Taya Starling

Even though it’s only a hop, skip, & a jump away from Thailand, I somehow never made it to Vietnam. Until now. Maybe I simply needed a reason (and a tour guide!) and with the SkinnyFatKid adventuring alongside me in Asia it seemed only appropriate that we venture over to Hanoi to explore the city and visit his Big Bro.

I had been warned many times about the insane number of motorcycles and bikes in Hanoi and their incessant honking…. but nothing quite proves the warnings like actually walking the streets, drowning in an ocean of horns from every direction. And let me tell you, horns do not sleep. They will beep up and down those streets at any given time of day as long as the driver is not the only vehicle on the road. What a unique cacophony of urban life.

 The SkinnyFatKid & I risked our lives for this shot plus a few other gems that you may have seen on my Instagram (; It’s really something like organized chaos on the streets of Hanoi- it’s a wonder accidents don’t happen every 2 minutes out there between the cars, bikes, motorcycles, pedestrians, cyclos, & poor tourists trying to find the right time to cross the street (FYI There is no right time, you simply have to go for it and know that with lots of faith and trust, the vehicles will avoid you on their own).

My primary mission in Hanoi was, surprise surprise, to sample every inch of Vietnamese food I could get my FatGirlAtHeart hands on. This plan didn’t play out quite as expected but I did drink enough Vietnamese coffee to keep me up for a week straight. Who needs Starbucks when you’ve got a great alternative for one tenth of the price? No one that’s who. The locals drink iced coffee like it’s water… in fact I’m not sure they even offer water at the cafes, but who needs it anyway when you’ve got sweet rich iced coffee to sip on in the heat.

Day one in Hanoi really revolved around two things for me: drinks and lakes. Being the capital of Vietnam I expected Hanoi to be roughly the size of Bangkok, but it seemed like everywhere we turned whether walking or driving, we hit the lakes. It wasn’t long before I realized we were in constant loops around the lake and the city itself wasn’t very big.

Sunset stroll around the city and the serene swan paddlers on the West Lake…

After a local Vietnamese Chinese dinner we ventured off to the Metropole Hotel (at the recommendation of a friend) for drinks and I immediately fell in love with the French inspired vintage glamour of this 5 star hotel in the heart of Hanoi. The hotel has a beautifully rich history (which is depicted throughout the hotel in cases and on the walls) spanning back before the Vietnam War and portrays the early days of Indo-Chine expansion and trade.  There’s even a recently discovered bunker from the war located beneath the poolside bamboo bar!

I would love to go back to Hanoi someday and stay at the hotel for no other reason than to wear pretty vintage dresses while dining al fresco, have high tea, and lounge by the pool reading Rudyard Kipling.

But there was no time for that this trip. There were places to go, people to see, & things to eat. My favorite restaurant there had to be Quan An Ngon where the seating area is under an umbrella of lanterns and little stalls of local dishes line the diners so you can walk and see how each thing is prepared.  I would love to tell you what we ate but I left the better judgement up to the SkinnyFatKid and let him order all the food. But I will tell you that each dish was delicious. I think we impressed the waiters with the amount of food we scarfed down, barely coming up for air to talk about where we would adventure off to next.

My time in Hanoi landed perfectly during the full moon and what is known throughout Asia as the Moon Cake Festival.  Dragon dances were happening on every street corner, vendors selling toys, hats, & other party things flooded the streets hawking their goods to the hundreds, if not thousands, of locals and tourists alike who happily let themselves get swept up in the festive energy of the city.

We decided to take a little cyclo ride to explore the Old Quarter, dodging pedestrians and other bikes like a video game, we were pedaled around block after block of shopping and here and there tourist filled hole in the wall bars- everywhere, people spilling out into the streets.

 It seems almost impossible to keep the cyclo industry alive with all the other traffic on the roads these days but the uncles keep at it giving rides to locals and tourists at all times of day and night.

I am truly amazed by the height or rather the lack there of, of Hanoi. Food stalls and their stools sit extremely low to the ground so you’re basically squatting while you eat and drink and big cars are few and far between. Everything seems to happen at every level of the height of an average human being from the food hawkers sitting on the street slanging sugary treats and pho to the merchants with small shophouses selling everything from pirated dvds to coffee to old vintage communist propaganda posters. Even the cyclo put us slightly lower than the average pedestrian or family heavy motorcycle- seriously it’s an incredible site to see a mother, father, and their two infants back to chest on a tiny scooter zipping through the chaos of Hanoi’s skinny streets.

Of course we found ourselves lake side again the next day as we sought out the must see spots of Vietnam’s capital. The Ho Chi Mihn Museum was unfortunately under renovations for 3 months so instead we stopped by the Turtle Pagoda in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake which you can reach via the bright red Huc Bridge.

 Legend has it that emperor Le Loi was boating on the lake when his magic sword, Heaven’s Will, was grabbed by a turtle who quickly disappeared into the depths of the lake. All attempts to find either the sword or the turtle failed. Lợi concluded that the Golden Turtle God had come to reclaim the sword that had been given Lợi some time earlier, during his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty. Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event hence its current name, Hoan Kiem Lake or Lake of the Returned Sword.

 Inside the Turtle Pagoda (or Turtle Tower) is a (dead) giant soft shell turtle who once lived in the lake. There’s also religious memorabilia and alters for praying.

 Besides this Buddhist must see, there’s also a Neo-Gothic Catholic cathedral from the 1800’s called St. Joseph’s Cathedral. It’s the oldest church in Hanoi built by the French Colonial Government during their occupation in Indochine.

 I only had a few more hours to wander the Hanoi streets before heading back to Bangkok so we snuck in a little massage at Big Bro’s friend’s new massage spa, bought souvenirs, had one last cup of Vietnamese iced coffee then it was off to the airport for me.  So much more to see I’m sure but it will have to wait til next time (:

BTW in Hanoi….