Hanoi Vietnam:
I want to start by saying I received a lot of negative comments when I decided to go to Hanoi. There is still a tremendous amount of stigma associated with it because of the Vietnam war. My advice to anyone who travels or wants to travel is to not let negative comments mislead or steer you away from your desires. Unless the destination has proven to be unsafe, the world is your oyster.
Hanoi is a remarkably beautiful place with a lot to offer for every tourist. From the food, busyness, ambiance, and shopping, you will get a lot for your dollar. You will be greeted with kindness and if you order car service from your hotel (as I always advise if you’re traveling solo), you’ll be picked up in luxury at a shockingly low price.
I’m not sure why I didn’t look into whether I needed a Visa until the day before I was leaving, but it's not outside of my character. I literally woke up at midnight and said, "Do I need a Visa?" Of course, I did! I stayed up most the night trying to find a reliable place to send my application to. I tried one place only to get an auto-response statin that I would receive my Visa in two days. Two days? You don’t understand! I’m traveling tomorrow!
I finally found a place, which I mentioned in my Bali article, called the Vietnam eVisa Department. They were beyond my expectations: very responsive to all my questions, very affordable, and are open 24 hours a day. Vietnam eVisa handled everything and upon my arrival, they met me with a sign and did all the leg work while I sat and waited to receive my Visa. I don’t recommend waiting until the last minute, but if you do Vietnam Evisa is the place to go.
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What I took away the most from this trip, outside of visiting the emerald waters of Halong Bay, is that crossing streets in Hanoi is not for the weak because they don't have traffic lights. You will get the maximum workout trying to cross their streets. It’s a strategy you prepare for each day you’re there that becomes more amusing as your visit progresses. I’m not quite sure how I made it crossing each day. Some days I'd wait for the Vietnamese people to cross then cross with them and some days I just did a free for all. I am still here to tell you about it!
I stayed at the Hilton Hanoi Opera which is right next door to the Hanoi Opera House. Binh Minh’s Jazz Club, Motorbike Tours, and the Museum of Vietnamese History are all within walking distance. The area I stayed in was a combination of high end and low end. It was an interesting melting pot of culture: high-end stores such as Prada and Christian Louboutin, the Stock Market, the Opera, and just two blocks away were neighborhoods that provided the most challenging language barriers.
I should also mention that Starbucks was only two blocks away and cheaper than in the US. Christian Louboutin seemed to be cheaper in Hanoi as well with shoes that normally cost $1,000 being sold for $500!
Halong Bay:
You must plan to do a full day tour in Halong Bay to see the emerald water and rock formations. It is a very popular destination for rock climbing, which I did, and also scuba diving. Although many people do an overnight boat cruise, I opted for the full day Halong Bay Islands and Cave Tour through www.viator.com. This tour picks you up from your hotel, makes a stop at Hong Ngoc Fine Art in Hai Duong for some shopping, then proceeds to Halong Bay for a seafood lunch on a bamboo boat.
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Afterward, you take a hike in Thien Cung Cave (Heavenly Palace Cave) which is considered the primitive cave of the Bay. This is a full-day round-trip tour that makes several stops on the way to Halong Bay. It is an amazing tour and well worth the full day. I made a number of acquaintances including a lady from South Africa, who I am still in touch with today. If your Vietnamese is not up to par, no worries as the tour guide spoke many languages and had quite a sense of humor.
Further recommendations in Hanoi are the Quang Ba Flower Market (even if you can’t bring the beautiful daisies, cherry blossoms, roses, orchids, and sunflowers back it’s still a great photo op), Bat Trang Pottery Village (for high-end dishes and souvenirs), and Ben Thanh Market (for all of your spices, coffee beans, and more souvenirs). Like Thailand, Vietnam also has a floating market. I did not make this tour but I would love to hear how you enjoyed it when you go.
Destination Pairings:
As I always mention, when you travel far you should try to pair another country with your destination. My pairing for Hanoi was to revisit Thailand and spend another day in Bangkok. As I’ve been to Bangkok before (I will cover that trip more fully in my next article), I spent this trip exploring Bangkok’s shopping arena and followed my heart to CentralWorld.
CentralWorld is the eleventh largest shopping center in the world, with seven floors of shopping and tours. Even if you don’t want to shop (the shopping is really good though), it’s well worth a visit just to see the mall itself. There are stores to meet everyone’s budget!
My flight from Thailand allowed me to spend a full day in Tokyo. I plan to visit Japan fully, but during my short stay there I was able to visit the Narisasan Sinshoji temple. It is a very famous temple that people visit for the New Year (which happened to be when my visit was) and it’s very close to Narita Airport. I also got to drink some AMAZING sake. The Japanese are very hospitable and there's no need to unpack your pajamas and slippers because a fresh new set will be waiting for you in your hotel room.
Travelers Tips:
1. Vietnam’s low season is between April-October and high season mid-June-August. I went in December and it was cooler with rain on most days.
2. You will need a Visa for Vietnam but if you decide to go to Thailand or Tokyo (which I did) you will not need a Visa. Other neighboring countries are China, Laos and Cambodia you will need a Visa for all three. Once again, I highly recommend eVisa.
3. Most people speak English but it’s always nice to learn a little bit of a Country's language. In my opinion, it shows cultural respect.
4. Resort transportation cost is not included in your accommodations cost.
5. The local currency in Vietnam is the Vietnamese Dong (VND). One U.S. dollar ($1) is worth $23,432.2428 Vietnamese Dong (wipes forehead that our dollar is still strong there in these current times). They take U.S. dollars so it’s really not necessary to exchange.
6. As I always say, don’t be discouraged by the long flight. A good airline will make you forget. My picks for this trip include Eva Air and Japan Airlines (my favorites). These airlines provide 32-34 inches of legroom free.
A note about both airlines: Eva Air codeshares with United Airlines while Japan Airlines codeshares with American Airlines. If you are not a mileage member this would be the time to sign up. Long trips can give you lots of miles, sometimes enough for a one-way (or even roundtrip if you just let them stack up) for your next trip.
Because Japan Airlines codeshares with American Airlines, be careful to book directly with Japan Airlines. I highly advise it as I took Japan Airlines before through American Airlines and had problems booking my seats. There is no such thing as a bad seat on Japan Airlines though, so if you’re not able to book directly you will still be okay.
Hẹn sớm gặp lại (See you soon).
Dionne Dickson is in the Legal Profession and the proud mother of three wonderful adult children. You can catch Dionne traveling the globe, dancing to a great song in an Instagram story or catching a spectacular sunset sipping wine somewhere magical on Instagram @imbizzie_traveling.
