Hanoi - Our flight to Hanoi was @ 6:05am and so we had to wake up at 3am. The night before we packed our bags so it would not be a rush early in the morning. The boys were good as they woke up so early and helped us to get ready. We gave a last check of the hotel room and walk our way down the Hotel and it was pitch dark. The guard was sleeping at the front door with a mosquito net covering him.
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| The Hotel Guard sleeping bed |
The taxi arrived on schedule and the journey to the airport was smooth. Upon arrival to Hanoi, we checked into Hanoi Hilton Opera Hotel - 5 star and a beautiful Hotel. The weather in Hanoi is very cold about 15 degrees outside. It definitely takes some skill to cross the roads in Hanoi, teeming with motorcycles. The motorcyclist have little patience for traffic rules and a fondness for honking. We had to be brave when crossing the roads in Hanoi and the trick is to stay clam and let the bikes simply weave around you.
The best time to visit Hanoi is during the cool season (November - April) with temperatures falling to 15 degrees C. The Hanoi city is roughly divided into the Old Quarter, the Church Quarter and the French Quarter. We stayed around the Old Quarter and this is where most of the tourist establishment arec concentrated.
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| Hanoi Hilton Opera Hotel back entrance |
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| Boys entering the swing door of the Hotel |
We took a taxi to have lunch recommended by the Hotel but it was too expensive and no customers. So we decided to try local Vietnamese food next door. It was really good - Vietnamese Chicken noodle.
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| Pho Ga @ Mai Hac De Road |
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| Fried fritters |
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| Dip the fritters into the noodle |
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| Enjoyed the delicious Pho Ga |
We decided to walk back to the Hotel and walk past a wet market - Hom market - tucked into a small lane.
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| Pork Seller |
Vietnam sells their pork out in the open but Singapore has outlaw this and you have to chill all pork sold.
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| Walking around the wet market |
At night - we walked around Hanoi and it's very safe. The only danger are the numerous motorcycle that does not seem to stop for pedestrian.
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| Hilton Opera Hotel at Night |
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| Hanoi Opera House - situated next to Hilton Hotel |
We walked around the Hoen Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword) in the historical centre of Hanoi - a short walking distance from our hotel. This is one of the city's most scenic spots, it is also the focal point for local activities. According to legend, the lake got its name from the Emperor Le Loi returning a magic sword called Heaven's Will to the Golden Turtle God in the lake after using it to defeat the Chinese Ming invaders. We had to weave through the motorcycles to cross the road to the Hanoi Old Quarters looking for dinner. We settled for one side road hawker selling seafood and sat on small stoods.
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| Eating our seafood |
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Our plate of Escargoes
Pax removing the Escargo meat with skill |
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| Escargoes (Snails) |
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Seafood tang hoon (glass noodles)
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It was cooked so delicious. We ordered 4 plates of this noodle and 3 plates of escargoes. This is also another cheat by the Vietnamese - we negotiated the price but when we are about to pay up - instead of 30,000 dong per kilo it became 300,000 dong per kilo for the escargoes, showing us on the calculator. The hawker was adamant that we heard wrongly. We just paid up and not to argue any further.
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| Boys in front of Hilton fountain |
