Hanoi Vlog: Chaos, Streetfood & echte Einblicke in Vietnams Hauptstadt

Hanoi Vlog: Chaos, Streetfood & echte Einblicke in Vietnams Hauptstadt

Good morning from Vietnam. I’ve been here in Hanoi for a good week now and in this video I’ll take you through the alleys of the old town, through all the culinary highlights that there are here – because the Vietnamese food is really great – and show you how I’ve arrived here in the meantime. To be honest, after Singapore it was actually quite a culture shock and different than I thought, and not just in a positive sense. And I would show you that too. For example, I can already say that I found the influence of the one-party landscape here and these very diverse communist symbols to be a child of the GDR, which took a lot of getting used to. Of course, I would also like to say something about this in the video, so that it is not just a classic what do you do here, where do you go here, is the train street really worth the video, but also a “how do I feel here specifically in the capital of Vietnam”. So that’s what you can expect in this video and I would say we start with a little overview of Hanoi. And here too you will notice that there are really critical things to say in general. But of course it is still a wonderful city. Have fun you guys! Hanoi is the oldest capital in Southeast Asia and was founded in 1010, making it more than 1000 years old. Around 8.7 million people now live in the city and the influences from the French colonial period and also from the proximity to China are clearly visible. Local public transport is mainly organized by buses; there are no longer any trams, but there are now two subway lines and an incredible number of motorcycles. For tourists, I would say the cheapest option is Grab, the app that you now know from many of my other videos. Because there is hardly any English in the entire cityscape . That means I wouldn’t have thought I would be able to get around with the buses. What is important with Grab is that you can only book via the app and under no circumstances should you take one of the many drivers that appeal to you in the cityscape. You can buy the grab jackets on every corner here and you have no security whatsoever outside of the app. Hanoi is regularly the city with the worst air in the world and the rivers and lakes in Hanoi are also heavily polluted, as more than three quarters of the city’s wastewater is discharged directly into them without being treated. By the way, a good time to travel is winter, as the temperatures here are between 16 and 24°. From May, i.e. now, it is summer with temperatures well over 30° and frequent rainfall, especially in July and August. So now I’ll show you where we actually live in Hanoi. Okay, that ‘s the street. Funnily enough, the Embassy of Indonesia is right next door. So here you can imagine houses quite nicely, but it goes in here. We’re going to go this long together and that’s actually the right thing to do here. This isn’t going to get any better now. I’m sure you’re all wondering, okay, what’s this supposed to be? What kind of Airbnb has she booked now? I thought so too. So here it is, hidden paradise, come on in. No one would probably have guessed that , because the name really says it all. The apartment is super nice, has everything you could think of, a kitchen even with a washing machine. There is a large bed downstairs and then you actually go further up. By the way, the whole thing is an Airbnb apartment that costs €36 a night. And for exactly the same money, booking.com somehow only got windowless, small hotel rooms. That’s why I took a look at Airbnb and I’m really happy with it. Because look, it’s really, really beautiful in this strange corner of the back yard. Well, I think it’s really nicely furnished, there’s even a small terrace and even though we’re not planning on having two bedrooms, we’re not entirely mad about being able to get out of the way here for a bit. Our small apartment is very close to the old town north of Hoan Kiem Lake and the old quarter is above all one thing – it is loud, it is busy and chaotic. In the old town you can start practicing walking on Vietnamese streets. Because the rule of thumb is once you’ve started, don’t stop, don’t hesitate, just keep going. And under no circumstances go back, otherwise it will be fatal. And what’s really exciting about the old town – originally there were 36 streets and in each street there was a different trade or trade. And to some extent it is still the case today. So here you can see, for example, the street of the metal dealers. Whatever you would want to have made of metal. There’s a lot of fruit and vegetables here. The street names often also indicate what kind of streets they are, so for me it’s Schmiedestrasse or Framemacherstrasse. Yes, you can see a lot of clothing here and I think it’s nice that the tradition has been preserved to this day. I think the most typical thing you find in the cityscape are these little stools, because they’re really everywhere. So you can find them on every street, in front of every cafe . They seem to be the typical seating furniture in Hanoi. And of course the many lanterns are just as typical. I think it’s really beautiful when lit up in the evening. So I think that’s actually how you imagine it. [Music] One of the most typical sights in Hanoi is the St Joseph Cathedral, which dates back to French times. Then there is the so-called beer street, which is of course very popular, especially in the evenings and especially with tourists. And then there is this building on the north bank of Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s also called the shark’s head, but it’s now torn down and there’s a lot of hustle and bustle around it. And you can see a market hall further north in the old town here. I won’t say the name now and you can really buy everything there at really good prices. So not just all kinds of dried fruits like you see here, but also all kinds of souvenirs. So if you’re ever in Hanoi and want to bring some nice things with you – we’ve actually stocked up a bit too. There are really the very typical products that you would otherwise find in the shops, but a little bit cheaper. Hoan Kiem Lake is 700 m long and is the center of public life. According to legend, one of the ancient Vietnamese kings returned a magical sword to a turtle deity in this lake, which is also alluded to by the small temple located on an island in the lake. The 18th century Ngoc Son Temple is connected to the mainland by a famous bridge and is a popular photo opportunity. [Music] [Music] What I find very exciting is that in a special area next to the temple there are specimens of two giant turtles on display, both of which come from the lake. One was obviously found in 1968, the other in 2016, so it’s still brand new. And these are somehow very special, huge specimens of these turtles, of which there are probably only a few in the world. And you can look at them there too. By the way, the older of the two is said to have been 400 years old, I have no idea whether that could be possible. If anyone knows anything about this, please write it down in the comments. [Music] A relatively new attraction in Hanoi, but which many of you probably know, is the so-called train street. It’s unbelievable what a tourist magnet this is. In the end, it’s just a piece of railway line that runs through a very densely built-up area and in recent years many of the residents have started opening small cafés or souvenir shops there. And then you sit right next to the tracks and you can see the trains going by. And that’s quite a thrill. They are actually denser than I thought. Sometimes they drive slower, sometimes they drive faster. What I can say is that there are two pieces that are like this in Hanoi – the one a little further north, the other a little further south. Yes, and if you happen to be there, I would strongly advise you to go to the southern part. There’s a lot less going on there, the dealers aren’t quite as committed to selling you a drink and it’s easier to make one of these typical souvenirs for yourself. If you put bottle caps on the rails, you’ll have a pretty cool souvenir after the train has passed over them. [Music] A real discovery for me was Vietnamese food. Unlike the Thai or Indonesian, for example, it is not nearly as spicy, but somehow it is very fresh and with lots of vegetables. Very light and still super delicious. You can now see some very classic dishes here. So Pho, hopefully it is pronounced correctly, is this typical soup with glass noodles, with vegetables of course, and often with meat. I now have the vegetarian version here. So that’s one thing. Then there are these very typical omelets that you end up rolling like a summer roll and of course there is banh mi. This is a remnant of the French colonial era. It is a baguette filled with typical Vietnamese ingredients. Of course all kinds of meat, vegetables, different sauces and every stand has its own recipe. And here we are with someone who somehow managed to become such an in-thing, I don’t know through Instagram. I think we actually waited in line for over half an hour at this tiny stand. In the end it was really tasty, so it was worth it. But it’s really funny, there are hundreds of these stalls in Hanoi, that this one was so famous. But we went there too. And then of course Vietnamese coffee! Well, I think he’s world famous. And of course I also tried an egg coffee, i.e. a coffee that had a lot of egg foam on top. It was so delicious. So I know a lot of people don’t like it either, I thought it was great. And then of course you can also get Western food in Hanoi if you want. So there are a lot of cafes that have specialized in western tourists. They’re decorated really nicely, so you really think you’re in a European café. You can see here how beautifully everything is done. And there you can eat everything you know from Europe, smoothie bowls and avocado toast and everything like that. Yes, and a very special café that Lotti discovered – which must be an Instagram thing somehow – is the so-called note Café. And it does what the name promises. You get little notes like that when you go in there. As many as you want and also pens and you can then simply leave notes there. And so many people have now done this that all four floors of this house are completely covered, from top to bottom. You have a great view over the lake, so you sit in a really nice location and can spend hours reading all these notes and creating some yourself. The tables are now covered with so many pieces of paper that they are bending, it’s really unbelievable. And you can see news from all over the world there. So that’s very unique. Yes and then, I also think that’s really nice, there are a lot of different rooftop bars in Hanoi. And everything, you’ve already seen it by now, at prices that are of course really great for us. And we somehow picked one out there and drank very tasty cocktails for a fraction of the money we would have paid for it in Europe. So you can eat and drink really great in Hanoi. One thing that I talked about briefly at the beginning and that I would like to briefly go into again is that, of course, Vietnam is a one-party communist state. And for me as a GDR child, even though I was still very small back then, It was totally strange to arrive here and see these communist symbols everywhere. And somehow also to perceive the mentality of the people. Because my impression is that the people here are less open, less free and less carefree, perhaps that’s the best word I could find, than in the other Southeast Asian countries. Of course, I am also aware that Vietnam is a country that has been through a lot of wars and that wasn’t that long ago. So in the end it’s somehow now 50 years. The big celebrations for the reunification of Vietnam took place here just a few days ago and I think that somehow makes a difference. But really this presence of symbolism, I don’t want to say propaganda at all, but symbolism in the street scene. Somehow I just wasn’t expecting it and that was a bit strange for me. But as I said, this is a purely personal impression that has nothing to do with how beautiful the landscape is here, how great the food tastes, and what you can do here. But yeah, I don’t know, Ho Chi Min is of course somehow omnipresent. And it’s different. I think different is a fair term for it – different. [Music] So that somehow had more of a social background and maybe also a bit of personal feeling than I have done otherwise . But that’s just how it is for me here. I don’t think it can be the case everywhere that you feel completely at home and it’s not the case here yet. But I hope that that changes. Next week I’ll show you where I went on a really exciting day trip and then of course what’s going on for us here in Vietnam. Because we will be here for a few more weeks. So there are still a lot of opportunities to get to know the country better, so that the people do too and I’m quite sure in the end we won’t want to leave here either. Please give the video a thumbs up if you liked this type of storytelling and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already and want to know what happens next for us. And then I wish you all the best until the next video and a very nice week. [Music]

Willkommen in Hanoi! In diesem authentischen Travel Vlog nehme ich dich mit in die quirlige Altstadt der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt. 🛵✨
Gemeinsam erkunden wir das einzigartige Gewusel der berühmten 36 Gassen, besuchen die spektakuläre Train Street, schlendern um den idyllischen Hoan Kiem See und tauchen ein in die chaotisch-schöne Atmosphäre von Hanois Old Quarter.

Ein großes Kapitel widme ich dem vietnamesischen Essen – von Streetfood bis Pho, von Bánh Mì bis Egg Coffee. 🍜🥖☕

Außerdem teile ich meine persönlichen Eindrücke zu den kommunistischen Symbolen und Denkmälern, die im Stadtbild allgegenwärtig sind – ein spannender Kontrast zur modernen Lebendigkeit dieser faszinierenden Stadt.

👉 Dieses Video ist kein typischer Must-See-Reiseführer, sondern ein ehrlicher, atmosphärischer Einblick in das tägliche Leben in Hanoi – ideal für alle, die Asien lieben und authentisch reisen.

📍Kapitelübersicht:
0:00 Intro
1:45 Allgemeiner Überblick
3:29 Unsere Unterkunft – ein Abenteuer
6:00 Altstadt erleben – die 36 Gassen
9:51 Hoan Kiem Lake – Ruhe im Chaos
11:53 Train Street: Zug trifft Alltag
13:24 Streetfood & vietnamesische Küche
17:09 Kommunistische Symbole im Stadtbild
18:59 Mein Fazit

Wir sind Manja & Lotti – Mama & Tochter, unterwegs durch Europa & Asien. Im August 2024 gestartet, reisen wir ein Jahr lang mit unserem alten Mercedes-Bus und als Backpackerinnen durch die Welt 🌍

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