Good morning Vietnam!

After leaving Yeosu, we had one night in Busan. This is a beautiful city and somewhere we have visited many times, with both friends and family.

We decided to stay near the bus station which is also excellent access for the airport too. We found a very cheap place to stay and had our final meal in Korea. Some spicy chicken!! Was very good and with a few cans from the convenient store we finished off the night in style.

Goodbye Korea!

Our flight to Hanoi was at 08:00 with LCC Vietjet. We had managed to pack everything to around 7KG, give or take a little. We were a little bit nervous that they may be super strict and weight our small strapped bags too.

Thankfully they only weighted the backpacks and we checked in super smoothly. Security too was a breeze, meaning we were on the flight before we knew it. After 4.5 hours we touched down in Hanoi.

Gaining 2 hours, we landed at 10:30 AM in the morning. It was super surreal going through immigration. After planning for three years we were finally in our first country.

No checked luggage meant that we were outside on the bus within 20mins of touching down. We got the airport shuttle bus into the town centre. Just 25 cents more than the public bus and quicker.

Food Heaven

I had been to Vietnam before, around 4 years ago, and that time it was Ho Chi Min. I loved the food and knew Jinny would too. We managed to find a street vendor selling Pho noodles close to our hostel.

So we chowed down on some authentic Viet grub while waiting for the check-in time.

As the temperature and humidity is very high in Vietnam. The light clear broth of the noodles was great. Especially adding lime and coriander made it even more refreshing.

With full bellies we checked into our hostel, which we would call home for the next week. We had to change our room around a bit, but were able to settle in well. After a quick wash we were ready to hit Hanoi!

The City of Water

The capital of Hanoi occupies a bit more than 900km2 and in this urban centre there are 100 lakes dotting the city. There are natural and man-made lakes, each with its own unique history.

The most famous being Hoàn Kiếm Lake. 湖還劍, meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword” or “Lake of the Restored Sword”

Referencing Wikipedia: According to the legend, in early 1428, Emperor Lê Lợi was boating on the lake when a Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) surfaced and asked for his magic sword, Heaven’s Will. Lợi concluded that Kim Qui had come to reclaim the sword that its master, a local God, the Dragon King (Long Vương) had given Lợi some time earlier, during his revolt against Ming China. Later, the Emperor gave the sword back to the turtle after he finished fighting off the Chinese. Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, from its former name Luc Thuy meaning “Green Water”.

There is a turtle temple in the centre of the lake as well as a red bridge leading to a temple. There is a small entrance fee, and it worth it to see the beautiful temple as well as take some good pictures.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral & Obama Noodles

Our next two stops to finish off our first day in Hanoi was St. Joseph’s Cathedral and a famous noodle restaurant.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral is a small walk from the lake and one of the icons of the city. It is the cities oldest church and built in the style of Notre Dame.

Our dinner would be something fit for a president but at the budget of a backpacker! The restaurant is called Bún chả Hương Liê. They famously serve Bun cha – fatty grilled pork served with noodles. And do an Obama set which is the noodles, beer and fried fish side snack for around 5-6 dollars. Can’t argue with that.

The restaurant is famous as it was visited by former U.S. President Barack Obama and chef Anthony Bourdain three years ago. The table they sat on is protected by a glass box. It was right behind were Jinny and I sat!

After the long day we headed back to hostel for some well deserved rest.

In total we have 8 days in Vietnam, mainly sticking to Hanoi with some other days trips planned! Our first day was fantastic and we couldn’t wait for the rest!