Landing in Hanoi we were in need of a bit of rest and recouperation! This was our second visit to Hanoi and we’d already seen a fair few tourist sights (the prison is definitely worth a look if you’re interested in history and the French and American wars), so this time we were more focussed on chilling out, planning our trip, buying motorbikes for our mode of transport – and um, me learning how to ride one! (There’s nothing like Hanoi rush hour traffic to make you learn how to change a gear, fast!)

The old quarter

We stayed in the old quarter again (this time in a slightly cheaper hotel) and we soon remembered how much we loved Vietnam – Hanoi has got to be one of the busiest cities in Asia, but the old quarter has a very friendly village atmosphere to it. There are lots of tourists but it still maintains a relaxed setting while being incredibly vibrant, all at the same time.

Food

There is lots of delicious local street food on offer which we have always found safe to eat – the plastic outdoor table and chairs are infant sized, so a bit of body contortion is needed (skirts not advised ladies!).

Aside from the street food this time we found two indoor places that were great; Geckos Restaurant on Dien Liet St, where we had delicious local Hanoi fish and managed to get the recipe (keep eyes peeled for upcoming recipe!) and 4P’s Pizza at 24 Ly Quoc Su, which had the most stunningly delicious pizzas, seriously highly recommended if you fancy a western food night!

There are also bars a plenty and the staff are all extremely friendly – Vietnam does service extremely well, everyone is welcome.

Eddie enjoying candy floss

Pizza Ovens, 4Ps Pizza

The night markets have lots of clothes and crafts for sell – the locals won’t harass you until you buy something, for the most part you can walk about relaxed.

Motorbikes

When we stayed before we’d noticed a shop in the old quarter called Style Motorbikes, it had a roaring trade selling motorbikes for backpacker road trips – they also have a shop in Ho Chi Minh city and they buy bikes back again. Eddie did a lot of research and it seems they are the best – or certainly the most transparent online presence.

After a bit of negotiation we bought two brand new 120cc DETECH motorbikes (same model as the old Honda Wins) and the plan is to ride them through the length and breadth of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and then back into Vietnam to sell them, for the first part of our trip.

The guys at Style Motorbikes included a rack and bungee cords for our backpacks, iphone holder, USB charger and an extra wheel lock. I also got a free lesson (through peak hour traffic) but it did the job and I was pretty confident by the end of the hour.

It took a week for the new bikes to get registered for number plates, but we had the paperwork and could ride them about the city while we waited so we took advantage and rode in and around all the tourist spots like the lakes and gardens, mausoleum and the old citadel. The most interesting to ride was when we were trying to find the old B52 bomber that had crashed, the roads were more like street paths about a meter wide, for use by both bikes and pedestrians, so a little narrow and a little scary!

B52 bomber in a lake

Rowing with feet!

Testing out the bikes, botanical gardens

Hanoi prison

About five days later the paperwork had come through so we went back to the shop where they fitted the number plates and made final adjustments to the bikes, they helped us secure our luggage and we were on our first road trip up to the northern mountain town of Sa Pa!

Heading to Sa Pa, Style Motorbikes