I HEART Hanoi

A cluster of little streets, a hodge-podge of quaint architectural styles and a micro-sized coffee shop every few steps. You could easily come to Hanoi and do nothing but wander the streets of the old town, drink coffee and eat pho from the abundant street stalls. This more or less what we did.

Early morning in Hanoi

I first visited Vietnam 10 years ago and this time around I was delighted to see that the city has kept the exact same level of dilapidation. It is neither better maintained nor more dingy. It must take special attention to achieve this kind of ramshackle appeal. Hanoi looks like an ageing starlet who foregoes the face lift and simultaneously commands respect for her years as well as fascination with her lingering beauty.

We arrived in Hanoi on a night train from Hue. Our day started at 5.30 on a drissly, chilly morning. While we waited to check in to our guesthouse we strolled around the streets of the Old Quarter watching as the fresh produce and flower sellers set up their stalls, filling the streets with the bright colours of vegetables and blooms. Our aimless wandering brought us to Hoan Kiem Lake where we watched the locals practicing tai chi in the mist. Finally we pulled up a plastic stool at one of the many pho stalls for breakfast. I highly recommend at least one early start in Hanoi.

The 36 Streets

The Old Quarter of Hanoi is made up of the famous '36 Streets'. At some point in Hanoi's history (around the time of the Le Dynasty), each of the town's guilds adopted a street. This is where their members lived, had their workshops and plied their trade. Silver Street is where you found all the silversmiths, Pottery Street is where you found the potters and their pots and so on. The guilds are long since gone and most of the streets these days have a mix of businesses, however, a few streets have stayed true to their names and the whole area still makes for fantastic wandering.

Hang Ma, paper street, is still dominated by stationers selling decorations for weddings, religious offerings and other events. We were lucky enough to be there in the lead up to Lunar New Year and the street was a riot of red lanterns and paper goats (the Year of the Goat was about to kick off).

Hang Cuc still sells silver jewellery, Hang Dau is the place for shoes (rip-off sneakers abound). On Hang Gai, silk street, it seems every shop runs a range of ready made silk dresses, shawls and ties. Hang Quat is the street for funeral needs including headstones, shrines and incense. Combined with the proliferation of tiny coffee shops, selling that irresistible Vietnamese take on coffee sweetened with condensed milk, the 36 Streets made for a great day of meandering.

Bia Hoi

Bia Hoi is a Vietnamese take on beer. Brewed for immediate consumption, Bia Hoi doesn’t keep and fresh batches are made daily. It is essentially a huge home-brew racket. Served primarily on street corners in Hanoi. It is extremely low cost and, in theory, low-alcohol. However we learnt the hard way that if you slug back enough low-alcohol, home-brewed Bia Hoi, the hangover can be brutal.

Bia Hoi, however, is much more than just a cheap night out. It is quintessential Hanoi. Sure, all across South East Asia there is a wealth of delicious street food, but, for me, there is something extra special about eating on the street in Hanoi. The range of flavours that can be served up from the buckets dangling from the yokes of street food vendors in Hanoi is a constant delight. Entire restaurants operate in the spaces between motorbikes, throwing down their tiny plastic stools that leave gangly Westerners with their inflexible knees around their ears. Bia Hoi is enjoyed in this exact same way. Sitting knee to elbow with the rowdy group next to us we tucked into the Bia Hoi while Hanoi’s street life whirled around us.