Shiok Travels!

If you are visiting Hanoi, chances are that you will be staying in an accommodation located in the famous Old Quarter which resembles a maze composed of 36 streets each named after the commodity which used to be sold along that road back in the olden days. During my visit, I was unaware of this fact and was thus perplexed as to why all the shops along one street would want to place themselves in a huge flurry of competition to sell the same item – but now I guess it’s just uniquely Hanoi. 

Food is definitely an important factor that can either make a vacation a success or an absolute failure. Foodies need not worry about Hanoi, though, as the street food culture here is well established and you can almost always find a dependable café or roadside stall to satiate your appetite!

Ninh Binh Province is approximately 90 kilometres south of Hanoi. Nicknamed Serenity, the province indeed sheds light on the more rural areas of Vietnam and the citizens’ peaceful livelihood primarily on agriculture, evident from the miles and miles of rice paddy fields.  Harvested rice is left to dry (on the roads) before being collected.

If you are planning to walk around the Hanoi district just like I did, you may wish to note that the Western Circuit will involve the longest walking distance out of the Old Quarter (approximately 25 minutes). You may wish to take this journey early in the morning as you will be able to avoid the massive crowds that will be visiting the tourist attractions you will be exploring in this circuit. Trust me, you will want these places to yourselves to capture the best photographs. Let’s start tracing Uncle Ho’s footsteps!