South-East Asia in a Nutshell: A Divine Time in HANOI, Vietnam

South-East Asia in a Nutshell: A Divine Time

HANOI, Vietnam

People ask me, “How was your trip?” all the time—I always answer, “Ugh! I loved every single second of it!”

If you weren’t following along on the journey on social media (most of the content is here on TikTok), you might wonder what my South-East Asia trip encompassed. Well, here it is:

I flew into Hanoi on my own from Christchurch via Sydney and Hong Kong and spent two days there before joining a group tour with Intrepid Travel. The heat whacked me in the face like an oven on steroids.

Thankfully, I booked a room with a balcony and good air-conditioning, allowing me to acclimatise at my own pace.

The traffic was insane and hectic yet peaceful. People were polite and courteous, though driving through it was very eye-opening as a first-timer.

The power lines hung all over the place looking rather dangerous from a NZ-based Health and Safety perspective, so I turned a blind eye and trusted that all would go smoothly for my safety and existence.

For my first 24 hours, I saw nobody like me, and hardly anybody spoke English.

I quite liked feeling so foreign, though sometimes it was a little isolating and prevented me from going outside much until I felt comfortable in my environment, keeping my guard up and being street-smart.

I felt like a highflier flinging my Dong around too! I paid nearly one million for a 2.5-hour massage and facial! Only half a million the next time. Dong, that is; about $30 NZD and totally worth it!

The culinary delight came almost immediately. Food that I would happily eat forever and food I am trying to imitate back in New Zealand.

Check out a favourite recipe here

Vietnamese have so much fresh produce and very little junk food. Their ‘junk food’ would probably be deep-fried spring rolls, and even they are made so damn fresh I didn’t feel bad—not once.

The food varied from north to south Vietnam, and I just adored their confidence in their cuisines, making the most of their fresh local produce and using the products made by the experts of the village.

Even in that amount of heat, the food that spoke to my soul the most was a simple chicken pho. My first one was an experience shared here with President Obama when he went to Vietnam, and I could see why.

Even though the seats were tiny (anyone much bigger than me had a bit of a hard time fitting in them), the lighting was bright, and the guide made a point of cleaning our re-usable table chopsticks. It was grungy, and I loved it. And oh my golly gosh, after that first heavenly taste—I was hooked.

This steaming, clear broth with vermicelli noodles, succulent chicken, and a massive bowl of flavourful, pungent leaves and herbs and fresh chilli just made my heart sing.

How could something be so simple and so soul-touching on such a hot sticky day, I wondered.

I think the others on this Hanoi City tour thought I had never eaten in my entire life the way that I devoured the noodles with my face in the bowl slurping away, flicking everyone with broth and trying my best not to sound like my cat does when I try to take his catch away from him. But I didn’t know them, and I didn’t really mind what they thought because when I was there, I was a NOMAD and I loved it. It was no surprise when I gracefully acknowledged my enjoyment of it like I had just eaten a teaspoon of caviar in my Best Dress. They laughed as they remarked, “Really? We would have never known!” They were lovely.

My Street-Food tour guide, and now friend, Harry and I watched a woman make rice paper from scratch and cook the entire meal in front of me. My favourite meal of the tour.

It was 39 degrees Celsius and at least 80% humidity. My long hair stuck to everything, my backpack was soaked, and I had a grin from ear to ear as we danced in between the insane traffic on the back of his moped to get to each stop.

We rode through the chaos, dodging the random torrential rain pours, and eating more food than I would normally back in New Zealand.

I even tried durian ice-cream and a Vietnamese classic, egg-coffee, before he dropped me back to the hotel for a good night’s rest before another day of adventures!

Meeting the Intrepid group, I was initially nervous, knowing I was about to embark on a 4-week journey with this eclectic mix of humans from around the globe.

I felt at ease with the group and especially my Intrepid Tour Guide Mr Thao Do. Hi Thao!

I created a dietary card to explain my issues with gluten and he took it very seriously and then off we went to a cookery training school for dinner which exceeded my expectations.

From the quality of the food and location, the professionalism and of course, the price, I was super impressed. What I ordered (seemingly a hungry Ox again) made me nervous when paying.

I expected to be hit with a $70-$80 bill—it was about $12NZD, including the wine. I felt guilty being charged so little, but everyone was happy, and I began to reflect on currency versus worth.

Happy tummy, happy wallet, happy people all around.

Another thing I noticed about Vietnamese people overall was their calm, relaxed happiness and kindness.

This was a trend throughout all of Vietnam where I went.

The very next day, bright and early, we setoff on a bus to a boat to Ha Long Bay—one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

Find out more about that mind-blowing experience here (blog to come) so stay tuned!

Other Hanoi Highlights:

• Train Street: A mind-boggling vibrant and bustling area with an insanely narrow train track.
• B-52 Lake: An American B-52 plane, taken down in the lake from the Vietnam war—preserved in its place to teach the children of the past.
• Art Work: Street murals, silk art. Stunning
• Vietnamese Coffee: Next level. Taste and caffeine hit—insane. That is all.
• Temples: Beautiful and peaceful spaces for people to gather in comfort and safety.
• Rooftop Cocktails: Well, I just had to, didn’t I?

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