Welcome to Hanoi: Solo but Never Alone

Good morning, Vietnam!

Sorry I’ve been off the grid; I’ve been doing some crazy stuff in cool places, most of which have little to no Wi-Fi connection.

I’ll start with my introduction to Hanoi.

I arrived late, and it was the first stop on my solo adventure, and man, do I know how to pick ’em.

Imagine being dropped off by a taxi driver who speaks no English, in a country that doesn’t have a strong Western presence, and being guided down a very dark alley to somewhere I hoped was my Airbnb… thank God it was!

My place was cute, affordable ($100 for 5 nights), and only a 12-minute walk from Hanoi Old Town.

After dropping off my bags, I was starving, so I decided to take a midnight stroll in a city I knew nothing about. Stupid? Maybe! But my first impression of Hanoi was that it was a very safe city.

Also, the men here aren’t very big (sorry), and out of all men, I feel like I stand a good chance!

Anyway, I wandered the streets with a possible Google Maps recommendation pulled up and finally found a lively street full of twenty-somethings enjoying some food.

I sat down for a bowl of noodles and thought to myself about how I may have bitten off more than I could chew.

Going from the peaceful island life of Indonesia with the comfort of my friend to a bustling city that doesn’t have quite the amount of Western tourists that I’m used to was quite the shock.

I decided to take the night to feel uneasy, but tomorrow would be a new day, and I was determined to conquer it.

The next morning I woke up, put on my walking shoes, and headed in the general direction of Hanoi’s Old Town.

Coming up on my first intersection, I was intimidated, to say the least.

There are no traffic rules in Vietnam. If there are, they’re not enforced, and no one gives a fuck.

Motorbikes, pedestrians, cars, trucks, buses, and a slew of other modes of transportation are moving in all directions at full speed all the time. I stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the light to signal it was okay for me to walk, and even though there was a crosswalk and a green pedestrian light, traffic never slowed.

I had to go for it.

I put on my big girl pants, waited for any sort of opening, and walked into the middle of the road with full confidence.

Traffic seemed to move around me, but there were moments where I had to adjust my pace and move in sort of a zigzag to avoid becoming roadkill.

I successfully made it to the other side and thought, “wow, is there anything I cannot do?”

If you’ve been to Vietnam, you understand me.

If you haven’t and you saw some videos, you’d be shocked.

Now I’m a seasoned pro.

It almost feels like a video game, and I’m a little sim just trying to get to the other side.

My best advice is to wait for an opening in your immediate direction of traffic and start walking. You might get caught for a few seconds in the middle of the road, but it’s completely normal. Everybody does it!

I honestly loved that I got to reinstate my LA traffic motto of “hesitate and die” – meaning if you start to go, you’re committed. You better hold your head high, walk with confidence, and never run. Traffic will move around you if you keep a predictable pace.

Also, don’t look back. Look forward and just keep swimming.

The next thing I noticed about Vietnam was the little tables and chairs.

It kinda feels like you’re visiting lunchtime at a preschool. The streets are littered with 2-foot-tall tables and little stools that people eat on at each of the unique restaurants.

Some of the restaurants don’t even have menus. They serve one dish, and it’s the same dish that they’ve been serving for God knows how long – and it’s fucking delicious.

I had my first Bun Cha. It was similar to Pho but with more of a meatball of sorts.

I went through my first day in the city stopping to drink Vietnamese coffees, including their famous Egg Coffee, which essentially is an espresso shot with marshmallow fluff on top. Sweet but very good! Does not taste like eggs, more like diabetes.

That evening I happened upon a famous party hostel called Mad Monkey and chatted with a few people outside. I made friends from Mexico, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany.

We went to the infamous Beer Street to grab some drinks and dance in some clubs, and every night I was in Hanoi, I went back to the same hostel to meet my old/new friends and met additional friends each night.

If you’re traveling alone, the easiest way to meet friends is through hostels, and the best part is you don’t even have to stay in them. Just find one that looks popping and ask someone for a light or stop into the bar, and if you’re friendly, you’ll have friends in seconds.

My first week in Vietnam was full of so many new adventures and exciting moments. I made friends from around the world, tried foods I never even heard of, bought some knockoff designer merch (they have so much of it here), ate a fuck ton of noodles, shared stories with fellow travelers, and, most importantly, proved to myself that I am capable of doing anything.

Hell, if I can survive crossing the street in Vietnam, solo travel is going to be a walk in the park.