Hanoi nightlife, music and more

Hanoi, as I said, is a lovely combination of old and new, tradition and modern, beauty and craziness. If you are in the mood to go out and enjoy Hanoi nightlife, consider checking out these places!

1. The Coach House (37 Dao Duy Tu)

A small, cozy music pub located in the Old Quarter, The Coach House is a good choice if you simply want to enjoy some music, start a conversation, make new friends and enjoying the busy street scene of Hanoi. It is owned by a Vietnamese and run by a British, so if you want to start a conversation right at the bar it’s totally doable. Price ranges from 30K VND to 50,60K depends on what you order. They often have live DJ, music night, and special discounts every night. However, it is pretty small and chances are on weekend you might find yourself standing outside the pub all night (though sometimes it’s actually a pretty nice thing to do)

2. Mao’s Red Lounge (7 Ta Hien Street) 

Located on the “bia hoi” street, Mao’s is another small – cozy – friendly pub. It has been a while since I came to Mao’s, so I couldn’t quite remember the price, but I don’t think it is much more expensive than other pubs and bars in Hanoi. The name says it all, it’s owned by Mao, it’s red, and it’s a lounge. A really nice place to hang out with friends and have a good time chatting. They have quite a bit of room and fit more people in than The Coach. The downside of it is the location – it is super hard to get through busy Ta Hien street to reach the pub, and if you have your bike with you it’s much worse. Though, I would say it’s worth a try.

3. Rockstore Hanoi (61 Ma May Street) 

This place is a great combination of music and drinks; I actually had my 20th birthday there. They feature different bands and DJs all around the city almost every night, so if you are in Hanoi on a Tuesday night and wanna get some weekend vibe, go visit Rockstore. It doesn’t have the cozy feeling though, feels to me like a busy club most of the time, so may be not the best place for a conversation. It closes at 12-ish as well, so it might be a good one to kick start your night, especially when the “main” bars in Hanoi don’t get crowded till 12-1 am.

4. Madake (81 Xuan Dieu Street)

Madake is one of my, and a lot of foreigners’, favorite. I personally think that their decoration is creative, last time I was there, there were lanterns hanging all around, which I think makes the place really beautiful. Madake has an upstairs bar with chairs and couches and tables, and sometimes when it rains they will have music up there. But most of the time, the music is downstairs in the dance room, which requires you to walk down an outside stair that leads to a beautiful garden. There is a lake right by the garden, which just makes the whole bar looks lot nicer. The music is great too, the bar hosts several big events including Djs, live bands, flea market, fundraising, and movie nights. The only thing with Madake is, if you wanna be outside, be prepared to be covered in mosquito bites. And if you come after 12 and the door is shut, knock on it, they’ll let you in. Vietnamese law doesn’t allow bars to open after 12.

(to be continued….)

[Traveling tips] When backpacking in Vietnam, remember….

When backpacking in Vietnam, remember:

1. The price you are told, most of the time, is not the price you should pay.

This applied to food street vendors, clothing stores, small restaurants with no menu or price list, and even hostels, in some cases.

As you might have noticed if you have been backpacking around SE Asia, bargaining is a culture. It is not people trying to fool you, it is a common practice. Though in some cases, tourists are tend to be asked to pay much higher price. But here is the point: you should bargain.

Think of yourself as a business person, trying to negotiate a contract. You want to make your partner (in this case, the person selling you stuffs) comfortable. Smile, don’t yell and scream, if you know any Vietnamese, this is a good time to use it. High chances are you will be successful in getting a lower price than normal if you can speak some Vietnamese, and be able to use the correct honorifics.

Start low. If someone asks you to pay 100,000 VND; start at 30,000VND. Of course it’s just a suggestion; the price varies depending on the item you’re bargaining, but more than half down is a good start.

If you’re in a restaurant, or buying stuffs from a food vender, ASK FIRST. NEVER ask the price after you have finished all your food. Be prepared to walk away (and have people follow you to get you a lower price)

2. Know what you need, and a big backpack is not fun.

I guess it’s true for backpacking everywhere, not just Vietnam. The only difference is how big your bag is allowed when you’re in Vietnam, and what should be in it. I have backpacked in the U.S, in Singapore and Malaysia, and with the beauty of public transportation in those countries, carrying a big backpack and a smaller handbag around might not kill you. But in Vietnam, your trip is gonna be miserable.

First of all, because it’s hot. And humid. Which means you will sweat a lot. And it’s not fun to be sweating while walking with a super big backpack, isn’t it?

Second of all, pickpocketing is common, and it happens to us as well. My Vietnamese friend lost her Iphone twice in 2 years. So if you have a backpack, wear it upfront would be a good choice. Don’t wear your handbag on one shoulder and walk around at night; if you can, just don’t wear a handbag. If you are only gonna be in Vietnam for a few days, it should not be that much of a problem, right?

And third, some essential things you should always have in your backpack are:

– Cash. Not every place accept credit card, and definitely not street vendors. Have cash ready, and preferably small money. I know it’s hard to carry around lots of cash, but you’ll be thankful for being able to buy a 8,000 VND banh bao (rice bun) at midnight in 10 minutes rather than standing there waiting for the seller to find change for you 500,000VND, or worse, have to follow him/her around to other street vendors or restaurants to ask for “smaller money”.

– Hat, and a big one would be good. The sun is no kidding, I know how much you love the sun, but in Vietnam, wear a hat.

– Sunscreen. For the same reason above.

– Granola bars, Power bars, etc. Food that give you energy and you’re absolutely sure you can eat them. Vietnamese food is wonderful, but everyone has different taste, and let me tell you there is no such thing as Granola in Vietnam.

– Something to take for food poisoning. I can’t say what kind of medicine specifically, I know different people treat food poisoning differently. But be prepared, because a “common pill” that you can easily get in your country doesn’t mean it is also common in Vietnam.

– A notebook and pen. It will be cool to have something with you to note down things you like or don’t about Vietnam, get a phone number of a taxi or “xe om” (motorbike) driver, or someone you meet on the road and really like. It also helps with asking for direction; Vietnamese people might not understand the map, but we can draw you a quick map on our own.

– A photocopied version of your passport. And hide your passport somewhere safe.

– Suprisingly, you DON’T really need to have water with you. Water is heavy, and you can easily buy a big water bottle in any convenient store or street vendor. And you can’t take water directly off the tap in Vietnam anyway, so there seems no point in bringing a bottle that you can’t refill, right.

Of course every person is different. Above is just my recommendations, based on what I think is most necessary to survive in Vietnam!

3. You don’t have to tip. But you’re certainly welcomed to!

That’s just to say, if you are in a restaurant and feel obliged to tip, don’t be. You’re not “not paying” the waiter or waitress, they are paid by hours.

4. Don’t expect the waiter/waitress/restaurant managers or owners to be nice to you.

If they are nice to you, they are nice people in general. You can’t expect that though. So don’t get angry and be all like “You won’t get tips from me if you’re not nice to me”. They won’t get tips anyway. But well, while in Vietnam, act like Vietnamese. And another thing is, they probably don’t speak English very well, so the fact that they serve you the food you order, not other weird thing, is great already.

5. Don’t expect people to all speak English.

It’s just not our language.

Just some heads up, I will be back with some other tips soon! Cheers 🙂

Welcome to Hanoi

You might have been to several places before arriving here in Hanoi, but believe me, Hanoi is special. It is one of a kind, it is something you never gonna find somewhere else in this whole world. And I hope you will love it, just as much as I do.

Hanoi is pretty weird in some senses. You not gonna have to follow any rule on the street, you run it your own ways! It might be annoyed at first, but you will feel proud once you are able to handle it.

It is the place where you can drink beer on the street with 5,000 VND, when you can be a negotiator with every thing you wanna buy and you gonna know how happy it is to bargain on the street. Hanoi is where you will randomly find several beautiful places, full of tradition, and the next day find some other places which is not less modern than any places in Europe. Trust me, it’s the magic and the charm of this place.

A little bit too much for an overview, right? I will stop here, and go into more details in other posts. Again, welcome y’all to Hanoi.

Here are some places for food and drink you can try on your first day:

1. Bún bò Nam Bo – 67 Hang Dieu
2. Bit tet Hoe Nhai
3. Banh goi 52 Ly Quoc Su
4. Banh xeo –  Doi Can
5. Cha ca Anh Vu, Giang Vo
6. Mien luon tron –  Phu Doan.

Drinks:

1. The note coffee – Luong Van Can, just opposite the lake.

2. The Hanoi Social club – 6 Hoi Vu

3. Puku Cafe – 16 Tong Duy Tan

4. Cafe Giang – 39 Nguyen Huu Huan

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[Fort Collins, CO, U.S] Coffee, coffee, coffee

Well, as I have always said, I am a huge coffee drinker. Pretty much like a coffee addicted. So ever since I moved to Fort Collins, I have always been on a mission to seek out the best coffee places.

[My study-abroad story] The Perks of a Difficult Name: Survive in the U.S without changing my real name.

It’s kinda a silly, fun read, but I had an idea of writing this piece this morning while ordering a coffee. Hope you enjoy!

The Perks of a Difficult Name: Survive in the U.S without changing my real name.