Hanoi, Vietnam Arrival Day

March 17, 2024

On the 17th we arrived in Hanoi from Taiwan well past our 10:30 arrival time and Lily with Asia Highlights kept Whatsapping us to see where we were. The flight was late, but we were in the immigration line and couldn’t use the phone, so she drove us a little crazy.

We got in the vehicle, and she talked non-stop and after all the travel time, we really weren’t in the mood to listen to Hanoi history. She did ask why we weren’t visiting the Temple of Literature and we said we had planned to tour it on our own later that day. Lily said we could add it to our tour instead of us doing it on our arrival day. We were tired after about 30 hours of travel and thanked her for her suggestion.

After settling into the Anatole Hotel Hanoi, we grabbed a shower and a cold drink at the rooftop bar and then hit the ground running since we wanted to acclimate to the time change and not sleep the day away, so we could sleep tonight. 

a theme from this trip was bathrooms with clear windows instead of a wall - they had either a switch you flip to darken it or a shade that pulled down

the photo doesn't show it well, but the single ice cube was huge

views from the rooftop bar - it was hazy & cool

First up was finding dinner. Lily suggested Bun Cha at Bún Chả Hương Liên, where President Obama and Anthony Bourdain have eaten their $6.00 meals. (grilled pork and noodles and spring rolls) It was on my list as well so that was our first meal in Viet Nam.

walking to dinner

Bun Cha at Bún Chả Hương Liên

our server

various types of meatballs & pork & spring rolls

We continued walking to Hoan Kiem Lake. We walked around the lake and visited the Ngoc Son temple in the middle of the lake. The name of the temple means “Temple of the Jade Mountain.”

Built in 18th century in the Jade Island, it is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, a war hero who defeated 300,000 Mongolian soldiers invading Vietnam in the 13th century. In the temple, you can find the altars, some artifacts and a 250 kg preserved specimen of a giant turtle.

We crossed the Huc Bridge which connected the Ngoc Son Temple and the lake bank. We saw Turtle Tower which is a significant landmark in the middle of the lake. Standing for almost 150 years, it used to be a resting place when the King went fishing and now the pride of the people of Hanoi.

Hoan Kiem Lake

Huc Bridge

Turtle Tower

We watched families enjoying Sunday night.

We had planned to visit the Night Market, but we were tired, and it wasn’t set up yet, so we grabbed some ice cream and then went back to hotel for some much-needed sleep.

for larger photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z5hYWwmgPs36XmWPA