Hanoi, Vietnam: My trip summary (Part 1)
It is time for my first travel post yay! This Vietnam trip is actually my first overseas trip this year, surprisingly. Well, to be fair, I did discount out New Zealand and Malaysia because NZ is so near and Malaysia is home so they don't count haha.
For now, I want to pen down the things that I do and see during these 13 days trip so that one day when I looked back, I know that it was still an amazing trip despite some hiccups at the start.
So, what happened??
At the start of the trip before flying off, I was feeling nauseous and pretty unwell. (Nah, not pregnancy,not yet lol) Right after we landed, that was when things took a worse turn. Upon checking in the hotel at 10pm, I didn't even have the appetite to eat after a long day of flight (almost 24 hours after leaving home in Melbourne), which was pretty unusual. In the middle of the night after landed, I woke up and pretty much vomited everything. And diarrhea followed afterwards.
IT IS FOOD POISONING!
And it was right at the start too! How 'lucky' we were. So, I was not in the best condition one could hope for in a trip.
So, what did I do in these 13 days?
Well, I did get better throughout the times when I was in Hanoi. For this trip, for the first week, we met up with a group of trainers from United States that were mobilized to Hanoi, Vietnam for pastors' training. Most of the day times were spent in networking with the local pastors and to understand their needs and resources in Hanoi. Needless to say, it was very encouraging to listen to the testimony from a community that has far less than us in wealth and abundance, but having the same joy and hope from God. A pastor shared his testimony from a refugee camp to settling down in Vietnam and how God has provided and sustained him throughout his suffering years. The joy he has on his face will forever be remembered in my heart.
It is such wonderful feeling to know that people from different cultures, backgrounds and languages can come together to support and encourage one another because of what God has called us to do. The common mission and the hardship that the local churches endured encourage and motivate me to see even more clearly that the gospel is a cause that lasts and worth fighting for. It serves as a sobering reminder that it is a choice that we make in everyday life - not an easy one, but it will be worth it at the end of the day.
After that, for the second week of the trip, it was free and easy as we gave ourselves time to tour around Hanoi and surrounding. So here is a list on what are the things to do when you are in Hanoi, Vietnam.
We refer to this site as our main primary reference to navigate around Hanoi. You will notice that most tourist sites are located in Old Quarter and you can easily spend a day or two days taking a stroll in this area. The hotel that we stayed was very near to most of the sites and were within 5 - 10 minutes walking distance. We visited a number of places on our first two days after I took some rest, including:
1. Hanoi Railway Street
Feeling sick on my first day, I still want to have some food so we decided to go out to grab some simple lunch. This train street was very near to our hotel (only about 3 minutes walk?) and we decided to take a look.
There, we found a railway track! And also rows of shops where people just sit and chilled. I looked at the track and thought to myself that this can't be a functioning track because of its close proximity to the shops! Talk about safety...
However, we happened to be at the same railway track for the night too and the trains did pass through and they were super close. Then I realize, it is still a functioning railway track and not some pretty tourist attractions!
Needless to say, it was very dangerous but definitely insta-worthy. Where on earth will you get to be so close to a railway track and had meals when the trains passed by just directly in front of you? Unfortunately for you guys, the site is closed officially on 10th October due to safety reason. We realize the closure as we were on the train few days after and realize all the shops were closed. We checked the news and well, it is no longer open to public. We were probably the few lucky ones that got to visit this railway track few days before its official closure.
So, too bad for you guys so you can only view the real-life situation from the pictures then! And the video that showed the trains passing through. (Warning: Not for faint-hearted because the train is so super close!)
2. St Joseph Cathedral
Built by French colonial government in 1886, the architectural style of this cathedral resembled the Notre Dame de Paris. Oh well, the exterior wall of the cathedral did seem worn out which certainly showed off its age. It was not as impressive as the few cathedral that I visited back in Europe but a nice detour to watch the locals having fun right in front. Be careful when you walked pass because students were just playing badminton right in front of the cathedral! (I got hit by the badminton a few times but oh man, how I wished I can settle here so that I get to play badminton all the times haha)
3. Hoan Kiem Lake
Both of us took a stroll to this lake which was very near to the cathedral. We managed to try this rather unique ice-cream (green sticky rice ice cream!). It was a bit too sweet for my liking though.
After this walk, we felt tired and decided to take a rickshaw back to our accommodation. First thing to warn you though, BARGAIN first before you hopped on! We managed to bargain from 200k VND to 60k VND lol. I think 200k VND (equivalent to about 12.50 AUD) was for a city tour but since we were looking for a short ride back to accommodation, I think 60k was quite reasonable since taxi in Hanoi was actually very cheap. (a 20-minutes ride only costed us about 60k in a taxi before).
The ride was not for the faint-hearted because for the first time in my life, I suddenly realized that I actually preferred walking after all. The traffic in Hanoi was crazy with no one actually followed the rules on the road, by that I mean the red light was non-existent, same goes with any one-way road. That happened when we were in our rickshaw. The rickshaw guy realized he made a wrong turn and in the middle of the road, he decided to go against the traffic. Imagine us sitting inside watching all the cars and motorbikes coming towards us and he was merely walking and pushing us uphill. I prayed so hard for my safety on the road no kidding haha.
Nope, not again. I shall not try this again. I amfaint-hearted.
After the first two days of exploration in Hanoi, we would continue our Hanoi trip to the mountain over the weekend which I won't elaborate here. But after we came back from the mountains and back to the same hotel, then it was my husband's turn!
HIS TURN TO BECOME SICK!
I know right. For the second part of our ill-fated trip that we just kept falling sick, read more here!
For now, I want to pen down the things that I do and see during these 13 days trip so that one day when I looked back, I know that it was still an amazing trip despite some hiccups at the start.
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| Halong Bay. One of my favorite destination throughout the trip! |
At the start of the trip before flying off, I was feeling nauseous and pretty unwell. (Nah, not pregnancy,
IT IS FOOD POISONING!
 |
| Waiting for baggage at the airport. Notice how many boxes there are! Lol. Ms Susan here hasn't realize the extension of her food poisoning at this moment yet. |
So, what did I do in these 13 days?
Well, I did get better throughout the times when I was in Hanoi. For this trip, for the first week, we met up with a group of trainers from United States that were mobilized to Hanoi, Vietnam for pastors' training. Most of the day times were spent in networking with the local pastors and to understand their needs and resources in Hanoi. Needless to say, it was very encouraging to listen to the testimony from a community that has far less than us in wealth and abundance, but having the same joy and hope from God. A pastor shared his testimony from a refugee camp to settling down in Vietnam and how God has provided and sustained him throughout his suffering years. The joy he has on his face will forever be remembered in my heart.
It is such wonderful feeling to know that people from different cultures, backgrounds and languages can come together to support and encourage one another because of what God has called us to do. The common mission and the hardship that the local churches endured encourage and motivate me to see even more clearly that the gospel is a cause that lasts and worth fighting for. It serves as a sobering reminder that it is a choice that we make in everyday life - not an easy one, but it will be worth it at the end of the day.
 |
| Roads to the mountain for a service. Not grand entry as you would have expected. |
 |
| Simple wooden house with generator for electricity. No proper toilet too, just a hole in the ground. But it is a simple, yet humbling service. So simple and humble that make me almost tears, knowing that even people has less, the joy and the hope are the same everywhere. |
Hanoi Old Quarter, Vietnam
We stayed in Golden Cyclo Hotel and the hotel was in a strategic location, right in the Old Quarter. The hotel was decent, not great but does serve its value for money. The hotel had very good breakfast too!We refer to this site as our main primary reference to navigate around Hanoi. You will notice that most tourist sites are located in Old Quarter and you can easily spend a day or two days taking a stroll in this area. The hotel that we stayed was very near to most of the sites and were within 5 - 10 minutes walking distance. We visited a number of places on our first two days after I took some rest, including:
1. Hanoi Railway Street
There, we found a railway track! And also rows of shops where people just sit and chilled. I looked at the track and thought to myself that this can't be a functioning track because of its close proximity to the shops! Talk about safety...
However, we happened to be at the same railway track for the night too and the trains did pass through and they were super close. Then I realize, it is still a functioning railway track and not some pretty tourist attractions!
Needless to say, it was very dangerous but definitely insta-worthy. Where on earth will you get to be so close to a railway track and had meals when the trains passed by just directly in front of you? Unfortunately for you guys, the site is closed officially on 10th October due to safety reason. We realize the closure as we were on the train few days after and realize all the shops were closed. We checked the news and well, it is no longer open to public. We were probably the few lucky ones that got to visit this railway track few days before its official closure.
So, too bad for you guys so you can only view the real-life situation from the pictures then! And the video that showed the trains passing through. (Warning: Not for faint-hearted because the train is so super close!)
2. St Joseph Cathedral
3. Hoan Kiem Lake
 |
| In the rickshaw. Ms Susan here smiled so happily without realizing what is coming next. |
Nope, not again. I shall not try this again. I am
After the first two days of exploration in Hanoi, we would continue our Hanoi trip to the mountain over the weekend which I won't elaborate here. But after we came back from the mountains and back to the same hotel, then it was my husband's turn!
HIS TURN TO BECOME SICK!
I know right. For the second part of our ill-fated trip that we just kept falling sick, read more here!
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