First Day in Hanoi

   When I got in an airplane, I noticed more than 95 percent passengers are Korean. Everyone seemed excited to travel Vietnam including me. We flew approximately for 5 hours from Incheon to Hanoi. 

   As soon as I arrived at Hanoi airport,  I could see Vietnam national flag everywhere and I thought that I need to be careful, because it is communist country. I felt quite anxious until I passed a security. 

   When I came out of the airport, I saw many taxi drivers near an entrance. Many drivers approached me and suggested riding to downtown with discounted price. However, I watched many Youtube videos about taxi drivers in Vietnam. Drivers tend to take detour to make more money, because travelers don't know Vietnam and can't speak Vietnames. Since I booked a taxi through my hotel, I politely refused to use their taxi. 

  I wanted to make a conversation with my driver to get some tips in Hanoi, but he can't speak English at all, so I had to just look outside. As soon as I was closed to a downtown, I could see a number of people and motorcycles, which I watched via Youtube. It seemed really dangerous. Many motorcycles rode right next to our car and my driver used his smart phone continually. I wanted to make a complaint, but I didn't want to ruin his day. 

  Hotel workers were very friendly and explained tourist attractions, precautions, etc. After I took a quick cold shower in my room, I walked around to see outside. Everything seemed really same. There were a lot of old houses, restaurants, gift shops near my hotel. I was not really sure which stores and restaurant I need to use. I had to find a store that sells sim card to use internet for 10 days. I found a small store where two puppy were sleeping. The day I arrived in Vietnam, Vietnam played soccer with Iran. The store owner said something in Vietnam. I assumed he praised Korean soccer coach and offered me a small discount. 

  It started raining in Hanoi around 4 pm, but people watched soccer outside. 

   I walked outside to find something fun and walked along Hoan Kiem lake. There were tons of people in the area. I guessed people wanted to have a good time with friends, family, etc. The most surprising is K-pop dancers. Young people played Korean songs and danced like Korean Idol. It was really impressive, so I took pictures and videos. 

    After I enjoyed a parade, small K-pop concert and tourist attractions, I entered a fancy restaurant as cost of living in the country is way cheaper than Korea. A design of the restaurant was really modern and waiters were very friendly. I ordered something beef. I expected they will provide me a stake, because menu just say beef dish. However, they gave me beef kebab. It seemed small, but really delicious and enough. 

   After I had the delicious dinner, I just walked outside. If I had known how to use google map, I would have saved so much time. I ended up visiting the most famous catholic church in Hanoi. It was very big and magnificent. I originally planned to visit the place, but I took some time there. 

On the way to my hotel, I stopped by Starbucks and ordered mango smoothy to hydrate myself. It was very sweet. 

I highly recommend to bring water bottle and drink water frequently, because as you may know it is really hot in Vietnam.