Hanoi, Vietnam - Polarsteps

Hanoi was interesting for a big city! The amount of traffic was a shock to the system after coming from peaceful Vang Vieng! To start with it was a little overwhelming but you quickly get used to it. We stayed in a new hostel called Little Charm hostel! WOW!!! It is soooo nice! Would definitely recommend it if you want comfort and cleanliness! The beds were amazing (especially after a 36 hour bus journey). We did a few really nice things in Hanoi! We went to the old prison, which was interesting to see! And we also went to the war museum! The war museum was at times a little confusing and didn’t always make much sense to me. I also wonder how certain countries are represented in the information given. But it’s still worth a visit! We also managed to see the train go through the narrow streets! It was actually lovely because there were a few little bars on either side of the tracks so you could get a beer and wait for the train! It got SUPER close!! It runs at 3:30pm and 7:30pm if you want to catch it! We went to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum! This was a little eerie actually!! You have to go from 9am - 11am if you want to see him and you walk in single file in silence through to where his body lies! Once there it looks like he is sleeping but it’s very odd! After this, we walked around the grounds of his palace! One of the last things we did in Hanoi was go see the water puppet show! I’m really glad I got to see this!! The puppets are manoeuvred by people using long sticks under the water! It was really sweet and although I didn’t always understand what was going on, I still really enjoyed it!! Walking around the streets of the old quarter was fab and there was obviously a nice night market as well! One night we went for a hot pot on ‘hot pot street’ and it was DELICIOUS!!