(Originally Posted on 20 July 2016)
Took this trip to Hanoi, Vietnam last year in the last week of October. The thought of it surfaced after my Western Australia trip. I told myself I wanted to go to a country I’ve never been to. But considering that fact that I’ve already spent a whopping $1600 on my Western Australia road-trip and another $300 on my Bandung trip, I decided to explore somewhere nearer and cheaper. I’m glad Vietnam surfaced!
Cost breakdown:
- Airfare: S$175 (via Tigerair, no check-in baggage)
- Accommodation: S$29 (approx. $10/n per pax – 6 bedroom dorm)
- Tours: S$74 (Halong Bay Tout + 1 day car hire)
- Airport Transfers: S$8 (to-and-fro airport)
- Expenses: S$100
Grand total: S$386
I didn’t think we got a really good deal for our air tickets. But we booked them about a month plus before we flew so we could’t wait for any more discounts because the dates that we wanted to fly were pretty fixed due to classes and our schedules.
DAY 1 – 29 OCTOBER 2015
Flew via TigerAir to Noi Bai International Airport and landed in Vietnam at around noon. We arranged for Airport transfers t0-and-fro our hostel (Box Hotel, which I’ll come to in a bit) and the airport. The transfers costed us 400,000d which was about S$25. It was a 7-seater van so it was pretty reasonable because we had 6 of us to split the cost. In total, we paid like S$8 each for the transfers.
Our hostel is located in the heart of the Old Quarter and it took us about 45 minutes to reach our abode from the airport.
Accommodation: Box Hotel
Address: 16 Hàng Buồm, Hanoi, Hoàn Kiếm, Vietnam
Abode: 6-Bed Dormitory (Mixed)
Price: S$9 per bed/night
I came across this hostel when I was reading a traveller’s blog and decided to just go ahead and try this one out. It was my first time living in a box-style concept hostel and I absolutely loved it!
We travelled in a group of 6 and their mixed-dorms happen to be able to accommodate up to 6 people. We requested the hostel to arrange for all 6 of us to be in one room so it kinda became our private room. Initially, I thought there was gonna be a communal toilet outside the room. But there was a bathroom in our 6-bed dorm so it was really convenient!
The room was pretty clean and it was cosy. The only downside is probably the noise. On the first night, we were really exhausted and we decided to hit the sacks slightly earlier at around 10pm. But because there were pubs right across the street from our hostel, the noise did not die down till late. Other than the noise, which actually doesn’t really bother me as much, I find this place extremely convenient and worth the money!
After we settled in, we drop our backpacks and headed out for lunch.
Location: Phở Gà Xưa
Address: 52 Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
This eatery is on the same street as the Box Hotel. Once we stepped out of our hostel, we took a right turn, walked straight for about 100 metres and we’ve arrived. This humble eatery is on the right.
The Pho and Xoi both costed 30,000d (S$1.90) and this is THE BEST PHO I’ve ever eaten. Not even kidding. AND THE XOI (GLUTINOUS RICE) IS A MUST TRY. It was so good that we had this 3 times during our 4 day stay in Hanoi. We recommended friends who went to Hanoi after us and they weren’t at all disappointed! My friend Zeon actually managed to pack the chicken xoi back to Singapore on the last day – that’s how good it was. I bet if he could bring the Pho on board the plane, he would have done it. I mean I would have done the same too.
Location: Cafe Giang
Address: 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
After finishing our lunch, we decided to slowly stroll to our next stop to try their famous egg coffee. It’s about a 5-10 minute walk from Phở Gà Xưa. Look our for the brown sign board! Because you will need to walk though a small little corridor/alley and the cafe is inside.
Initially when I first heard about this egg coffee, I was super curious how the taste would be like. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical about the combination haha! But the taste turned out to be pretty awesome! The egg is blended together with the coffee which gives it a very thick and creamy texture. The chocolate with egg was also very delicious! There were hot and cold choices for the beverages we had! There weren’t prices listed on their menu. But the total bill was 120,000d which was about 20,000d ($1.30) per cup on average.
Location: Hoàn Kiếm Lake
After lunch and coffee, some of us decided to spend the afternoon in a day-spa and the rest of us decided to explore the Old Quarter by foot. The Old Quarter is an amazing place and is truly cultural. The best way to look around and explore is really just by foot.
We walked and walked around until finally reached the Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
There’s a temple after the red bridge but you have to pay for the entrance fee which my friends and I decided to give it a miss and continue exploring the OQ.
Location: Đồng Xuân Market
Address: Đồng Xuân, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
We met up with our friends outside Dong Xuan market after their massage but we arrived a little too late. We reached the market about 5PM and most of the shops were already closed or preparing to close. So we took a brief walk inside and came out.There wasn’t really much to see, probably because most of the shops were closed. But what we saw were mainly textiles and clothes for sale which doesn’t interest us that much.
Location: Green Pepper
Address: 38 Lương Ngọc Quyến, Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Initially, we wanted to have dinner at this place called ‘Bio 45’ which is very near this Green Pepper place where we eventually settle for dinner. But the prices weren’t listed on the menu and the place was packed with people. So we decided to walk around and we ended up entering any random place to eat.
This place mainly sells dishes to match with their beer. It’s more like a pub rather than a restaurant. We were so hungry that we were actually looking for rice on the menu but there wasn’t. So we had to translate and tell them that we wanted rice which they looked at us weirdly LOL. But thank god, they had rice and we managed to order the right thing.
We decided drink some beers after dinner before heading back to the hostel for an early night because we were all exhausted. The draft beer here was so good (only 15,000d per glass which is less than a dollar), everyone decided to order our own mug of beer.
DAY 2 – 30 OCTOBER 2015
Location: Bánh Mỳ P
Address: Right beside BoxHotel on the left when you exit
The next morning, we woke up for breakfast at this Bahn Mi place right beside our hostel. They open pretty early. We had to catch our bus at 9AM to Halong Bay and when we reached the place at probably around 8 plus in the morning, they were already operating.
I had the ‘Bread with Simmered Pork’ for 20,000d and added an egg for 5,000d – it was really good! There are a variety of add-ons you could choose from. The serving is huge. Some of us couldn’t even finish one.
So for our second day, we took a tour booked via our hostel to Halong Bay for 672,000d per pax which is about S$42.50. The tour includes transport to the wharf and back to our accommodation, a ticket for the cruise, a “5-course meal” on board, a ride on the bamboo boats or kayak (your choice which you must state when you make the booking) and also a ticket to enter Thien Cung cave.
The tour basically took the entire day. The mini bus picked and alighted us outside our hostel so it was really convenient. We got back to our hostel at approximately 6 in the evening.
Location: Minh”s Family Cooking
Address: Beside 28 Tạ Hiện street
We washed up a little while we were back at the hostel and headed out for dinner. We didn’t really have a plan and so we decided to walk around the Old Quarter to look for a random place for dinner. And we actually found a gem!
To be very honest, I was so starved and the food was so good, I forgot to note down how much this costed lol. But in my memory, the entire meal was about S$10 per person or so.
We choose the hotpot as well as the hotplate. The food spread was very generous. But we were so hungry, we ordered 2 additional servings of meat. The owners of the shop were also very nice. They actually came over to check if everything was okay because apparently we added too little oil to the hotplate. So this guy came over and gave us a hand, and he added like a whole bucket of oil and margarine into out hotplate HAHA.
This place is just 3 minutes walk from BoxHotel. When you walk out of BoxHotel, turn right, walk straight and it’s the first alley down on your left. You will see a lot of people in the area having steamboats/hotplates so you wouldn’t miss it.
DAY 3 – 31 OCTOBER 2015
On our third day, we hired a 7-seater car plus a driver via our hostel to take us to Tam Coc and Trang An. It costed us 2,000,000d (approx. $125) for the entire day. The price includes fuel. It was approximately a 2 hour drive to Tam Coc.
The boat ticket the cruise through cost 120,000d (approx. $7.30) per person.
The ride back and forth took about an hour or so and it’s really relaxing. Basically, the locals will just ‘pedal’ you through nature. And the reason why I said pedal was because I was expecting them to row the boats with their hands but they actually used their legs instead!
We asked our driver to take us somewhere for a quick lunch before heading off to Trang An. It’s a similar thing there – basically you get onto a boat and cruise through. But we decided not to go for the ride and just walked around the area because it was getting late. But one of our friend who went to both places told us that Trang An is better than the one we went in Tam Coc. Which I later realised there are actually more tourists at Trang An compared to Tam Coc.
The day ended with Pho dinner at Pho Ga Xua (again, because it was too good), some bubble tea, ice cream, street food, beer, and more beer. We basically just roamed around the OQ. And we also bought some singlets and little souvenirs!
DAY 4 – 1 NOVEMBER 2015
On our last day, we had to be at the airport at 1200 so there wasn’t much we could do. We woke up to have breakfast, did some last minute shopping around the Old Quarter and headed to the airport.
Unfortunately, the weather took a turn only on our last day. When we woke up in the morning, we realised it was a little chilly – even in the day with the sun. But the past 3 days in Hanoi was pretty warm. Better luck next time I guess!
And so our short 4D3N trip to Hanoi came to an end! I felt that we could have went to more places such as Sapa if we stayed longer but with 4D3N, these places were what we’ve covered. Hanoi is amazing. A perfect place to just let your hair down and chill with all beer you can drink. Definitely a place I would come back for a short getaway.
My amazing travel buddies! To more trips together! Cheers~
Sam's Globetrots 