Hey everyone. So if you have been following along then you already know that Day 1 in Hanoi was mostly about just getting settled. Thus, Day 2 was my first full on exposure to more of the city, and I actually had a fairly packed plan in mind.
I got up at 8:10 AM. To be honest, I had not slept that well, but I also didn’t feel particularly tired. It might have just been that my body was still adjusting to all of the changes.
At 9:46 AM I headed out the door in search of some tickets for a special show which I had seen advertised online. As is my default when visiting a new place, I prefer to walk whenever it seems feasible. The exercise is a plus, but this is mainly about getting a feel for the place. Furthermore, when walking around, you always see so much more than when in a car or a bus. The streets seemed a bit less crazy in the morning, but similar to Bengaluru, I noted that keeping the sidewalks clear is not always a big priority.
Upon arrival to my destination at 10:29, I was encouraged to see a banner which seemed to confirm the existence of the show about which I had read. However, a bit of a comedy then ensued . . . The ticket office was closed, and there were no clear instructions about when it would be open. So, after wandering around a bit, at 10:55 AM I managed to sort of communicate to one of the guards and he looked for someone else, who then called someone, presumably for me to be able to but a ticket. Things were looking up when a guy drove up on a scooter with a bunch of tickets at 11:00 AM.
However, somehow in our chain of communications, it became clear that he did not actually have tickets for the show which I wanted to see (the one which appeared on the banner to the right). I was feeling a bit discouraged at this point, but my team of consultants was not to be deterred. Five minutes later, another guy on a scooter appeared with a separate set of tickets, and I was able to purchase one for the show on the 28th of December at 8:00 PM. I bought the most expensive one for a cost of 400,000 VND ($15.25 USD). I certainly hope that E13 is a good seat.
I was feeling quite pleased with myself at 11:10 AM as I tucked away my prized ticket and started to walk back to the water puppet theater area. Along the way, I stopped for a moment and decided to use the Klook app to book the Quintessence of Tonkin show on the 27th, for a cost of 2362 INR ($25 USD) including round trip transport from a central meeting point. This is a pro tip, as this show is highly recommended for any visitor to Hanoi, but it was less than half the cost of the same thing via GetYourGuide.
Noting that I had not yet eaten anything for the day, at 12:04 PM I stopped at Bep Viet restaurant for mixed beef with rice noodles and Hanoi Beer. The background Christmas songs, presumably in Vietnamese, were appreciated and somewhat funny at the same time. Similar to the previous evening, I noted that communal seating was the norm here. They clearly needed the space, so at 12:37 PM I paid my 115,000 VND ($4.40 USD) bill and once more set off walking.
Finishing my walk towards the theatre, I saw several things which drew my attention. To begin with, they seem to have special motorcycles helmets for people with ponytails; is this safe? Also, the area around the lake was very nice, but it was vaguely annoying to see bunches of people doing those “traditional wear” dress-up picture shoots which are very common in China.
Using the ticket I had bought the previous day, getting into the theatre was easy at 1:30 PM, and the entire process was managed very smoothly.
The show itself was charming; although, I wanted to rip the Iphone out of the hand of the obnoxious Polish woman in front of me. To be fair, her mother was also clearly upset by the daughter’s inconsiderate behavior. Her toddler son was also a bit distracting, but I gave him a pass . . . I mean what do you expect when you go to a puppet show? Overall, I was very impressed with how everything was done live, including all the voices and the music. Despite being such a popular show, they have clearly tried to maintain the integrity of the artisans and their traditional art. So, in case you are wondering whether or not to go, it’s a yes vote from me.
Knowing that I would have several days in Hanoi, from here at 2:44 PM I decided to go to Decathlon to pick up some simple athletic shoes and a small gym bag. This was a bit further away, so I decided to try taking the bus.
This was refreshingly easy to manage, and at 2:56 PM I was on the bus paying my 10000 VND ($00.35 USD) and getting a ticket. As a woman got on, I saw her show some sort of a pass. She didn’t look that old, so I don’t think it was a senior citizen thing. Incidentally, Moovit seemed a bit better than Google Maps for tracking the bus, but both were more than adequate for telling and showing the route. Watching a bit more, it seemed that there was no button to press; the bus just stops at all designated stops. Furthermore, the traffic along this route did not seem to be much of a problem. And just in case you are cautious about trying to take the bus on your own, I also noted that although they took some liberties with the actual route, they respected all of the stops, and there was always a pleasant tone which played about one minute before each stop.
At 3:10 I was off the bus and headed straight to Decathlon where I quickly bought a pair of athletic shoes, pair of gym shorts, three pairs of athletic socks, and gym shirt and a small sports bag all for the minor cost of 3590 INR ($40.00 USD), which I paid with my international credit card.
A man on a mission, I left there at 4:18 PM and headed straight over to Vinmart to pick up a bunch of snacks. My notes are off there, but I think I paid about $25 USD for the whole bunch, but I am not sure. Certainly, it wasn’t as much $50 USD.
From there I went out in the street at 5:17 PM to just enjoy a bit of the local scenery.
As luck would have it, I quickly started to feel hungry and decided to succumb to the comforting allure of McDonalds, where at 5:44 PM I bought a double cheeseburger, 1 grande Iced Bac Su, 1 medium french fries and oddly enough, a piece of chicken. My total was 130,000 VND ($5.00 USD) and it all tasted amazing!
Satisfied both with my food and my purchases, at 6:20 PM I decided that despite having proven to myself that I could manage the bus alright, managing the same with three big bags didn’t seem like the best use of my time. So, I got a Grab back to the hotel for a cost 69,000 VND ($2.60 USD). This proved to be a bargain, as the traffic was a bit more at this time of night, and it was not until 7:00 PM that the comfortable sedan pulled up close to my lodging . . . again, as the car was very comfortable, I had not minded, but forty minutes was admittedly a fairly long time to go 5.6 km.
Once I had put things away, I went out again at 7:30 PM to wander around the nearby area.
After having a Banh Mi and tea for 65,000 VND ($2.50 USD) at 9:10 PM, I decided to go check out the famous street where they sell all the Christmas ornaments. It was certainly festive looking, but I wouldn’t say it was “amazing”. Still, if you are in the area around Christmas, there is no harm in checking it out, but I think it is more of an area for locals to buy things than for foreign tourists.
I felt it was time to turn in for the night, so after picking up three liters of bottled water for 28,000 VND ($1.00 USD), I was back in the room at 9:50 PM. It had been a fulfilling day, and I was looking forward to whatever the next day would have in store.
Travels with Jay 