laotian beer selection.

Various Beerlao

What I didn’t know  wasthat there is more than just Beerlao – Namkhong is another popular brand that isn’t really known abroad.

It tasted very good!

And I ended the day with some of the best mango with sticky rice that I’ve probably ever tasted!

Mango with sticky rice

I got up early the next day to do some sightseeing. Thanks to the French colonial past, Vientiane has several French bakeries that to this day still bake superb croissants and other pastries. That is how both my Saturday and Sunday started out:

French bakery

With that in my stomach, I was ready for some sightseeing. Vientiane’s area  of interest for tourists is rather small, so I was happy to rent a bicycle and explore the city on two wheels. The highlights I covered were:

• The Presidential Palace (from the outside)
• Wat Si Saket with its hundreds of Buddha figures
• The Catholic Church of Vientiane
• Talat Khua Din, a big market for fresh produce
• The Cooperative Orthotic & Protesthic Enterprise visitor center
• Patuxai, the triumph arc of Vientiane
• That Dam, a large stupa
• Wat In Paeng, Wat Ong Teu and Wat Mixai – several temples in the city centre

Below are some impressions from my tour:

Vientiane’s presidential palace

The entrance to Wat Si Saket

Inside Wat Si Saket

The Catholic Church

Rather specific directions – and not sure why anyone would need that info in English. I didn’t see many (or any) foreigners trying to park their tuk-tuks.

Near the Talat Sao Bus Station

Inside Talat Khua Din: Khao Jee, the Laotian version of the Vietnamese Banh Mi

Inside Talat Khua Din: the veggie section

Inside Talat Khua Din: the non-veggie section

I then took a small detour to the Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise visitor center, a producer of artificial limbs for victims of unexploded ordnance. Laos.was significantly impacted by the U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War and to this day suffers casualties every year.

The COPE visitor center

From there I continued to the Patuxai, the triumph arc. Not sure what practical purpose it serves but it was somewhat impressive.

Patuxai

View from Patuxai’s top

Riding past the National Assembly

My ride for the day

Some impressions of Wat In Paeng, Wat Ong Teu and Wat Mixai.

Temples in Vientiane

Temples in Vientiane

Temples in Vientiane

That concluded the sightseeing tour and I was back in my guest house by around 2pm (including a lunch break). I spent the afternoon relaxing and eventually went back to the Mekong for a sundowner. Afterwards I followed a Tripadvisor recommendation and had dinner at La Cage du Coq , one of the many superb French restaurants in town.

La Cage du Coq

Snapshop of La Cage du Coq’s drink list

With this my short visit to Vientiane was almost over and the next morning I returned to the airport to catch my flight back to Singapore on Lao Airlines.

On the tuk tuk (or Jumbo as the call it in Laos) to the airport

Was it worth it? I think so. Vientiane can easily be explored in 1-2 days. And while not a tourist hotspot, the relaxed vibe compared to other cities in the regions make it worth a visit. The food is great, both Laotian and French cuisines and sipping on an ice-cold Beerlao by the Mekong is worth the experience. I’m looking forward to exploring more in the country in the hopefully not too distant future.