May 8, 2026
Arthur is 65, retired, and spending three months travelling solo (with company when he wants it!) through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. These are his diary entries - an honest view from the first ever DECADES trip, written for anyone wondering whether to make the leap themselves.
After an overnight stop in Hue and a day walking the city, it was another overnight sleeper to Hanoi. It's a 15-hour journey for a mere £30 in a reasonably comfortable bunk bed, four to a cabin. As we're in a group, that was fine, but if you're travelling solo, it's completely pot luck as to who you're sharing with...
Hanoi is a similar size to Ho Chi Minh City with approaching 10m inhabitants and a similar number of motorcycles. I'd been told that Hanoi was even busier than HCMC, but so far that's not been the case - though it gets crazy at night, especially around the Old Quarter / French Quarter. The buildings here remind me of those in New Orleans with their open fronts and street-facing first-floor balconies - but as both were built by the French at a similar time, not really a surprise.
Took in a walking food tour on the first evening that included some great street food, and saw us stop on the famous Train Street for a beer as the evening train rattled through, literally overhanging the footpath. No surprise there are several accidents each year. The trip concluded with a traditional Egg Coffee at the place which claims to have invented it. It's a strong coffee with a frothy top comprising whipped egg yolk and condensed milk. It tastes better than it sounds - a bit like drawing a coffee through a soft sweet meringue.
And whilst we're talking about coffee, they have a "variety" here called Weasel. They collect the digested / partly digested coffee beans eaten by weasels to dry and grind them down for a more distinctive taste. I think I'll stick with my Dragon Tea.
A walk through the city took me to several spots, and I was tempted into the Vietnamese Women's Museum and also Hoa Lo Prison. Another relic with vivid details of colonial French brutality until the 1940s. The other half of the story is how it housed American pilots and airmen shot down over the city, including Senator John McCain. So many photos of them being well-treated and generally having a good time - playing volleyball and other sports, growing vegetables - it was nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. Keir Starmer should hire their PR guy!
A cycle tour round the older parts of the city and the Embassy area was quite an experience. The usual mix of mental people on two and four wheels who drive at you until you stop or move. Lots of markets selling all the strange things I've come to expect, although this is the first time I've seen cooked dog for sale. It's less commonly eaten now than in the past apparently, but there's an independence anniversary this week and it's regarded as a delicacy for that. It's also believed to be good for women during pregnancy to ward off evil spirits from her unborn child. I've been challenged to try some, but the jury is definitely out on that.
There are so many places selling craft beer. I understand the attraction as they sell at around £3-£3.50 a pint, whereas your mass-produced local beers are about a third of that price. There's no shortage of breweries, although those operating at scale seem to be adopting more American methods and hops than British. There are still some good beers to be had and some great quirky venues. I stopped at a pop-up street bar under a railway bridge yesterday to take a couple of calls that lasted longer than expected - four cans long, to be precise. On leaving, I settled my bill of 95p!
I wouldn't normally go for a Mr Whippy type ice cream, but had one here yesterday (after two hours of pickleball!) and it was bloody gorgeous. Really rich and creamy - and only 28p.
Got a couple of trips planned away from the city to finish the adventure off, so I'll draw a line under Hanoi to keep this at a manageable read.
I'll get back to you on the dog...
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