Living in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam

Slowly getting used to the Vietnamese lifestyle and quirks
Friday, July 14, 2017 to Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Introduction: living temporarily in South East Asiainfo-icon

As part of my Asian adventure, I was staying a few weeks in Hanoi. This is the only city in South East Asia, where I was planning to stay for a longer time. Vietnaminfo-icon is one of the few ASEAN countries, where I need a visa to visit. Because I wanted to stay flexible, I got a three-month multi-entrance visa. This meant I could enter and exit whenever I wanted to over a period of three months. One of my journeys started in Hanoi, so I was already familiar with the city. A few weeks after this trip, I decided to stay until the end of my visa. This gave me enough time to get familiar with the Vietnamese lifestyle. I rented my own studio and worked on my projects.

Old Quarter: busy streets and many foreigners

This is probably the only area ordinary tourists will ever see. The old quarter of Hanoi is a touristic hotbed with countless hotels, restaurants, cultural sites and shops. That makes it the most interesting area of the city, even for those who are living in Hanoi. I decided to get a cheap studio room, right at the border to this district. With that, I was having both, all the commodities of the centre but also a quick getaway from the crowded streets. I found a charming room in a quiet alley. From there, I did not hear the city’s noise, yet could walk everywhere. In 5 minutes, I reached many yummy restaurants and in 15 minutes I could walk nearly everywhere in the city. Only to the West Lake, Hanoi’s largest lake and upper-class district, it took me a bit longer. But there, I did not hang out so much anyway.

Culinary explosion: street food and coffee culture

Within a few days of living in Hanoi, I got used to the Vietnamese food culture. I was always a big fan of Asian food and Vietnam definitely has some great dishes. Especially fried rice or noodles in its variations is always a good choice. Also, the many sweet desserts made of sticky rice and jelly caught my attention. My personal highlight, however, was the coffee and smoothie culture. Many Westerners don’t like the Vietnamese coffee so much, for it is very strong and mixed with sweet condensed milk instead of fresh milk and sugar. I found it refreshing and reviving, though slightly bitter and sweet. I was also very happy to find many places with fresh Taiwanese bubble tea, not even mentioning of the high availability of fresh fruit smoothies. A dream for my smooth taste buts!

People: complicated and a bit stubborn

My Asian journeys brought me already to 8 ASEAN countries this year. I have always found Asian people very friendly, happy and helpful. To my big surprise, Vietnam seems to be an odd exception. In comparison to all other Asian countries, I encountered many many communication problems. Most of them clearly cannot be assigned to the language barrier. Agreed, not everybody speaks English and most people only a few broken words. I have witnessed many communication problems because the Vietnamese did not even try to understand. I even tried Google Translate with voice recognition and found it was technically working like a charm. I was speaking English, while my opponent could speak Vietnamese. Most of the time, they did not even try to articulate words or full sentences. Only in Vietnam, people walked away, leaving me with a big question mark behind.

Foreigners: English teachers from around the world

There are many expats living in Hanoi. They come from all over the world and mostly teach English to children. I have never seen so many informal schools and unofficial teacher than here. It seems as if every Vietnamese person can open their own school. They don’t even need a permission or licence; they probably don’t even pay official taxes. On the other hand, every Westerner can teach English. Especially Caucasians are welcomed with open arms and praised by the locals. Of course, native speakers can earn a bit more but all others are welcome as well. There is certainly something like a positive Racism going on. White Caucasian people are treated like stars, no matter how they behave. Sometimes I found this a bit irritating.

Adventure: buying a very very old motorcycle

The streets of Vietnam are covered with motorcycles. The number and size of cars is also constantly growing, but not at the rate of two-wheelers. Nearly every person is owning a moped or motorcycle. On my journey through Vietnam, I learned how to drive a moped and became more adventurous. I started to gain interest in driving around on two wheels. Accidentally, I found a huge market of old manual motorcycles amongst travellers. It seems as if there are dozens of machines changing its owner on a daily basis. Many of them are travelling from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh and then the other way back. Anyway, I bumped into an Australian guy who had to sell his machine quickly and gave me a very good price. Without hesitation, I bought it and started to plan a road trip to Laosinfo-icon. Also, if you want to escape the hustle of the busy city and get on a shorter trip, you should definitely book a visit to stunning Halong Bay.

Living in Hanoi: a good experience but not more

Besides all their quirks, Vietnamese people are a friendly bunch. I was very glad to spend a few weeks in a big city instead of just rushing through. Living in Hanoi was a special honour for me. For a starter, this was the only place in South East Asia, where I stayed more than a few days. On the other hand, I was able to live and interact a lot with locals. Besides some touristic highlights, I tried to spend as much time with locals. I will definitely miss the great food and coffee culture. I’m also looking forward to moving on and find a new place.

My extraordinary thank to everybody who spent some time with me in Hanoi.

Adrian Sameli founder and editor of aSabbatical.com
Travel mindfully to meet local people around the world and embrace new cultures. Get inspired and inspire others!

My waypoints on this journey

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - passing by the resting place of the former leader without entering
passing by the resting place of the former leader without entering
CCCP Cafe - having Russian lunch in an authentic soviet restaurant in Hanoi
having Russian lunch in an authentic soviet restaurant in Hanoi
Hanoi - living a few weeks in Vietnam's capital and enjoying the lifestyle
living a few weeks in Vietnam's capital and enjoying the lifestyle
Buying an iPhone 6 - trying multiple stores and devices before deciding for a new phone
trying multiple stores and devices before deciding for a new phone
St. Joseph Cathedral - visiting the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in old town Hanoi
visiting the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in old town Hanoi
Honda Win Purchase - buying my first motorcycle for an adventurous road trip in Indochina
buying my first motorcycle for an adventurous road trip in Indochina