Please press play to set the vibes for the Hanoi read. Iman, this one is for you
LAZY (HASTE) – KURFFEW
DAY 46 – Expenses
I made my long and tretchurous journey back to Hanoi, risking the same hotel I got no sleep at before. I plotted up in the foyer to wait for check-in when a man with stinky feet started talking to me. His friends, who were equally as annoying, started to chime in too and then I realised that he was friends with a very strange man I had met in Cat Ba who goes around making girls feel uncomfortable. Safe to say I was not impressed with this man. I mooched around town on the hunt for a new bag as mine had broken. I made a brief KFC stop (an easy no-fish meal), paid £50 to get my phone screen fixed, and also picked up a rather nice nock off North Face duffle bag for £10.
The road outside my hostel (I later found out this road is aptly named toy street), was just as hectic and horrible as I remembered, but I did brave it (I am a very brave girl) to go and meet up with the guys from the Ha Giang Loop. We had a rather delightful meal, and then hit the bars on Beer Street for some Euro Pop party time.
DAY 47 – Train Street
I picked up some breakfast with Iman who I had met the previous night, and we were pleased to see that one of the main roads in Hanoi is closed on the weekends to allow for pedestrians and market goers, so we spent the morning people watching and drinking our respective coffees and orange juices.
I met up with Aaron, Hannah and Will to go to train street, which was actually one of the highlights of my time in Vietnam. It’s basically a series of restaurants which are right on a train track, the train passes through a few times a day (but they’re much more careful with letting tourists do a free for all since some people died on the tracks). You will probably try to be scammed here in one way or another, whether its people trying to get you into their café or people saying you can’t go down this road you just have to try and wing it and hope for the best. We enjoyed some coca colas and dinner, and took lots of selfies to help us blend in with our fellow tourists.
Iman and I proceeded to spend all our money at a gay bar about a 20 min drive from the old town in Hanoi, where we got some free shots, saw a man fall off his bar stall because he was doing a balloon, and also got into a spat with an old man who was being very rude to the waitor. Despite all this, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and revelled in seeing the Hanoi skyline, as well as me giving Iman a crashcourse in non-shit iphone photography.
DAY 48 – Women at the Women’s Museum
Hannah and Aaron were heading off to Malaysia, so after a fun and laughter filled week we said our goodbyes over a rather tasty bagel breakfast with Will.
LIFTED CAFE – 2 LOCATIONS IN HANOI, WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND
Iman, Chilly and I then ventured to the Women’s Museum where we learned about Vietnamese motherhood, marriage traditions, child rearing and woman’s role in the war.
We went to a really delicious café and got some insta worthy pics (based off of the inspirational photography tips I had shared with Iman the previous night). I’m not sure if it was the tiredness but this whole afternoon was very funny to me and we laughed a lot.
After another sad goodbye to Iman, I ventured off to get my toothgems which I had had booked in for a while, this only took about 20 mins and cost £20 which for 4 gems is significantly cheaper than you can get in London. I also decided to get my nails done as one last little pamper sesh (not that I needed another one) a few days before heading off to Taiwan.
FRESHIEEE
DAY 49 – Tattoo Day
At 9.30am I grabbed to meet the tattoo artist of my dreams who I had been messaging for over a month on Instagram. She was really delightful and we spent the whole day chatting and chilling whilst we cracked on with the designs. Jade had such a beautiful studio and made me feel so comfortable that I actually fell asleep multiple times throughout. She even offered to let me use her phone to order some food.
NEW TATS
After a solid 7 hour session, I headed back to the hostel and spent some time with my roomates (who all happened to be German) and we sat on the floor and ate some chippies together. If I’m completely honest I could’ve done with some quiet battery and social recharge time, but the girls were very sweet and there were chippies involved so I can’t complain.
Hanoi, I actually enjoyed you more than last time (not difficult because I really hated Hanoi last time). I loved spending more time with the guys from the Ha Giang loop as well as getting to know Iman and Chilly. I don’t know if I’ll be returning in a hurry because honestly the vibes are so chaotic. Overall a good finish to my time in Vietnam, feeling ready to see something new in Taiwan!