After wonderful travels in Asia, it was now Vietnam's turn. It should be very different from Thailand and we were very excited to see which cultural differences we could see for ourselves and of course we were really looking forward to exploring the flora and fauna and exploring them with the scooter.
For every trip I always buy a perfume in the duty free shop that suits the country. It is applied more often every day. The point of this is that I have a real flashback at home when I apply the fragrance and can remember some things and experience again. I chose Azzaro - Chrome. It smells fresh, with much citrus, flowers of an unknown - well-scented nature, spices and coriander. Perfect!
Our flight took off with Vietnam Airlines from Frankfurt at 13:55 to Hanoi, with no turbulence and with very good and smooth service - they didn't keep walking up and down. Half of the plane was not occupied and you could lie down individually in a row and sleep.
The entertainment was great and the little touches were very, very nice. My first Vietnam Beer Halida was great and the food too.
At 6:35 we were in Hanoi, one hour late - but everything was great!
We took a shuttle to our hotel and drove there for 30 minutes. The receptionist was very cool and helped us with the suitcases to the 3rd floor. That was really difficult with the temperatures...
Hanoi Lucky II Hotel
The hotel was in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Hoan Kiem district, in a side street with restaurants and cafes. Very nice but also tight and hot.
This hotel is our regular hotel for this trip and we booked it from 05/18/2018 to 06/04/2018. It was cheap and safe for our suitcases while we were traveling somewhere else because we were going up into the mountains and much much more and we didn't always want to take our suitcases with us, just the bare essentials. For 2 people we were at 350€.
So, lets walk around...
Hang Dao Street
Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square
There is always a lot of hustle and bustle at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square and there is always something going on, especially in the evening. The way to here was very lively. People, scooters, rikshas, cars, etc. are on the move non-stop. After a long overnight flight it was all very sensory overload...but there was an urge to explore and we continued on to...
Hoan Kiem Lake
The Huc Bridge
We paid 30.000Dong for all.
Ngoc Son Temple
We walked a little further up the streets.
Hang Duong Street
Tượng Đài Quyết Tử
A little shopping.
Chợ Đồng Xuân
Here are beautiful Houses and streets.
Hang Luoc Street
P. Hang Ruoi
We hadn't rented a scooter yet and explored everything on foot - 5km. The way down then with a riksha.
And finally eat local...with a great Hanoi Beer.
Quán Bánh Cuốn Kỳ Đồng
The food was heavy on coriander but delicious.
So we went down to the...
St. Joseph Cathedral
There are many nice cafes here, the Hanoi House is very nice and famous.
We went to the hotel, rested a little and then went back to the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square via the St. Joseph Church in the evening.
But at the Hoan Kiem Lake it was nice and quiet.
A quick snack near our hotel and after it was a 45min swedish Massage for 200.000 VND - great!
We booked a Tour to Halong for the next days and are very excited...and yes, those were the first days and there is still a lot to come. Nature, people and experiences.