Hanoi, Exploring the Capital & Beer Corner (Bia Hoi Han Oi)

We arrived back in Hanoi for the third time where we were actually going to stay for a few days to explore the place.  Time to find accommodation we went back to the Elizabeth but unfortunately it was full this time.  We ended up checking into Homey Hotel around the corner that wasn’t quite up to the same standard for the same $12 including breakfast. 

The Homey Hotel

It was time to plan what we were going to see over the coming days and having been on local food for a few days we were excited about pizza.  We decided to splash out at Gecko which advertised king size pizzas with 30% off.  We were so disappointed I was nearly inconsolable. It was a small pizza with 10 mini slices so we came to the conclusion that the pizzas were all the same size they just cut the slices different sizes.  Overpriced but at least we could wash it down with a Halida. Our first evening in Hanoi did get better though, we made our first visit to the famous beer corner which was awesome. 

This looks like the place. Bia Hoi 5000d

A packed Beer Corner

BIA HOI HAN OI, FRESH BEER, VIETNAM, 3.5%ABV, SERVED IN A GLASS AT BEER CORNER, HANOI

Beer Hoi Han Oi is the famous fresh beer or draught brewed by Habeco. There is not much too really say about the beer itself. It is all about how and where you drink it. Beer Corner in the Capital of Vietnam being the place you definitely should not miss out on drinking it.

Cheers from Beer Corner & check out the Bia Hoi T-shirt

Beer corner is on a junction where the local people pack together on tiny stools on the street enjoying the local draught tipple for 5000 Dong per glass which is about 14p, they say it is the cheapest beer in the world and it is pretty damn good.  We had a great time taking in the atmosphere which was electric as the busy streets full of scooters whizz by along with the street vender’s selling you a number of tasty snacks straight from their baskets.  We will definitely be making this an evening event whilst in Hanoi.

The beer itself is brewed with malt, hops, rice, yeast and water and spends very little time in the fermentation tanks. It is delivered each day where you can see delivery personal rolling the kegs down the streets. Once out of the mini-trucks it has to be consumed within 24 hours.

The beer rolls into town every morning

Keg on its way to a beer drinking hole

Bia Hoi Han Oi is light as a feather, lightly carbonated, light in alcohol and extremely light in the wallet. Nobody states that it is the best beer in the world but the price more than makes up for that. It is said that it is 3.5% in volume. People we were drinking with didn’t even think it was that strong maybe 2.5%. It is however affordable for pretty much all consumers and this is the reason it is so enjoyable.

It has a pale straw colour pretty much no head at all and is served at random temperatures. It does however taste better than you would think. The aroma is light as you would expect with hints of malt and grain, but it is pretty stable with a fragrant taste. Quite watery but passes as an easy drinking lager and it is so easy drinking that you forget which number you are on so be careful it does contain alcohol remember.

One thing you can’t take away from this fresh beer is that you will have the most memorable beer drinking experience of your life. It is an attraction that no self professed beer lover should miss out on so get your flights booked to Vietnam. You climb off your stool thinking this (everything in general) is brilliant and still with a full wallet.

A True Beer Drinking Experience

Back tomorrow night is a certain plan but first its back to our room at Homey (before everything became blurry) which was a large tin shack on the roof it looked good until the storm came and we couldn’t believe it when it was actually raining in.  Impossible to do anything about it in the middle of the night, this would definitely need sorting in the morning. Sleeping in a wet bed is not our idea of fun especially for $12 a night.  The following morning and a bit ratty we weren’t sure whether we would be moving out or changing rooms but we did make sure we had the free breakfast first.  The owner was pretty good and we ended up moving rooms and got the price to $10 a night including the previous wet night.  That’s as good as complaining gets sometimes and we will take it. 

The tin can on the roof. Looks OK until you get rained on whilst asleep in bed!

On our first day of exploring Hanoi we strolled past the lake in the middle of the city and headed towards the Women’s Museum and Hoa Lo Prison.  With being a Monday they were closed so we would be making a return visit.  Instead we went to the famous food street for lunch & spent the afternoon watching the Vietnamese Water Puppet Show at the Water Puppet Theatre. This was a really enjoyable cultural show and fascinating to see this old tradition. 

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

Cultural Highlight

Already evening time we headed back to beer corner where we enjoyed some more cheap beer while eating bags of chips and deep fried pork from a street vendor.  Our plan was to visit the local Jazz Bar until we met four friendly Dutch guys and an American girl. Instead of Jazz we ended up at the Bucket Bar and 2-4-1 vodka buckets.  I can see why these drink offers aren’t allowed in the UK.  They just don’t agree with Reedy and hopefully this will be the last time I indulge in a bucket, let’s just say it didn’t go to plan but we did have a scream dancing and chatting away to our new friends.  Kate captured my demise on the camera. There was even a police raid where we had to leave the bar so they could pay the police off, it was a little bit scary outside because there was a woman with a taser gun but they did let us back into the bar which was a full on dirty backpacker party place.  We had been moving pretty fast through Vietnam this past month and it was fun to have a night out and mingle with some travellers. 

With our new friends at the bucket bar, Oh No!



Reed & Buckets don't mix



Women with tazer & policeman in the darkness during the raid

Hello! I need to leave now does anybody want my bucket

'No really. I like buckets about this much. How's the beer?'

Hanoi is a hard place to navigate around and we were surprised we managed to navigate our way to Homey after our night out and even though we had to wake up the guard at the hotel we made it. 

Extremely hung over to say the least and some cringe worthy flash backs we still had lots to see of Hanoi and had to push on through. The city is full of interesting historical cultural sights, where we visited a traditional house from the beginning of the 19^th century and Ho Chi Minh’s Presidential Palace area. Still struggling to walk around the streets we stopped for lunch and cakes at Cafe Smile which is a training school for disadvantaged kids.  Being a hangover day we had to eat more than usual and we called it a day early on but we still had a great time. 

Traditional 19th Century House



Me falling over outside Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum



Military March inside Ho Chi Minh's Presidential Palace Area

Smile Cafe served by disadvantaged street children

Our final night in Hanoi and we wouldn’t be returning to beer corner, settled for a lush dinner of stewed pork instead & Coca Cola the greatest hangover drink known to mankind.

With one more day left in Hanoi before the night bus back to Hue we used the time wisely and managed to return and visit the Vietnamese Woman’s Museum and the Historic Vestige Hoa Lo Prison which were two great sites to visit and both very interesting. 

The Historic Vestige Hoa Lo Prison

How prisoners were held back in the day

The dark, gloomy corridors make your hairs stand up

An escape tunnel used. I couldn't even fit my head through it!

Entrance to the Vietnamese Women's Museum

We wandered back to the Historic Old Town past St George's Cathedral to collect our things before heading off to Sinh Cafe for our night transit back to Hue City. 

St George's Cathedral

The Central Lake in the Old Town

Historic Gate through Hanoi's Old Quarter Wall

Hanoi was a fascinating place with such life on every street. Hundreds of vendors, shops, motorbikes and people going about their daily lives. There was a real buzz and energy to the place that was addictive and an intense experience.

Daily Street Vendor at Work

Old Propaganda Poster Shop

Streets lined with Scooters

The Orange Vespa is on my future shopping list! 

We were heading back to Hue in order to catch the 10 hour bus into South Laos. We thought this would be a better idea than the 35 hour bus journey from Hanoi to Vientiane.  We played cards on the street with some local lads before boarding our final sleeper bus in Vietnam.  As soon as we got on the bus we had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the greatest bus journey and we were right, we didn’t get much sleep let’s just say music on mobile phones should be banned especially if you don’t have head phones. 14 hours later we finally arrived back, near the Original Backpacker Street ‘get us off this bus’!

Already having purchased our tickets to get to Savannakhet in Laos we only had one day to wait. With nothing on the agenda we checked back into Ngoc Binh Hotel where the lady remembered us but looked confused, I don’t think many people return.  We spent the day online at Liberty Cafe and getting organised for our border crossing the following morning. 

Our final meal in Vietnam was an Indian at Omar Khayyan’s and it was just what we needed.  Some new flavours in the delicious curry enjoyed with fresh Nan and even a Chai, it took us back to the beginning of our trip. 

It was time for an early night after no sleep on the bus and an early start the following day.  Our great month in Vietnam was coming to an end.  Back for a second bite at Laos this time the South.