Hey you guys Phoebe here from Little Grey Box with Matt behind the camera
Are you planning a trip to Hanoi?
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Known as the heart of Vietnam
Hanoi is the country's capital city and is actually one of the most ancient in the world
with lovely locals an incredible food scene and a welcoming atmosphere it is
an affordable and fun destination for travellers
To help you travel well in Hanoi
here are a few things we think you really need to know before you go
Hanoi is located on the banks of the Red River around 1700 kilometres north of
Ho Chi Minh City and it is known as the heart of Vietnam for a few reasons including
its geographical location. There is a population of around 7.7 million people
that call Hanoi home so expect to see lots of others when you are visiting
you're also going to see a few different cultural influences
including French, Chinese and even Russian
the local currency is the Vietnamese dong
Now to give you an idea One US dollar is equal to roughly
around 23,000 Vietnamese dong you guys and I would recommend right from the
get-go that you download a currency conversion app that you can use offline
Matt and I always use XE currency because it is free and it just helps us
get our heads around the difference in currency, I mean going from $1 to 23,000
Vietnamese dong can be a little bit mind-boggling
We flew to Hanoi with Singapore Airlines
direct from Singapore and the flight time was roughly around 3 hours
and 25 minutes. We wholeheartedly recommend Singapore Airlines we fly with
them and work with them a fair bit and we always love their service their
entertainment and their food is yummy too Now our trip took us from Brisbane
to Singapore and then Singapore to Vietnam so if you can I would absolutely
recommend having a layover in Singapore so you can do a few of those big ticket
things like check out Gardens by the Bay and Jewel at Changi Airport
As Aussies, we absolutely needed a visa to enter Vietnam, now
I do understand that you can do them on arrival if you like, that's not something
I would ever feel comfortable doing I'm a very organized person so Matt and I
sorted ours out before we left You can do it online and if you are going to do
it online make sure you are going through the correct website when I
searched in Google for Vietnam or Hanoi Vietnam visa there were lots of results
and I have a feeling that the vast majority of them would overcharge you
and they would add some kind of processing fee so that they could make a
profit off you not really understanding which is the right website
to find the right website as Australians we use the Smart Traveller website and that
has a direct link to the correct Vietnam Embassy in Australia website
Now you can do it online or if you feel comfortable you can obviously put your passports
in the post and post them in to get your visa, we wanted to hold onto our
passports so we just went with the online application process it was easy and fast
We visited in early August on our most recent trip and the weather was
hot and humid with lots of rain
I've visited Hanoi a couple of times and
the best weather I've ever experienced was during the winter season now that
takes place, or the visit I had, took place in January it was nice and cool
the days were dry but when I say cool it wasn't cold maybe like a little scarf
over the shoulders but other than that beautiful weather. Now we visited
a couple of times like I said and we've actually had our Halong Bay trip cancelled
on us two or three times due to terrible weather out in Halong Bay so just keep
that in mind when you are planning your trip
By far the best way to get around Hanoi
if you need transport is using Grab now that is an app you are going to
need to install into your phone, not only is the price fixed it is cheaper than
local taxis and in our experience Grab rates were almost half the price of
taxis we flagged on the street. But if you are downloading Grab and you are
going to go with that option make sure you set it up before you leave home we
didn't and then I had to get one of my sisters to register for us using her
mobile number because we don't have an international sim. If you are staying in
and around the Old Quarter getting around on foot is no trouble whatsoever just
make sure that you have a maps app that you can use offline
Google Maps is one option but personally when I know I'm gonna be offline all day
I prefer maps.me, totally free, download the maps before you go and you
can even search and plan your route while you're offline I do just want to
touch on one thing to do with taxis and that is scams they are real and it did
happen to us on our most recent visit but thankfully we're a little bit more
experienced travellers now so this guy tried to shake us down and we weren't
having it we did get in we asked him to run the meter we drove a very short
distance and I think the rate that he was after was something like 450,000
Vietnamese dong which is just obscene for the 10 minute drive we took he did
kind of lock the car doors on us and he wanted that 450,000 but we were very
calm and just said to him that is not happening good sir. He even had the gall to
ignore us, put on YouTube and watch a show that wasn't even from our Channel
who does he think he is?
Now we spoke to a local later and while we were able to
handle ourselves just fine his advice was very interesting he said you know
what the locals don't want to see tourists get ripped off because it's
just not good for everybody's business so if you do find yourself in that
situation stay calm if you can wind down the windows and just start yelling for
help, cause a scene, people will come and
help you and they will certainly tell the taxi driver off and if all else
fails you make them drive you to a police station because they won't
The cops have no tolerance for this kind of thing
they will step in and make sure the tourists are protected
Like I said, we've visited a few times and every time
our experience is the same the locals are so lovely we feel so genuinely
welcome we are greeted with big smiles and friendly hellos everyone we meet is
always so nice... except the occasional taxi driver maybe
but we always have a great experience we feel safe, we feel welcome, we feel at ease
It's an affordable destination it's friendly it's fun there's so much history it's
just a part of Southeast Asia I love to go back to time and time again and in
contrast to some other places where I find a lot of street vendors kind of
yell out to you and try to get your attention
I find Hanoi to be a little more low-key it's a little more relaxed and I really like that
With the basics out of the way let's dive into a few
more specific tips that you really should know before you go to Hanoi
In Matt and my's experience we can go out for dinner have entree, main, dessert and
a couple of beers and end up paying around 20 Australian dollars total
It is so affordable and that would be even cheaper if you're eating at street food spots
Be sure to immerse yourself in the world of local Vietnamese treats I mean
there is just so many good flavours that you need to try
you should definitely sample the Vietnamese coffee including egg coffee
it's not for me but I know that Matt likes it try things like a Bún chả
oh my goodness. Bánh mì... yes, make sure you're trying Vietnamese rice paper rolls and
really immersing yourself in those local flavours
We did two scooter tours on our trip to Hanoi recently
and we loved them. You will see there are a lot of
scooters on the roads in Vietnam and when you're on the back of a scooter you
really feel like you're part of local life and it's just a really great way to
cover a lot of ground see a lot of things you may not have been able to
otherwise and have that really authentic local experience
When it comes time to pack I would really recommend that you wear closed-in shoes
I wore sandals one day and as you will soon discover life in Hanoi really is
played out on the streets so your streets can also be a kitchen area
So there is a chance that you could stand on a few mucky bits and pieces, I felt
much better when I had closed in shoes on but as we were visiting in the rainy
season I didn't want to get my sneakers wet so I did have to wear sandals that
could get wet so just keep that wet weather in mind when you are packing
I would also recommend that you pack a bit of wet weather gear maybe a poncho that
you can reuse we were forced to use single-use plastic ones because we were
caught out and I really regret it I'm really trying to cut down on my
single-use plastics. An umbrella is a great idea for walking around the streets.
Vietnamese culture is quite conservative... the times I've gone there
when I've worn clothes that have covered my shoulders and my knees and my midriff
the locals have actually commented to me about it and said oh thank you so much
for dressing respectfully so it really does mean something to them and if you
are visiting temples just keep that in mind because you may need to wear
an outfit that does cover your shoulders midriff and your knees as well
One important thing we really need to talk about is crossing the street
the first time Matt and I went to Hanoi we were so intimidated
There are tens of millions of registered motorbikes in Vietnam they are
everywhere, they are king of the streets and they do not stop for you
So here's how you cross the street... with confidence
Obviously you wanna time your run and don't
just step out in front of a scooter with reckless abandon make sure there's a
little bit of a break and then step out confidently and walk at the same pace
don't jink and stop and go back and run and scream but be safe you guys make
sure you were safe about it and if you are really unsure do what I always do
which is wait for a sweet old lady or a lovely local auntie to walk and then
just shimmy along beside them
So you can't drink the tap water in Vietnam but
most hotels will supply you with bottles of water in your room anyway be sure to
refill those at the hotel buffet and safe water spots wherever you can and
preferably if you're able to buy your own really big bottle of water so you
are cutting down on the number of plastic bottles that you use
Now I have never personally seen it happen it has never happened to me but it did happen
to a friend of mine she was in Hanoi walking through the most busy
intersection and she had her bag hanging off her quite loosely she was distracted
she was looking at some of the sites and a scooter pirate came past the guy on
the back grabbed the bag and they just kept going and it was gone there's no
getting that back once it happens to you We always make sure that our bags are on
us securely we keep things to the front of us if we're in a crowded busy popular
area and we've visited four or five times
Feel free to haggle with your street vendors
But one thing I would just say is don't go too far I mean you know we
come from a place where we have financially more than the people that
we're meeting in Vietnam may have, so we don't try to rip anybody off or you know
get a price that's so cheap it's ridiculous
There is so much beauty in and around
the area and it's so easily accessible with a day-trip so
make sure you take advantage of that. Day trips I have done are out to the
Perfume Pagoda which is just stunning
Ninh Binh which is known as the 'Halong Bay on Land'
which is beautiful and just such an easy day trip to do and finally
Halong Bay itself I personally recommend two nights because the drive out there is quite
long you get on the boat it's a whirlwind and then you're off again the next morning before you know it
so if your budget and time allow definitely go with two nights in Halong Bay
Now you guys I've just summarized everything for
you here in this video but we have so many great written guides for you and
we're gonna link all of those below so if you do want more information you do
want to delve a bit deeper you want to know more about Halong Bay or what to pack
where to stay in Hanoi check the links below and they are going to help you out
Well with that, that brings this video to an end I hope you have enjoyed
it very very much, now if you don't already be sure to subscribe and say
hello in the comments below have a great weekend and I will see you next week
love ya!