Vietnam Venture: Hanoi

“Most people usually travel abroad when they have more time and they don’t have work the next day….” These were the words my manager said when I told her I planned to leave the country for a weekend in Vietnam. Which makes sense, but didn’t deter me. For reference, Hanoi is a 4ish hour flight from Incheon, and because I’m used to the long distances in the US it didn’t seem that long of a journey for me on a long weekend. If anything, the 3.5 hour bus ride to Seoul and the 1.5 hour train to the airport was more exhausting than Vietnam. 

I had a four day weekend and wanted to make use of the time. I knew people from college living in Vietnam, and randomly messaged them to see if they would be free to meet up if I came. I didn’t find out until I got there that they thought I was joking at first, which made me laugh because I was serious about coming the whole time. 

The process itself of going to Vietnam was long and memorable. I applied for the online visa but got locked out of my credit card because it was abroad and the company thought I was a fraud so it took me days to be able to unlock it since I no longer had an American phone number to contact them. Then I bought a 6am bus ticket instead of a 6pm bus ticket to the airport. And then at the airport I ended up at the only terminal in Incheon that did not have any food for a morning flight. Just my luck haha. Thankfully I was saved by the amazing plane food so I didn’t enter the country hungry. 

I was nervous about going to Vietnam, but excited. It was my first time traveling abroad for vacation by myself, not moving to another country. I don’t know any Vietnamese and wasn’t sure how I would do, but glad at least one of the days I was in Hanoi I would be meeting people I knew. 

My first day there I walked around and explored the area I was staying in. I downloaded “be” app to grab scooter rides to dinner, where I struggled with ordering since I didn’t know anything in Vietnamese, but ended up ordering one of the two dishes I wanted to try. (Those encounters made me grateful for the few words I know in Korean because I didn’t realize how much easier it has made living abroad a good experience.) 

Humidity in Vietnam is certainly no joke. The heat would be fine in the summer if the humidity was less intense, but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting since I went early June. I went out early in the morning and usually went back to my airbnb to rest and then wandered around in the evening again. Both to recharge my energy and escape the sun. 

I decided to just stick to Hanoi during my visit there. Vietnam has so much to offer, but for my first time in the country, and with limited time, I stayed in the city. There was so much to see and do that it worked out great. Old citadels, lakes with temples, street food, cafes, there were so many options. Coming from Korea to Vietnam it was interesting to compare the differences. So many scooters commuting and honestly I loved the scooters. My last day I grabbed a couple random rides just to be on them one last time because it was a fun way to go around the city and see the surroundings. 

Hanoi was so big, and yet despite how much city was there, there were so many trees. It felt like a city full of yellows, greens, and reds, So bright and colorful and felt like a city of summer. Every sidewalk was lined with street vendors and shops and foods and the Old Quarter area was fun to explore. It was the perfect place to put myself out there and solo travel. To see new places and experience new culture. Like just walking across the road in the middle of traffic. There’s nothing quite like Vietnam roads haha. It was such an adventure and I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to go. So much there to explore and so much I have yet to see.