Back when I was working in California, the stretch between President's Day and Memorial Day was always tortuous (though I did work for some companies that actually gave Good Friday). It's 5-day workweek after 5-day workweek, and even weekend trips couldn't break the grip of the monotonous grind. In Singapore, that stretch is from Vesak Day in May to National Day in August. To celebrate finally having a 4-day workweek, ew and I made it a 3-day workweek and visited Hanoi. We realized that we hadn't taken a trip together since April actually, though each of us had gone on several trips for work (and ew even went on a few for pleasure without me). So it was a welcome respite to get away from Singapore together, as our relationship was suffering a bit from island fever.
Whenever ew and I talk about where we should go visit, we inevitably talk about where we've gone in the past. So in discussing Hanoi, one of the topics was how Asia had no romantic cities (well, other than Kyoto). In thinking about it, this isn't really that shocking, as Asia is mostly filled with developing countries that have a sense of chaos to them. There are beach destinations, but for some reason, there isn't that same sense of serenity to those places; it's more of an exoticism that draws people in. Yet, when we thought about Hanoi, we thought about an Old Quarter filled with remnants of French colonial architecture and a vibrant blend of European and Asian cuisine. People sipping dark Vietnamese coffee while eating banh mi and pain chocolats. A quaint town full of cyclers along the lake, with rolling rice paddy fields on the city outskirts. I'm not quite sure why we thought Hanoi would be like that. No, Hanoi was pretty much like most Southeast Asian cities we've been to.
It's a bustling, small city filled with cars and motorbikes. In a way, it feels like it's somewhere in between India and Thailand. A little more developed than India (and seemingly more crowded), but more of the wild west than Thailand. When ew and I went to Chiang Mai last year, it was relaxing because it's such a sleepy place, with nothing really to do (except cycle and take cooking classes). Hanoi is similar in that it's small and there's not much to do, but it's definitely not sleepy. There are tons of people in traffic--I'm not sure a second goes by in Hanoi without someone honking their horn. And even though most places are walkable if you're staying in the Old Quarter, it's not very pleasant since the sidewalks are blocked off with people selling stuff or parked motorbikes. And if you're off the sidewalk, you're playing frogger with the traffic. Ew and I basically walked in a single file at all times.
So a non-sleepy, chaotic town with not much to do is not really the best place for a weekend getaway. But there are two parts of Hanoi that are quite nice: art and food. Around the lake, there are several art galleries showcasing local artists' works, and ew and I actually bought our first piece of art together. It's quite affordable and it definitely adds a cultural feel to Hanoi, particularly since Singapore is not exactly an arts hotspot. And the food, well, some of the best food I've had in Southeast Asia. I think what surprised me the most about the food was how light it all was. It's definitely in stark contrast to the heavy use of oil in Chinese cooking, or the spice and curry needed in Malaysian/Singaporean/Indonesia/Indian cooking, or the salty miso/soy sauce based Japanese cooking. A lot of the food was just lightly seasoned soups or noodles with fresh herbs. It was freshly made pho ga or bun thang, which tastes like the best homemade chicken soup. The bun cha or cha ca, both of which pair vermicelli with oilier grilled pork or grilled fish, both served with fresh herbs, like spring onion, mint, basil, and even dill. The xoi, a simple sticky rice dish with thinly sliced Chinese sausage. Or my favorite dish, banh xeo, an egg pancake with bean sprouts and pork, packed into a rice paper with mint and basil, and then dipped in some fish sauce. If anything, Hanoi is worth a trip just for the food, particularly Quan An Ngon, Cha Ca La Vong (the original, don't get tricked like ew and me), and Xoi Yen. For places like Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum or the war museum (which apparently is almost all in Vietnamese), I'm not sure it's worth wandering to if it's 36 degrees out.
Whenever ew and I talk about where we should go visit, we inevitably talk about where we've gone in the past. So in discussing Hanoi, one of the topics was how Asia had no romantic cities (well, other than Kyoto). In thinking about it, this isn't really that shocking, as Asia is mostly filled with developing countries that have a sense of chaos to them. There are beach destinations, but for some reason, there isn't that same sense of serenity to those places; it's more of an exoticism that draws people in. Yet, when we thought about Hanoi, we thought about an Old Quarter filled with remnants of French colonial architecture and a vibrant blend of European and Asian cuisine. People sipping dark Vietnamese coffee while eating banh mi and pain chocolats. A quaint town full of cyclers along the lake, with rolling rice paddy fields on the city outskirts. I'm not quite sure why we thought Hanoi would be like that. No, Hanoi was pretty much like most Southeast Asian cities we've been to.
It's a bustling, small city filled with cars and motorbikes. In a way, it feels like it's somewhere in between India and Thailand. A little more developed than India (and seemingly more crowded), but more of the wild west than Thailand. When ew and I went to Chiang Mai last year, it was relaxing because it's such a sleepy place, with nothing really to do (except cycle and take cooking classes). Hanoi is similar in that it's small and there's not much to do, but it's definitely not sleepy. There are tons of people in traffic--I'm not sure a second goes by in Hanoi without someone honking their horn. And even though most places are walkable if you're staying in the Old Quarter, it's not very pleasant since the sidewalks are blocked off with people selling stuff or parked motorbikes. And if you're off the sidewalk, you're playing frogger with the traffic. Ew and I basically walked in a single file at all times.
So a non-sleepy, chaotic town with not much to do is not really the best place for a weekend getaway. But there are two parts of Hanoi that are quite nice: art and food. Around the lake, there are several art galleries showcasing local artists' works, and ew and I actually bought our first piece of art together. It's quite affordable and it definitely adds a cultural feel to Hanoi, particularly since Singapore is not exactly an arts hotspot. And the food, well, some of the best food I've had in Southeast Asia. I think what surprised me the most about the food was how light it all was. It's definitely in stark contrast to the heavy use of oil in Chinese cooking, or the spice and curry needed in Malaysian/Singaporean/Indonesia/Indian cooking, or the salty miso/soy sauce based Japanese cooking. A lot of the food was just lightly seasoned soups or noodles with fresh herbs. It was freshly made pho ga or bun thang, which tastes like the best homemade chicken soup. The bun cha or cha ca, both of which pair vermicelli with oilier grilled pork or grilled fish, both served with fresh herbs, like spring onion, mint, basil, and even dill. The xoi, a simple sticky rice dish with thinly sliced Chinese sausage. Or my favorite dish, banh xeo, an egg pancake with bean sprouts and pork, packed into a rice paper with mint and basil, and then dipped in some fish sauce. If anything, Hanoi is worth a trip just for the food, particularly Quan An Ngon, Cha Ca La Vong (the original, don't get tricked like ew and me), and Xoi Yen. For places like Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum or the war museum (which apparently is almost all in Vietnamese), I'm not sure it's worth wandering to if it's 36 degrees out.
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