Exploring Hanoi’s Hidden Gems: Day 2 City Walk Tour (Part 1)

Before coming, it seemed that Hanoi didn’t have many attractions, so I decided to do a Citywalk, mainly just walking around and seeing things. It rained for a while yesterday, so even though it was sunny today, it was particularly cool.

A blogger on 🍠 mentioned that there’s a grandma’s noodle stall with a lot of meat, not far from where I’m staying. I went out at 9 AM to try it. It’s actually a small stall in the market, and the beef noodles also come with fish cakes and shrimp cakes bought from the opposite side. At 25k per bowl, the value is quite good, but the taste is average; the broth is not fresh or clear enough. It’s really not necessary to go out of your way for this!

After eating, I walked to the Hanoi Cathedral. You should come here in the morning because it’s backlit in the afternoon. There were too many people taking photos at the entrance, and the area is surrounded by coffee shops, with people sitting all around. After taking photos, I went to the Cong cafe across the street and ordered a coconut coffee smoothie.

I stayed there for an hour and a half, sitting on the balcony, enjoying the breeze and relaxing, which was very comfortable. Hanoi gave me, a J person, a different travel experience.

I walked to the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square and spent 6k on a sweet cone at KFC, then went up to the second-floor balcony to see the popular corner and watch the traffic. If the lights are on at night, this is the best viewing platform.

For lunch, I went to a Michelin-starred restaurant for grilled meat vermicelli (Bun Cha Dac Kim). The grilled meat was very sweet, and the fried food was too dry. I didn’t like it, and the dining environment wasn’t clean, with many flying insects. There seem to be a lot of Michelin-starred restaurants in Hanoi, but I just want to say they should stick to making tires.

I took a Grab motorbike to Trấn Quốc Pagoda, a tiny temple. Then I passed by the Temple of the Jade Mountain and went through Ba Dinh Square (I couldn’t enter because I had a selfie stick). There are quite a few Chinese elements in Hanoi, and you can often see Chinese characters in the old town. Finally, I arrived at Train Street.

I don’t understand why it’s so popular… For safety, my mom would consider setting up safety yellow lines at train and subway platforms, so why come here to risk it? Still, be careful; there are coffee shops on both sides of the tracks, but the food is mediocre and expensive. Other compatriots also felt that eating there was a rip-off.

Some bloggers post train schedules, but they may not be real-time, so if you want to experience it, ask the shop owners.

In the evening, I went to eat chicken vermicelli (Phở Gà 26), and the chicken was very springy and quite good. Then I went back to sleep.