Welcome to the backpacking diaries, where I’ll be updating you weekly on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week thirteen of the travel diaries!
If you missed the first twelve weeks of backpacking diaries, you can catch up here.
Top tip: for mobile data around Asia, we used the Airalo eSim which was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we arrived in Vietnam!
Day 87: Monday 10th June 2024
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
It’s our first full day in Hanoi. After a great night’s sleep, we just wanted to chill out in a coffee shop and do some work, as I hadn’t been on my laptop in a few days.
I found a coffee shop to work in that was only a two minute walk from our hotel. Pleasantly surprised when we walked through the door.
It was like walking inside a library. One wall was lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling. With a ladder in front to reach the top shelves. There was a coffee counter on the right and above this, a mezzanine with small tables and chairs.
The lighting was very dark and moody, settling the perfect ambience for the bookshop cafe. Everyone was working on their laptops, so it was nice and quiet to get some work done.
We stayed here for a few hours as the WiFi was great and I was feeling rather productive.
For lunch, we headed to a famous pho cafe for some beef pho. It was the only thing they had on the menu, the place was packed and the portions were huge.
We went to try another coffee shop to work for the afternoon called Blackbird, but it was a very small location and it was packed with no seats available. We headed directly next door to a different coffee shop that had a free bench at the window.
Their WiFi was good, but their coffee not so much. We made the most of the WiFi and worked here until the evening with himself nipping off to grab a banh mhi in the afternoon.
For dinner, we headed to a spot called Pizza 4Ps which seems to be a large chain of restaurants here in Vietnam.
When I tell you this might just be my favourite meal we’ve had in Vietnam, I’m not kidding. I didn’t expect that it was going to be Italian food, but oh my word.
We shared some carbonara pasta and a margarita pizza. The pasta was incredibly creamy and cheesy and I don’t think I’ve had food that rich since we left home three months ago.
It was incredible, and I think we’ll have to go back here before we leave Vietnam next week.
Day 88: Tuesday 11th June 2024
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
We had our first Hanoi excursion this morning. I was working with Tour Scanner, who had arranged for me and himself to take part in a Vietnamese cooking class.
This was our first cooking class experience of our travels, as we’re hoping to look for one when we’re in north Thailand soon. Plus, when we go to Japan, a sushi-making class would be excellent.
The bus picked us up around 8.30am and took us and the others in the group to a local food market to collect some fresh ingredients. It was pure chaos, as expected but a fun experience to see the sellers haggling and shouting at each other.
After some strange smells, vegetables and fruit, we headed to the kitchen.
We cooked banana leaf salad, fried spring rolls and bun cha. It was really good fun, but was made even better by our tour guide Hazel who was hilarious. She played Taylor Swift for the first hour, but then let me switch it to One Direction for the next two hours.
It was fun to meet the others in the group too. We had a guy from the Wirral, a woman from the Philippines and family of four from Singapore.
When we got back to the city, we walked around for a while and visited the famous Note Coffee. The place is literally covered floor to ceiling in post-it notes with messages in every language, saying so many different things.
When we got back to the hotel, we saw a video on Instagram of Ha Giang, where we were due to go next week to do the loop. However, there was a landslide and buses, motorbikes and cars were being swept away by rushing water.
The post was a warning to anyone thinking of visiting Ha Giang anytime soon to maybe rethink their decision.
We decided then and there to cancel our trip to do the Ha Giang loop, since the ground won’t be stable and we’re only starting to come into the rainy season now.
So it looks like we’ll be spending an extra four days in Hanoi next week instead!
We were also due to take a 24 hour bus from Hanoi into Laos, but after reading so many horror stories and seeing awful videos on TikTok, himself decided that we’re going to fly instead.
So we have a relaxing week to look forward to in Hanoi next week, and a lovely flight into Laos instead of a 24 hour bus journey.
For dinner we headed to a noodles and dim sum place. The food was good, but the dim sum definitely wasn’t the best we’ve ever had.
We came back to the hotel and watched The Hangover II in bed, trying to spot if anywhere in Bangkok was familiar.
Day 89: Wednesday 12th June 2024
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
This morning was another exciting excursion. I was headed out to get my hair done in Vietnam. My greys were starting to show prominently since I last had my hair dyed in Phuket, Thailand. So it was time.
After some researching on Google, I came across a hairdressers that was a seven minute walk away from our hotel – perfect. The best thing about backpacking is being able to take any appointment at any time of the day, midweek.
I grabbed an iced coffee across from the hotel and made my way to the hairdressers. I’ve mentioned before how much I love bustling cities like Hanoi, and the city is so alive at all times of the day, but especially first thing in the morning.
I was enjoying the walk to the hairdressers, taking in all of the sights and sounds, especially the ladies on the sides of the road preparing food and selling things.
My hair appointment went smoothly and the greys were covered. I also had the best head, neck and shoulders massage of my life (well, it was my second ever massage, but still).
To get your hair washed, you lie down flat on your back, like on a massage bed, while she washes your hair over a sink at the bottom. It lasted about 25 minutes and was pure bliss.
To make things even better, the whole experience (dye, wash, massage and blow-dry) cost £25. You really can’t beat it.
Afterwards, I met himself in our usual coffee spot and worked on editing some YouTube videos. We actually sat up camp here all day, not leaving until 6pm.
For dinner, we headed to an American diner to have some burgers and chips. Since himself’s stomach still wasn’t feeling the best, we though it best to try some Western-style food.
Day 90: Thursday 13th June 2024
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
A chilled day in Hanoi. I woke up and jumped straight on the laptop this morning to record a voiceover for my YouTube video.
I’m still going through my backlog of YouTube footage, so just posted a tour of my London apartment and where I lived on London City Island.
If you’re nosy like me, you can check out where I lived for the past two and a half years below:
Himself grabbed me an iced coffee from across the street and left me to work for an hour or two while he headed to the coffee shop to secure some seats.
Around 11am, I walked to our now local coffee shop and worked here (took advantage of their WiFi to upload said YouTube video) until 4pm, having a sandwich for lunch.
We headed out for some fresh air but it was still incredibly hot. Too hot for my Irish skin. We ventured to the murals of Hanoi and walked past many food stands, one of which had barbecued dogs on display.
Yes, you read that right. There were more than a few dogs, sitting there ready to be eaten with their tails high in the air and the colour you’d expect to see a pig that’s been hog-roasted.
We very quickly felt sick, so headed back to our hotel to chill out in the air-con before we could even think about having dinner.
For dinner we headed back to the Indian we had been a few nights previous, simply for their chicken momos. Once again, delicious.
It was back to the hotel early so we could pack ahead of checking out in the morning and our overnight trip to Ha Long Bay!
Day 91: Friday 14th June 2024
Location: Hanoi & Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
We were up bright and early this morning for our pick-up to Ha Long Bay. The bus arrived at 8am, drove for a few hours and then transferred four of us onto another bus, before we were put onto a small ferry with a larger group of people.
We didn’t really know what to expect, other than the fact we would be spending a night on a cruise ship, courtesy of Get Your Guide. This was definitely up there with the private yacht in Dubai experience we were also kindly gifted by Get Your Guide.
We arrived to the cruise boat around 12.30pm and were welcomed by waving staff and ushered into the restaurant area. Checked in and handed our room keys, we dropped our bags and had a little tour of our cabin.
Our cabin was set up as a honeymoon suite with rose petals on the bed, a bath that looked out onto the water and a balcony. A gorgeous room to spend the night on the water!
We had a buffet lunch (that served excellent sushi) and then went back to the cabin to chill out. An hour or so later, we had sailed to a beach area and those who wanted to kayak and swim, could do so.
There was quite a large amount of plastic and rubbish in the water, so we chose to stay on board and explore the ship some more and take a bath. When the sun came out, we hopped up onto the top deck and I jumped on my laptop while himself opened the massive book he had taken travelling, for the first time. It’s been 91 days.
We then had a quick cooking demonstration by the chef of the ship, who showed us how to make spring rolls. We had another go ourselves at rolling these, but according to chef we were putting in too much filling. Call us hungry.
Dinner was eventful to say the least. We were treated to a five-course meal which was very tasty, but the night took a little turn at dessert.
After the main meal was cleared, the lights went off. The staff came out of the kitchen to Whitney Houston’s And I Will Always Love You. Parading around the buffet table in circles and swaying with their phone torches.
I had started recording, not knowing what on earth was going on but finding it funny. Then we saw two of the waiters were carrying cakes. And it clicked.
We were one of two couples on board, and we had booked a honeymoon room.
After their second lap of the buffet table, we were presented with a cake and candle and the waiting staff all surrounding our table in front of the whole restaurant. The cruise guide Dong was trying to get us to stand up and kiss. But we were having none of it.
It was hilarious, mortifying and incredibly sweet of them all at the same time.
Lesson learnt: maybe don’t always say it’s your honeymoon!
Day 92: Saturday 15th June 2024
Location: Ha Long Bay & Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
We were up bright and early again this morning after a lovely night’s sleep on the water. There was tai chi on the top deck at 6.30am, so of course we couldn’t miss this.
Even at that time it was super humid. But it was a cool experience to do tai chi for the first time in the middle of the water surrounded by other cruise boats.
Breakfast was served at 7am and was very tasty and filling. Afterwards, you had the option to go kayaking again. But we chilled in our room and read for a while, before having to check out at 9.30am.
Brunch was then served at 9.45am which again was super tasty and filling. We definitely didn’t go hungry at any time on the boat.
After this, it was time to leave the boat after an incredible night in Ha Long Bay and head back to Hanoi.
The drive back to the city took around four hours. And we dropped everyone off at their hotels, checking out different areas of Hanoi as we did so. Saving down coffee shops, bookshops and fashion shops that looked of interest.
I was excited to be back in Hanoi. Driving through the bustling streets, seeing the chaos and hectic traffic was making me happy to be back amongst it all. There’s so much life here.
We checked back into our hotel that we had been staying in the week before. Picked up our laundry that we had left with them, grabbed a coffee from TEDS across the street and chilled out.
For dinner, we finally headed to the famous bun cha restaurant that Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama ate at together. We even got to sit right next to the table itself, which they’ve put inside a glass case on display.
The food was really tasty and incredibly cheap, but it wasn’t that filling (probably more of a lunch dish). So we headed for a cheap McDonalds from the Savers menu and went to bed full.
Day 93: Sunday 16th June 2024
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Dear travel diary,
We headed back to our favourite coffee shop to get some work done: Tranquil Books & Coffee.
After spending a few hours here, we headed out for lunch at a Michelin-Guide spot called Don Duck. We both had duck pho along with some duck spring rolls.
And I must say, these were some of the tastiest spring rolls and pho we’ve had in Vietnam. If we have time, I’d definitely come back here. So, so delicious!
Afterwards, we eventually made it to Train Street. We’ve been in Hanoi quite a while now. But have been putting it off until we had a good time to go.
We ended up being too late as we were ushered into a cafe onto the first floor just as the train was approaching. So only caught it from the top. Meaning we had to come back again.
We headed to Blackbird coffeeshop to do some work for an hour before the next train was due to arrive. Blackbird is said to be one of the best places in Hanoi to work from. And we had tried to come here last week but it was full to the brim with no seats.
We managed to get a seat this time. But there were no plug sockets anywhere. And the seats were incredibly uncomfortable as the tables are very low.
They did serve some very tasty fresh juice, but we’ll be sticking with our favourite Tranquil from now on.
After this, it was back to train street to grab a good seat at the side of the tracks. It was quite a novelty to see the train so close, but I would say it’s worth doing. It’s full of tourists as you’d imagine, so definitely get there early to secure a seat.
Steff forgot to hit the record button on his phone. So we’ll have to go back a third time so he can capture the shot.
We were still quite full from our duck lunch. So grabbed some snacks from K Mart and had a night in the hotel instead. And caught up on Love Island.
Make sure to check back at the same time next week for the next instalment! We finish our time in Hanoi and in Vietnam and head to a brand new country!
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