Wandering the streets of Hanoi
A look at the first metro railway in Hanoi, plus heaps of great travel reads.
Greetings from Hanoi! I have been visiting this great city every year since probably 2013, so last year broke my run of annual visits. It’s good to be back.
I’m here to check out the new metro while eating my way around my favorite places. Acutally, I’ve been eating the same breakfast place every day. There is a great banh cuon stand next to my hotel and I can’t walk past it without stopping. I might try and walk in the other direction tomorrow to resist temptation.
I rode the first metro line, and visited the construction sites of the second. This is what the first metro in Hanoi (and Vietnam!) looks like. I will have a metro report soon.
Here are this week’s travel reads from around the web.
Where I’m At: July 2022 – Hanoi
Where I’m At is the monthly travel and site update for Nomadic Notes. Updates can also be found at the weekly travel newsletter, which includes the best travel reads from around the web.
Where I’ve been
An overview of where I’ve been in June 2022.
Laos
June began in Vientiane, which was the entry and exit point for my trip to Laos. I booked a week here to give myself time to explore the city and write some reports about future urban development.
Vientiane is often described in introductory blurbs of travel stories as a “sleepy capital”. I see it written so often that it must be an unwritten rule that you have to call it that. Compared to other ASEAN capitals it certainly is, but travel is a relative experience. After being in small cities of Laos, Vientiane felt like a bustling metropolis upon my return. It was good to spend some more time here, and I will be writing my notes about what Vientiane is like in 2022.
Thailand
One of the main themes of my other site at Future Southeast Asia is improving connectivity between countries. I think about this in Vientiane, where this capital city is so underserved with connections to the rest of Southeast Asia.
Even in the before times (pre 2020) there were no non-stop flights from Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh City. There was one Lao Airlines flight that went via Pakse, and Vietnam Airlines sells tickets via Hanoi. The cheapest way is to go via Bangkok, so that is how I ended up going through Thailand yet again.
Vientiane is near the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge which connects to Nong Khai. There is a direct bus from Vientiane to Udon Thani, but that restarted after I left.
Believe it or not, there is a train line planned from Vienitane to Vietnam that was supposed to start construction in November. It sounds ridiculous, but then again who would have guessed that there would be a railway in Laos from China to Thailand. This one may not happen given that the government is running out of money already, but if it was a thing then I would have gone back to Vietnam via this train.
There was also an announcement last month of a planned new Thailand-Laos-Vietnam bus route, but that would not have been useful for my needs on this trip.
Vietnam
Vietnam is now fully open, with no pre-travel health forms to fill out or declarations at the airport. The pre-2020 visas have not been restored though, so there is only the option of a one-month tourist visa. Previously you could apply for a 3-month visa, and Americans could get a 1-year multiple-entry visa. Rather than renting a room for a month, I’m making the most of my time by visiting some other places.
I went back to Da Nang (again!), but this time to get the train to Hue via the Hai Van Pass.
I visited Hue in 2019 so I won’t need to blog about it again. Instead, I made a report about Future Hue and a construction report for the city centre.
From Hue I went to Hanoi. One thing that I have been itching to see is the new metro line in Hanoi. This is the first urban railway in Vietnam, so it is a big deal.
There is another metro line under construction in Hanoi, so I went out and visited some of the future stations. This is a good way to make me get out of the city centre, because my default mode is to wander the streets of the old city all day.
I will have a metro report and city report for Hanoi.
Assorted travel reads
• Walking the World: Hanoi (part 1)
“Generosity, happiness, and spiritual emptiness.”
I’m in Hanoi now, so it seems appropriate to lead with this story. A blog about urban walking was always going to get my attention.
This blog is on the Substack platform (like this newsletter) and Substack has a recommended reading section. I have made a list here of other newsletters to check out, (and thanks to Our Man in Saigon for recommending this article).
• The man who road-tripped 4,000 miles across the country on a lawn mower
• From France to Thailand on foot
• News you already know: Flying is a miserable experience right now
There are a lot of articles about bad air travel experiences this week. I’ve been fortunate to be travelling in Southeast Asia where travel is recovering while not overwhelming the system…yet. I had a smooth flight from Hue to Hanoi, only to be stuck in the airport parking lot due to a traffic jam. Apparently domestic air traffic at Hanoi is now higher the pre-covid time. Go figure.
• The next Star Alliance member could be Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railway
• How the TSA created two classes of travelers
“Nilay Patel speaks with the TSA’s chief innovation officer, Dan McCoy, about airport surveillance, security lines, and what we surrender when we sign up for PreCheck.”
• Photographer flies boat over Solomon Islands for aerial photos
Or you could just fly with Solomon Airlines to get amazing views.
• Can we please stop with all the nomad hate?
“Some criticisms of nomading are legitimate. But many critics completely miss the big picture.”
• Around Australia in 50 days: Jatin says 16,000 km motorbike trip an 'amazing experience'
• Hidden bars help to revive Petaling Street, the ‘Chinatown’ of Malaysia’s capital
• Room with a view 🧐
• Coming soon: Mopa Airport will be a welcoming addition to Goa tourism
I was in North Goa just before the pandemic shutdown. I think I’m more of a South Goa kind of guy, but all of Goa still softly calls my name, so who knows, maybe I will be back via this new airport.
The Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter is a weekly newsletter of the best travel reads and interesting travel news from around the web, and random ramblings by the editor.
- James Clark
Does that flying boat come with a life vest that doubles as a parachute?