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.

The good: Uber Moto

In order to exprience the local vibe, I try to take public transport in cities whenever I can. In Vietnam, that can be difficult as there is very little public transport – everybody just has their own scooter. Taxis have improved significantly since my first visit in 2009 and I don’t feel like I get cheated every time in sit in one. But using a motorbike has form of transport can prove tricky. With Uber (and also competitor Grab) this has become very easy. At the click of a button you can hire a motorbike. The best part is, you know the fare upfront and you know it is fair. Also, since you punch in your destination into the app, there is no need to try an explain the drive where you need to go. I booked rides several times a day and always had pleasant experiences. In Hanoi, most trips around the city center cost me 10’000 VND (0.65 SGD) – cheaper than an MRT ride in Singapore!

Uber Moto is much quicker in Hanoi’s traffic than a regular taxi

They carry a second helmet for. For the most part their driving style is good (by Vietnamese standards). Though I once had a driver (quite an old uncle) who would drive on the sidewalk…

Riding on the sidewalk

As always right after the ride you get your receipt e-mailed.

Uber Moto receipt

I never really had to wait for more than five minutes for my driver to arrive. Of course, breathing in the Hanoi traffic fumes on the back of a motorbike can be not so pleasant. In that case there is always Uber cars as well which are also very affordable.

Uber Moto

The not so good: WiFi in hostel common areas

While ubiquitous WiFi access has made staying up-to-date in the road much easier and has allowed “digital nomads” to even work full-time while on the road, there are also some downsides.

While having breakfast at my hostel in Hanoi (by the way, I can warmly recommend Hanoi Luxury Backpackers), there were about half a dozen travelers in the common area. “Back in the day”, you would most likely just sit at a table with a stranger and strike up a conversation, hopefully getting some tips or where to go or not to go. Not anymore. Nowadays everybody just eats their breakfast by themselves while glued to the smartphone, tablet or laptop screen. That’s sad.

Next time you travel, make an effort to strike up a conversation with a fellow traveler.

Apparently, Central Vietnam is renowned even within Vietnam for its cuisine and I can confirm that the food is indeed really, really good.

Below is a selection of what we had over the course of two days. All very reasonably priced between VND 20’000 for a Banh Mi and 120’000 for something more sophisticated at a mid-range restaurant.

The all-time classic, the Banh Mi

An overview of Hoi An’s specialties… most of which are shown below and all come highly recommended. Especially the Banh Vac (White Rose)

And last but not least, something we didn’t try:

• direct flight
• less than four hours
• leave Friday after 5pm
• get back Sunday with a departure in the afternoon local time and arrive back in Singapore before midnight

SilkAir has been serving Da Nang in Central Vietnam for a while, however flight times were not convenient for a weekend trip. Recently Jetstar started flying the route with perfect flight times, leave Singapore at 6.05pm and arriving back on Sunday night just before midnight (although that is a bit late for my liking). At around 2.5 hours, the flight time is also good for a quick weekend jaunt. Fares were reasonable at 230 SGD return about a month out, so not we quickly booked.

Friday evening flight to Danang

Initially the game plan was to stay at one of the beach resorts at Da Nang, as little as 15 minutes from the airport. However we eventually settled for Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage city about 45 minutes south of Da Nang. Thanks to visa free entry, we not only saved over 30 USD compared to our last Vietnam visit, but we were also very quick through immigration and in a taxi less than half an hour after landing. We really still got to enjoy Friday night, as after dropping off our bags, we had dinner with friends in town by 9pm.

Hoi An by night

We spent Saturday exploring Hoi An, a picturesque town that used to be a major port but lost importance over the century. However, the inhabitants managed to retain the town’s charm and even today traffic is relatively relaxed – by Vietnamese standards.

Hoi An historic city centre

Hoi An by the river

There are elements of Chinese and Japanese influence in the town’s architecture, owing to the it’s history.

An example of the Japanese history is a covered bridge dating back to the 16^th century. It was constructed back then to link the Japanese part of town with the Chinese.

Japanese bridge

The Chinese came from different parts of China to Hoi An. Communities stuck together and life evolved around the communal centres such as that of the Cantonese community:

Cantonese Congregation Centre

Inside the Cantonese Congregation Centre

In the “backyard” of the Cantonese Congregation Centre

or the Fujian Chinese Congregation:

Fujian Congregation Centre

You can easily spend a few hours walking the streets. While the centre does still look very authentic, tourism has taken over. There are masses of tourists and practically every shop is geared towards foreigners visiting. I didn’t find it too disturbing though for some reason. I guess the atmosphere just makes up for it.

Enjoying a cheap and tasty lunch

While there is not really any nightlife and the town seems to close down around 10pm, the hours after sunset are somewhat magical. All of the town, lamps are illuminated and make for a very special setting:

Hoi An by night

On Sunday we rented some bicycles to tour around the area. We headed out to Van Duc Pagoda and on the way there experienced a very different part of Hoi An. Quiet villages and rice paddies.

Riding through rice paddies

Rice paddies just outside Hoi An

View from our hotel

The return flight leaves at 8.15pm, so we were able to enjoy Hoi An until we left for the airport around 5.30pm. The return was just as hassle free and I must say that this now ranks as one of my favorite weekend getaways.