We should have known our travel to Hanoi from HCMC (Saigon) would be interesting when we walked into the domestic terminal and noticed we were the only foreigners not in the Vietnam Airlines line. As T refers to me as AAA (Always An Adventure), I had done a bit of research and discovered that we could save around $500 if we flew Pacific Airlines, the small domestic subset of Vietnam Airlines (which also flies the same route), and thus I went for the cheap option.

As we survived I can safely say it wasn’t that bad of an option.

That said, the terminal was entertaining. As we flew out first thing in the morning I got a bit hungry and went to peruse the food stand and found myself feeling as if I was in the produce aisle. Melons, bananas and lycee were all available for sale. Yum!

After an uneventful flight we made it into Hanoi and found a much different atmosphere. Surrounded by lush green fields, Hanoi’s people, architecture and lifestyle were a stark contrast to Saigon.

As we typically do, we spent our first day wandering through the city on foot, coming across all sorts of small markets, temples and sights.

As we’ve discovered living in Asia, exploring the local markets can give a great peek into the local life and culture. You can also find some great shots..

After a long day wandering around we made it back to the old quarter to our great little hotel (Hanoi Elegance 2, which I’d highly recommend) and found ourselves a fantastic restaurant. To this day I have no idea how we ended up there, but after wandering the twisty streets of Hanoi we found ourselves in a dark little restaurant to have probably some of the best vegetable curry we’ve ever had.

The second day in Hanoi was spent seeing the infamous Hoa Lo prison..also known as the Hanoi Hilton. Tomorrow we’ll share that rather haunting experience..