My sister and I spent a short time at Vietnam (5 days only!)  and we went to 3 different provinces – Hanoi, Da Lat and HCMC.

That’s why my story title is just a “GLANCE”. I hope we could stay a bit longer as Vietnam offers a lot of beautiful things – from their culture and food, to of course their tourist attractions!

I am also living in South East Asia so I don’t have any high expectations on this country except that they have a better weather compared to my country – Philippines.

We arrived at Noi Bai International Airport early in the morning (around 1 am local time) so it would be hard to find a public transportation going to the city center. Their airport is a far from the city center, so it is recommended to book your car in advance. We booked a car that is offered from our hostel. We booked in a hostel just to sleep for the remaining hrs before the sunrise.

As we like to travel in the budget, so we initially prepared an itinerary several months before our trip.

ATM withdrawal using a card that has MasterCard and Visa sticker. We usually withdraw at Maritime Bank (luckily the max. withdrawal is 3,000,000 dong – other banks offer just 2,000,000)

The more money you get, the better (as you will pay for the local bank charge for international withdrawal)

I will just list all of the places we’ve visited in Hanoi below, starting from the first until the last destination:

This is where Hanoi Flag and other historical pagoda is located. We took a taxi going there but we were a bit cheated by the driver that he charged us 80,000 dong (about USD 3.5)  – double price on the normal fare going to that place!

Entrance fee: 30,000 dong/each

I bet there are a lot of photoshoots happening in everywhere!

At the center of Ba Đình Square, you could be able to see 3 different tourist spots.

You are able to see:

– Presidential Palace Vietnam ( Văn phòng Chủ tịch nước Phủ chủ tịch )

– Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

– a City Hall? haha not sure what it is called but it looks elegant

We took our lunch at the cafe shop before entering Ho Chi Minh Museum called “My Nghe”. The food is good and the ambiance is really refreshing.

We just walked for about 5 mins from Ba Dinh Square going to Ho Chi Minh Museum located on the back of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

We didn’t enter the entire museum as there are a lot of people queuing, so we spent time walking around the vicinity.

There are pagodas near the museum entrance.

A small pagoda with a lot of foreigners taking a photo of it. It looks a bit old, also there are locals praying on this place.

Our next destination is a bit far and my sister and I were a bit tired of walking so we decided to take a cab going to the next stop. At the map, it did not look too far but based on our research it would take about 15 mins to walk. We didn’t take the cab at the entrance as we thought that they would charge us a lot compared when we take a cab on a bit farther place.

The taxi driver looked decent, though we didn’t notice that the taxi drivers should be wearing a uniform. We asked him if we could use the meter then he said yes! Surprisingly he agreed with us that fast, then he told us to be quick and ride his taxi right away. So we didn’t think of anything about him because most of the Vietnamese we’ve met were very helpful. After a minute, we got shocked that the meter reached 100,000 dongs. My sister and I started to feel that there was something wrong happening! We reached the destination after 5 mins and guessed what the meter of the taxi reached into 600,000+ dong (which is too much when even compared to the taxi rates in our country) My sister ask for a receipt, but what he just told us was: “QUICK! QUICK!” then my sister handed him a pen to write the price on the receipt but he refused to, unfortunately, we handed him 500,000 dongs as we told him that we didn’t have money then when he got the money, he drove away very very fast! -_- Bad thing we haven’t taken a photo of that taxi. Screw him! It was our first day but bad thing already happened to us. If that didn’t happen to us, there would be nothing bad I could say in Vietnam.

Where did we go next?

Just a quick visit as we were still frustrated with the taxi driver.

We did not want to take a cab anymore (just learned the lesson) so we just walked to the next pagoda. Thanks to the locals as we asked them how to get there. Along our way there, we asked two locals and good thing one of them can speak English. They were based in Saigon, same with us they didn’t know the places so they searched it thru google then gave us the directions.

A small temple that you could just pass by, we didn’t go inside but there is an entrance fee of 20,0000 dong.

Then after that, we did not have any choice but to take a cab going to Hanoi Opera House as it was far from this temple. BUT we still considered the fact that the taxi drivers would cheat us. We were walking around the streets again then the two locals we’ve asked earlier were near us and APPROACHED us again if we needed their help. Good thing they are super nice and helpful that they offered us to book a GRAB car to be able to reach the next destination. That’s the smartest and biggest help he had done to us!!!! Thanks God, there are still nice people on earth His name is Nguyen Minh Duong! Thanks Duong! He lives in Saigon but their work just allocated them in Hanoi for a week.

We only paid: 40,000 dongs for the taxi.

It’s been a tiring and challenging day for us; it’s really nice to take a photo here at sunset. There are a lot of photo shoots everywhere as usual.

The last problem was how were we going to get back to our hotel? So we became EXTRA FRIENDLY again then asked the staff of Hanoi Opera to book a GRAB car for us. (haha I just realized that we became a user-friendly there! haha)

When we arrived at our hotel, we decided to walk around to find and bought a local sim card so that we could have an internet data and book our own Uber/Grabcar.

A host from Couchsurfing recommend us to eat the local Bun Cha at Hanoi, so we stopped by and ate a Bun Cha.

Bun Cha:

Cost 200,000 dong for 2 people and I tell you it was sooo much for 2 people, probably could fit 4 people to eat the meal!

Cost around 100,000-150,000 dong (varies if you would like a 7-day data up to 1-month data with local texts and calls). You don’t need anything (id, etc.); you just need to pay for it.

Woke up early in the morning to start very early.

Looks plain on the outside but there are a lot of more when you go inside, the temple is very spacious and pictureque.

Entrance fee: 30,000 dong

This is the time we meet a local from Couchsurfing. She told us to meet her at Trang Tien Plaza. So we took a GRAB car going to that place. That mall surprised us a lot as the design looks like you’re in Europe. It’s a small mall but it’s very fancy and elegant.

-Catching up and having a good talk with her while we walk around Hoan Kiem. She introduced us the history of that place and she shared a lot of things with us about Vietnam.

The famous red bridge at the center of Hanoi Old Quarter.

Entrance fee: 30,000 dong

After the side trip on Ngoc Son temple, we met her friend and continued hanging out.

Walked from Ngoc Son Temple going to that old Church in Hanoi.

And the last thing we’ve done in Hanoi was to eat at local street food. The food is called “Che” if I’m not mistaken. We enjoy eating that hot food sitting in a small chair on the street side Ngo Huyen.

After that, we went to the airport to Da Lat!

All in all, Hanoi left a good impression on me. Nice sightseeings, good foods and friendly people! (Except the taxi drivers!)

PHỞ

A bowl of Pho is what Vietnamese people often breakfast on. Pho is the symbol of Vietnamese gastronomy, reflecting the unique Vietnamese cuisine in the harmony of broth, rice noodles, fresh herbs and meat (beef or chicken). There is always a hidden myth behind the broth that appeals to Vietnamese people.

If you want to try a bowl of genuine Pho, go to Phở Thìn (#61 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, at Old Quarter) offering beef Pho in a rustic alleyway with such local atmosphere, Phở Bát Đàn (#49 Bat Dan) for the best bowl of Pho ever – special strings of noodles ever, Phở Thìn Lò Đúc (#13 Lò Đúc) serving stir-fried beef Pho, Phở Vân Anh with chicken Pho (#45A Mai Hắc Đế)

Banh cuon is one of Hanoians’ favorite dishes for breakfast and lunch. The process of making Banh cuon is so interesting that no one could stop sticking their eyes on the masters of the rolls. The cooks stretched fermented rice batter with a ladle over the surface of the steamer, taking a lid to cover it for a couple of seconds. After that, they meticulously placed the super thin and delicate sheets with a stick onto a tray and filled them with a mixture of cooked meat (mostly pork), minced mushrooms and shallots. When you eat this food, just pick the sheets up with your chopsticks, dip them into the fish sauce and take the first bite. I sometimes eat this in one of the restaurants of the chain Bánh cuốn Gia An ( http://www.banhcuongiaan.com.vn/cua-hang/) which offers a diversity of Banh Cuon flavors, or Bánh Cuốn Hòe Nhai in the Old Quarter.

Have you ever been through the sidewalks dotted with Bun Cha shops in Hanoi? Getting immersed in the aroma of Vietnamese BBQ grilled pork under the traditional charcoal will definitely urge you to stop at any food stalls you may find. Bun cha is served with a plate of rice noodles, grilled pork and a bowl of dipping sauce. What a tasty Hanoi’s food that you should not miss! Bun cha in almost all places share the same taste, so you can eat it anywhere you want. You can consider Bún chả Đắc Kim (#1 Hàng Mành) which is one of the most renowned Bun cha restaurants among Hanoians, or Bún chả Hương Liên (#24 Lê Văn Hưu) where President Obama ate.

It would be a real pity for any foodies if they missed out dining on Cha ca La Vong in a more than 100-year-old-restaurant (#14 Chả Cá) in the heart of downtown Hanoi. When you get to the ancient house in which this dish stem from, you don’t have to ponder what foods to pick out from the menu since there is only Cha ca La Vong offered. They will serve you a plate of rice noodles (Bun), fresh herbs, some peanuts, and a small bowl of shrimp paste (must try this once but you have to order the servers otherwise they will give you dipping fish sauce with chilies) and a little pan containing slices of hemibagrus fresh fish soaked in oil on a simple portable stove. Be careful at number 14 in Cha Ca street otherwise you will probably mistake the genuine restaurant for the fake one located right opposite. Plus watch out your head if you are told to go upstairs!

Bun oc thit (snail noodle soup) is a great combination of ideal broth, snails, beef and tofu along with other ingredients and garnishes. Balancing on a little plastic chair while having a bowl of snail noodle soup to try the sourness and sweetness of the broth, the tenderness of the beef and the crunchiness of the snails is one of the most wonderful things you could do in this city. Bún ốc thịt Hòe Nhai (#13 Hoè Nhai) and Bún ốc phố Hàng Chai (#6 Hàng Chai) are the two Bunocs that I recommend.

Banh gio (Vietnamese pork pyramid dumpling) is a Vietnamese cake wrapped in banana leaf and made by glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch with meat, onions, mushrooms and spices inside. This food can be eaten any time of the day. Bánh giò Kim Liên (#B16 Kim Liên, Đống Đa) and Bánh giò Thụy Khê (The largest pyramid dumpling offered in Hanoi according to Vietnamese people) (at #5 Thụy Khê) are where my friends and I usually stop by. To try out this food like a local, just take two plastic stools, getting one as a table and the other as a chair and enjoy.

BÁNH MÌ

Trust me, Banh mi must go to the top of the world’s sandwiches. It is a flawless combination of different fillings like pork pâté, fried eggs and vegetables all stuffed into a soft and crunchy baguette. The image of the Vietnamese having quick breakfast with Banh mi on the road is ubiquitous. It is never a challenge for people to get Banh mi since they actually appear almost everywhere in Hanoi.

CHÁO

Chao is a perfect choice when it comes to winter. Chao is Vietnamese Rice Congee, which is often offered with fried breadsticks made with flour, baking soda, sugar and salt. Vietnamese people often eat Chao at the start of Ngõ Huyện, Hoàn Kiếm.

CHÈ, BÁNH TRÔI TÀU

XÔI

If you are in Northern Vietnam but want to give it a try with Southern Vietnam’s food, Bun bo Nam Bo is one of the right options available here. Bún bò Nam Bộ (Dry noodles with beef from the South of Vietnam) is a mixture of dry rice noodles and stir-fried beef with fresh vegetables, pickled papaya on top and sauces instead of broth like Pho. Bún bò Nam Bộ (#67 Hàng Điếu), which is said to serve the best and quick bowl of Bun bo Nam Bo in Hanoi, is where I always visit whenever my tummy needs some bun bo.

If you need a change after eating non-stop Vietnamese food, you had better dine out on other countries’ specialties. For a vegetarian or an Indian food lover, Namaste (#46 Thợ Nhuộm) is a great destination. It is owned by an Indian offering the most authentic Indian foods. For anyone who has a strong passion for Italian food, Mediterraneo (#23 Nhà Thờ) owned by a friendly Italian chef serving the real Italian food (Bruschetta, Costino, Pizza, Pastas and more) is always a good choice since it is often recommended by Italian tourists. For a Japanese food seeker, Asahi Sushi (at #288 Bà Triệu) is the most glittering Japanese restaurant in Hanoi. It is filled all over with Japanese atmosphere in the heart of Hanoi.