Our First Time in HANOI, Vietnam (What a CRAZY Experience)

We are in the crazy chaotic city of Hanoi. We are Kylie, Kasper and Ella, an Aussie Danish family who loves traveling the world and exploring new countries. If you would like to follow us on our journey make sure to subscribe to our channel and follow us on Instagram so you don't miss out on any of our adventures. We are just heading to the famous train stream which is only about a block from our hotel. So super excited to see that. Cross fingers for us a train comes through because we'd really love to show you all. We managed to get into the train stream. It's actually closed for tourists but there are some people standing at the gate so she kind of snuck us through the back way so that we could come up to this cafe to get a view of the train. Learning a little sneaky alleyway we had to go through to get here. We actually started off downstairs first but the coffee shop owner wanted us to go upstairs because she said the police were watching. Obviously they don't want too many tourists coming through this spot here. At the moment I can see people sitting on the tracks, there's motorbikes, small little chairs and tables so it doesn't look like the train's coming anytime soon but I'm assuming once it's time we will know because they will be packing up shop. It is known to be very dangerous and people have been hit by the train. The train drives through this residential area here in Hanoi and is only centimeters from the shops and the houses and the walls. It gets really really close to the buildings. It was literally just centimeters away from the cafe where we were sitting and you could see it was actually touching some of the pot plants along the track but it looked really cool sitting at the cafe and just watching it pass right in front of you. We just found a spot along the train tracks where you can actually have photos and take videos. It's not far from where we were sitting at the coffee shop but this is actually open here. There are local people living all along the tracks here so it's really interesting to see how they live. They have washing hanging from the lines, you can hear roosters crowing and it's quite unbelievable that people actually do live this close to the train. We just arrived at this beautiful lake in the middle of the old town. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous here. This is a really beautiful spot to come and relax. What do you think guys? Yeah it's very nice. It's really nice here so like a little oasis in the middle of the city. It looks tranquil but it definitely doesn't sound tranquil with all the bass in the back. Yeah there's definitely a lot going on so we're gonna go and explore and see what that's all about. We've just reached some stores at a market along the lake and they're selling all sorts of food products. I can see rice, different sauces, noodles. They have a lot of noodles here and I can see they're selling lots here as well. I can smell essential oils and incense burning. There's some very strange smells I'm getting and it looks a little strange some of the food products but yeah it's very interesting to have a look. We just walked around the lake and we've just come across a couple of stages with people performing. Looks like they're practicing for the festival that's coming. There's been a lot of loud music. There's a girl singing behind me at the moment. It's certainly very lively. Lots of stuff happening. A bit of a vibe to be honest. We've just arrived at the Ngoc Song temple which is located in the middle of the Hoan Kiem lake and it's connected by a really cute red bridge. The temple was built in the 19th century but it's just a really nice peaceful and tranquil spot right in the middle of all the chaos here in Hanoi. That was really interesting. We were just taking a bit of a stroll around the temple and we came across this guy that had loads of notes. I'm not sure exactly what currency but he was burning them so I don't know if that's some sort of offering or it's for luck. If you know what this is all about please drop it in the comments because we'd really love to know. The architecture here in Hanoi is certainly interesting. You really get a mix of everything. There's some colonial type buildings. There are some old ones that look like they're about to fall apart and there's some that look like they have just renovated. But one thing that's kind of common is that you don't really get any skyscrapers here in the city. It's mainly up to six or seven stories. So one thing that's really nice about the old quarter is that all the streets seem to be lined with trees so it's really nice having all these green trees in amongst all the hustle and bustle. I'm stuck. It is really not easy for girls with curbs to walk around this city. The streets actually have good paths but unfortunately all the motorbikes and the scooters are parked across the path so there's absolutely nowhere to walk except on the streets and the streets are pretty busy. It's not easy to walk around this city. So Ella how would you describe Hanoi? What are your first impressions of the city? Very busy, stressful, chaotic, hectic and very very noisy. But it's certainly a city with a lot of ambience, a lot of charisma and a great vibe. No matter where you go it just has a great atmosphere. Walking around the streets it's like a sensory overload. There's something interesting to look at at every corner. I would say it's just such a colourful city. There's so many different smells, so much to look at. We've just come across this really cute cafe across the road and it's selling egg coffee so come let's go try it. And I've also been wanting to try coconut coffee as well so I might have that as well. That's really nice actually. You can certainly taste the coffee flavour but it also has a really sweet taste and it's almost a bit like a caramel flavour. It's really nice, it's really easy to drink. I really like it. So I'm ordering coconut coffee which is another really famous type of coffee here in Vietnam. It's absolutely delicious and also the cafe is just so cosy and cute and it just has such a cute atmosphere and the staff is so sweet and cute too. These tables here they are tiny. Quite a distance from down here to up here so chances are that if you just wanted a little sip from the spoon here you would probably drip everywhere. Let me try. That's not too bad. Harley just had a failed attempt just before. Hanoi is full of coffee shops but there are also a lot of shops that actually sell coffee beans for brewing. We're on one of the bikes. We're just heading back to our hotel now. Interesting experience. It could take a while. Here's Casper. Hi. Oh my god. Surrounded on all sides by traffic. This is a little crazy and they just honk for like literally no reason. Whoa that was close. A motorbike nearly hit us but he's doing a pretty good job winding in between everyone. Like manoeuvring around. Yeah that was a little close though, that one. Going through the intersections is a lot of fun. It's just absolutely hectic. It's very relaxing just kind of sitting back and you know looking at all the streets. It's actually a lot more relaxing than trying to weave in and out of everything when you're walking. This is actually quite a nice way to get around. I didn't think I was going to like it but I actually quite like it. I almost feel a little bit royal sitting in my carriage here. The streets are so pretty and it's around sunset time and all the trees have beautiful fairy lights so it's actually really beautiful when it's lit up at night. So really looking forward to later going out and exploring Hanoi by night. We've just finished dinner at our hotel. Oh it was absolutely delicious. We had crispy spring rolls and we also had noodles and beef and chicken. It was really delicious. You can see how lively it is behind me. There's a restaurant here and they have these hot pots where you have all different types of meats and vegetables and you cook it in a broth. So for me it's almost like a little bit like a fondue. It's a really cute and social way to eat. I really love that. You can see people are cooking on a pan over here. That looks really cool. They're all eating together. Hello. That looks like fun. So earlier today when we were out and about it seemed pretty chaotic here in Hanoi but now that it's night time it seems extra chaotic. We're on a super busy street and a lot of the traffic is wanting to go the one way and there's a set of lights up ahead. So once the lights turn red all the bikes just pile in until the whole street was just fully covered with motorbikes and then all of a sudden the traffic control police started dividing all the motorbikes into half and told everybody else on the left hand side to turn around and go back in the other direction. What a chaotic system but really fascinating. The best thing to do in Hanoi is to follow a local and then you get across the road safely. So that's my travel tip for Hanoi. This is absolutely insane. The whole road that is normally two lanes has turned into one big one-way street and there's a car trying to get through on the other side and people are taking to the footpath now. This is absolutely insane and it just goes for like miles down that way and then miles down that way. I wouldn't want to be stuck in this traffic if I was them. The traffic is completely mental tonight. We actually had to turn back because this road was just completely jammed. The traffic was just unable to move and then there was an ambulance coming through and we couldn't get across the road because of all the bikes blocking the way. So we've decided to try to go a different way. This is still pretty busy here but at least the traffic is actually flowing. We are literally stuck. We are surrounded by motorbikes and we can't get through. That footpath is completely blocked. Behind us the road is completely blocked. We can't walk through. We attempted, didn't go very well and then behind us we're blocked and then this way we're blocked with also people as we're trapped around motorcycles. Completely trapped. Okay we made it across the road. I don't know how we did that but we made it across the road. But we're still going further away from where we actually want to go. So yeah I'm not sure if it's going to happen tonight. We wanted to go into the center. They have a stage there and some performers practicing early on today so I reckon that they might actually have performances tonight and that's what everyone is going to see. Possibly. That's why it's all clogged up basically. Something that I find so interesting is that they've got these alleyways between the buildings and I have no idea what they lead to but they look really creepy but kind of interesting. I kind of want to go down one and see what's at the end. I don't know what I'm stepping on. At least this one has a light at the end. I see motorbikes. So it's like a little residential area. Oh my god it's like a little courtyard. Oh shady staircase. Okay I'm not sure. Is this trespassing? Look. Oh I see a dog. Okay let's go. Let's go. Let's go. So I'm not sure if that was trespassing into someone's property but it was actually kind of like peaceful in a creepy way. You couldn't hear any cars or anything. It's like dead silent until we heard this vicious dog barking so we kind of quickly went out of there. But very interesting. I really want to go down another one and see if they're all like that. Um we just realized it's quarter past nine. We left an hour and 15 minutes ago and we have made it nowhere. I love the shops here. It's so cute. Oh I think I'm walking through someone's kitchen right now. Okay. It's a duck egg. Duck egg? Duck egg. Duck. Oh baby duck. Yes baby duck. Okay. How is it? Good? Good. Definitely not the type of egg I'm used to. Yeah different egg. We were just reflecting on how we were just watching the poor guy eat his meal and we were just staring at him in fascination that he's eating a duck embryo. Very interesting to see him enjoying his natural food so willingly. Whatever makes people happy you know. Duck embryo makes you happy. Go for it. We have decided to abort the mission. It just got way too busy and we got to a street where it's just completely crowded also with people and we're just like worried with like safety. Absolutely crazy. Bye. Vietnamese people are so cute and they're all very friendly so yeah I really like the Vietnamese people. Xin chào. Okay so we've just been lucky to catch the train going by at night so oh my god it's coming. It's so scary looking because it's like so close. Here it comes. It's so crazy. They pulled the barricade so the cars can't cross 10 seconds before the train comes in. It's absolutely crazy. Whoa it's so long. It just keeps going and going. Wow. It's really gonna hold up the traffic again. I can just see it all piling up. So long. So many carriages. I can see beds in the carriages. Oh they're gonna pull this. Oh that was quick. Quick turn around. Have a look. Have a look. And the cars are back. Wow that was so crazy. Oh my god. Insane. So just made it back to the hotel. What an amazing and crazy night we've had walking along the streets of Hanoi. It's really hard to sensory overload with all the different smells on the streets, all the different sides, all the noises from the traffic. Such a cool experience seeing what the streets of Hanoi look like at night and it was so fun meeting new people and also going down the shady lane streets and seeing what people eat. That was all a very fun experience so looking forward to tomorrow. We are super excited to be walking around the old quarter today and can't wait to try some of the traditional Vietnamese dishes. Smells good. Not too much. Raw garlic and chili is in here so let's see what that's gonna taste like. We might be a bit smelly tonight. Okay a bit of raw garlic here and some leaves. It smells really good. It does yeah. We're eating bun cha which has different types of pork so it's pork slices, pork meatballs and then it has noodles, chili, fresh garlic, fish sauce and different herbs. It's really good. I put too much chili in. I really like these. They taste a bit like IKEA meatballs but with a bit more flavor when you dip it in the sauce. They're really yummy. I like them. Absolutely delicious. The pork is so flavorful and so tender and then with the fresh herbs it just completely like freshens everything up because the pork is like a little bit fatty but then the sauce is actually quite sweet so I think there must be like a little bit of sugar or something in there because it's not like salty like you expect fish sauce to be. It's really really delicious. I'm really enjoying this. Oh my gosh that was so delicious. I think Vietnamese food may be my favorite cuisine. So these chairs here they are absolutely tiny. You pretty much need one for We are having chicken pho and it looks and smells delicious so I can't wait to try it. Yeah not so well. These noodles are very long and slippery. It's like a smooth kind of subtle flavor. It's really good. I don't know how to eat this. Just like a subtle flavor. It's very nice. Thank you very much. Bye. That was amazing. That was really really delicious. So really happy to try the pho. Portion sizes here at like the restaurants are massive. Yes we decided to share that last meal because we were already starting to feel full after the first one. Yeah they certainly don't skimp on the rice noodles here. You get a massive portion of rice noodles with pretty much any meal you order. I think we're trying some Vietnamese rice paper rolls. So very excited about this. It's very good. Yeah it's a bit crispy. The rice paper. Yeah it's really good. I like it. It's quite fresh too with like the cucumber and the papaya. Let's taste it. You can taste the sausage but then the freshness of the cucumber is really nice. The rice paper is kind of a little bit chewy but it adds like a nice texture. So yeah really nice. We are in Dong Van market and there are three different levels full of different shops. So far we've seen that they're selling bags, clothes, random stuff, vans, suitcases, shoes, everything basically and can't wait to explore. Okay so just going up to the next level. So it's open to the public but it looks like it is more of a wholesale market. They look like they're packaging up things and selling things in bulk. Quite an interesting place. Loads of like shoe shops, clothes shops, material, lots of random stuff and they're really tightly packed in here. Some of the little laneways are really super narrow. It's really hard to get through. Today we went past this beautiful lake where you can rent small swan boats. So we thought it might be a fun activity to do this afternoon. So we're going to go and see if we can rent ourselves a swan and paddle around in the lake. Come on Ella. Come on. How are you going Caspar? Yep working hard here. I feel like Ella's slacking off already. I'm the one doing all the hard work. I have to say this is pretty relaxing actually. It's a very peaceful spot here in Hanoi. I don't even really hear much traffic here. Nice way to get around the lake. It is though and we're just coming to this part where you can see all these skinny buildings along the road. It looks so cool. Yeah really nice apartments over there. We've just come across these really beautiful apartments and they have the most beautiful rooftop terraces and balconies and I literally want to buy one of those apartments and they're looking over this beautiful lake right in the middle of the city. Okay nearly had a collision there. It's so romantic. I was about to say it's so romantic because I realized Ella was still here. It actually feels like we're getting a full-on spin workout doing this. Okay I have to stretch after this one. Very fun. It's so fun how they cater for your motorbike here. You can literally ride straight here, park your motorbike and rent a swan. It's so convenient. So walking around Hanoi you'll notice that a lot of the buildings are really really narrow and that was because the government used to tax people based on the area or the size of the facade of the buildings. So they built the buildings really really narrow but they went in a long way. So you have these long skinny buildings here in Hanoi. If dogs were around how could you eat that? They do eat dog here. It's so soft and fluffy. We have just arrived in Beer Street. It's a really cute street with loads of little restaurants and little bars or pubs. It's pretty busy. It's only 6 p.m so I think this place is gonna go nuts later on tonight. Something that's really interesting here in Vietnam, they have like these little plastic kids chairs. Something that I remember from preschool. Seems to be the done thing here in Hanoi. Yep. Right? These seats everywhere along the streets outside the cafes and restaurants. Classy plastic tiny little miniature chairs. It's like a full-on squat. I feel like you almost ripped your pants. Pretty much. These tables and chairs are sprawling into the road here. Definitely a lively vibey little area. Massive chain of those cycles. So yeah it doesn't make it easy to walk here. Crazy amount of shops in here selling all sorts of things. Lots of scarves and souvenirs, fans, lanterns, fruit, all sorts of things. And it's certainly colorful especially at night time. It's beautiful. It just has so much atmosphere doesn't I love Hanoi. It is just so much fun to walk around. This city like really makes you feel alive and especially because you have to be on guard with every step that you take. So that you don't, if you're not then you probably won't feel alive. You'll be flat on the road. Yeah the shopping is pretty good. Have a look at this cute little shop behind me. This gorgeous little souvenir shop. It's so cute. Another one across the road. It's also good to mention as well that there's a number of rooftop bars here as well. So if you want a bird's eye view of Hanoi you can go up to one of the many rooftop bars and get a great view of the city. We are currently at the famous note cafe right in the inner city here and it's really cute. You can see all these post-it notes behind me with all little messages on them. There's so many. It's actually quite interesting to read them all but they're just like cute little affirmations and little love notes. It's really quite sweet but they're famous for their coffee here and obviously famous for all their many post-it notes. Let's have a look here. Keep safe and happy. Thank you for being such an awesome friend. Thank you for being someone special to me. Oh it's so cute. So wholesome. They have these little post-it notes here. You can grab a little post-it note. You can add your message and stick it on the wall. Look at all these notes. It's really cute isn't it. Even the chair is full of notes. Oh yeah. So cute. Should we stick one on here from living the joe life? Not a bad idea. There are lots of markets here in Hanoi and especially at night time they set up all these stalls selling all sorts of things. So it's really interesting walking around and seeing what you can get and it's also a place where you definitely need to haggle about the price because otherwise you're probably going to be paying too much. Here they sell socks for example. They have sunglasses, clothes, handbags, hats, wallets, scarves, pocket knives, all sorts of souvenirs. It's a really cool atmosphere here and they're actually blocked off the street so you can walk pretty peacefully here without motorbikes and cars coming at you all the time. So yeah a really nice place. We've really enjoyed exploring the chaotic city of Hanoi but I have to say it's really nice to be able to come to a nice quiet place away from all the hustle and bustle and we've definitely been able to do that here at the Era Hotel. It's a really cute boutique hotel just inside the Old Quarter. It's so close to everything. It's walking distance to the famous train street and also to the main streets of the Old Quarter and it's also walking distance to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It's a really good location. What do you think about the hotel? It's so beautiful and one of our favorite parts of the hotel is definitely the restaurant. The food that they serve is amazing and we have had this meal a lot. This meal right here, the crispy spring rolls. They make them so well and all the other food is really good too. And the room is so nice. It's so beautifully decorated. We have a room overlooking the pool and you can see the city as well but it's just really cozy isn't it? The bed is super comfy, the bathroom is so nice. It's just a really lovely room. They also have a really nice rooftop bar as well so if you want to go up and sit there and have a cocktail and overlook the city, it's also a really cozy spot to just hang out. Overall, definitely recommend this hotel. It's really beautiful. The staff are so friendly. We've loved the staff, right? So nice. So yeah, a really great stay. Thank you for watching our video on Hanoi. It's certainly a chaotic but really exciting and amazing city. Also, the people are so friendly and kind here and we've made lots of new friends. Okay, so that's it for this video. See you next time on Living The Joan Life. We've just arrived at Nok Son Temple which is located on an island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. I don't know how to say it. Oh my gosh. I don't know why it's such a struggle. Yeah, I've never experienced anything like this and I know I've only been alive for like 15 years but like my parents said they've never experienced anything like this which makes it even more crazy because they're ancient and okay probably not going to include that. Anyway, um. Okay, so we've just made it. Is it tilted down too much? Have a look. Am I too like wide up here? Hi guys, so today we are going on a trip. This is so delicious. You can definitely taste the coconut and the coffee. It's so good. Okay, so don't know what's happening there. What a fail. First of all, when we were trying to film, I put a whole chilli in my mouth so I was like dying for a full on like five minutes and couldn't like talk and then we were just trying to take a photo just now and with this and obviously there's all like the fish sauce in it and I tried to put it on a little bit of an angle so you could see it in the camera and obviously that's not a good idea so it spilled all over my pants. Okay, then I tried to do it again and take the photo again without spilling it all over myself and I spilled it all over myself again. Um, so yeah, a bit of a fail but vlogging fails. Yeah, it's kind of sad. But it tastes good though. But it tastes good and now my pants are gonna smell really good like fish oil. Yeah. Yummy. Yeah.