I arrived in Hanoi for the third time in a few months and took the number 86 bus into the city. The weather at this time of year in northern Vietnam is just beginning to warm up, and it was instantly felt upon stepping foot outside of the terminal building!
The journey to the historic centre takes about an hour and costs 30,000 VND, which is about £1. Other options are available of course, but when I travel I always prefer to do it as close to how the locals’ would do it as possible. In the past I have had such memorable experiences whilst travelling this way and have grown somewhat immune to the standard ‘tourist’ traps and scams, or simply paying too much for what can normally be acquired for a lot less.
Upon arrival to my hotel, I checked in and became better aquatinted with the hotel staff who had agreed prior to upgrade my room, just so long as I mentioned them within this blog, and also on Trip Advisor. So if you ever find yourself in Hanoi, the Aquarius Hotel which is conveniently located in the heart of the old town, is a great choice for a comfortable nights stay including a good breakfast.
After dropping my bags off in the room, I set out to find ‘Hanoi Motorbikes’. Before arriving, I had emailed back and fourth with many different rental companies regarding the hire of a Honda XR150 motorcycle. In Vietnam, you need a special license to acquire a motorcycle with greater power than a 150cc, so unfortunately for this particular trip, I had to make do with what was permitted to me under Vietnamese law. However, I say ‘make do’, but the reality is that the Honda XR150 is a phenomenal bike, and I actually owned one myself when I used to live in Mexico, hence why I wanted to hire the same bike again here. I find it to be light, responsive and nimble, and it has just enough power for everything that I need it for.
The cost of the rental for one full month including helmet, luggage rack and straps, cost me £260, which I believe represents great value considering the bike is in near new condition, is a 2017 model and only has 10,000km on the clock. The procedure was simple, and within 15 minutes I was away from the garage and riding through the tight back streets of Hanoi’s old historic quarter.
The plan was to stay in Hanoi for a couple of nights before heading south to Ninh Binh. From there I would make a decision whether to head north west and up to Sapa, or instead, take the road north east up to the more remote region of the Red River delta, and onto the Chinese border. Either way I would be completing the same route whether it be clockwise or counterclockwise over the next month.
After collecting the bike, naturally I took it for an early evening spin around the hectic Hanoi-an streets. Most Asian cities around rush hour are complete carnage, and this wasn’t an exception! What I love most about Hanoi are the vibrant back streets; Vietnamese drinking coffee and tea and eating the speciality foods of the region. Having the luxury of a bike, you get to see this organic juncture of life flash by before your eyes on every street corner.
One place in particular that stands out in Hanoi’s historic old quarter, and hidden amidst the hectic narrow streets, is the small back street which is aptly named ‘Train Street’. Motorcycles are no longer the biggest threat to the native population, as twice a day, a real life locomotive shunts through the tight residential street that only minutes prior, hosts all sorts of every day life from ladies hanging out their laundry, to kids playing board games on the tracks. It is a pretty surreal experience to see the locals sitting on their doorsteps going about their everyday lives, then moments later, watching the train hurtle through and that vibrancy put on a hold for a minute whilst people cling to the walls and wait to it has passed.
In the evening, I headed back out into the street in search for some local food. One of the main pillars of this particular adventure was the fact that I want to eat food that was synonymous with the region of Vietnam of which I was travelling through on the bike. Hanoi has every type of food you can think of, but it’s Pho, a spicy beef noodle soup, that is one of my favourites. I headed to a local restaurant named Pho 10, on a quest to sample their variety which has been recommended to me prior! Pho 10 is located once again in Hanoi’s historic old quarter. I found the dishes to be quite a lot more expensive than the average price that you’d usually pay for this particular dish, but I attributed this to the fact that it was a local restaurant, catering for tourists. With that said, a bowl of delicious noodle soup complete with tai chin (both well done and part cooked beef) set me back a whopping 60,000 VND, which is about £2. Normally you can pick up a Pho for half this price. However, It was a great dish, and it tasted sublime, so I let this one slip on this occasion!
The following day I had a few errands to do before setting off. I purchased a new GoPro Hero Session camera and a chest strap in order to film the journey as I move further north. I have always been curious about GoPro’s chest mount as it tends to yield the best footage. I have uploaded a video to D-Tube and you can watch the footage here
Later that day, I set of to make the short trip to Ninh Binh, a beautiful region about 100km south of Hanoi. I have some great footage that I want to share with you so stay tuned for the next blog post which will be coming very soon. You an also follow me on Instagram
Thanks so much for reading and if you have any questions or would like any further information about motorcycle travel, then I would be more than happy to help!
Chris.