HOSTEL LIFE IN HANOI

Abbie Smith
Nov 18, 2017
4 min read

Up until we got to Hanoi we had only stayed in hotels and guest houses, it hadn't worked out much more expensive there being two of us but we did want to try out hostel life to see what it was about. Two of our friends were joining us on a holiday in Hanoi but they didn't want to share rooms with other people so we booked 2 nights in a shared dorm then 2 nights in a private room at 'Vietnam backpackers' before we visited Ha Long Bay for Castaways (which deserves its own blog post).

We had been recommended Vietnam backpackers by a few people and online it had really good reviews; party vibes but after a sober week we were ready to meet more people and have some fun. We arrived at 10.30pm to the downtown hostel which legit felt like we were walking into a club. Everyone was on a completely different level to us so I would say if you're heading there head before the free beer hour that's 6-7pm!

We booked a double bed in a 6 bed dorm so full capacity there would of been 8 of us in the room, luckily no one was booked in the double below our bunk bed as I would of deffo stood on their head a few times getting down. As we arrived so late we had a few drinks and picked up two chicken baguettes (little did we know this would be first of many for 25k - 80p) and headed to bed without knowing who or how many people were in our room. During the night we learnt we had 4 other boys in our room - lucky me. It wasn't too bad but the worst thing about my hostel experience was a sleeptalker. The first night he screamed 'ME ME' and then the second night he sounded like he was possessed and then sounded like he was running lay down. Like I could not wait to get out of that room, after watching 'I kill in my sleep' anything sleep talk or walk I can't cope - everyone else in the room were lovely though! It is annoying not being able turn the light on in the morning as people legit slept in til 10 but I think we were just too polite. HOWEVER we did pay 5 dollars a night each so we can't complain too much. On our first morning in Hanoi we decided to go on the walking tour from the hostel - it was a great way to meet people and get our bearings of the city. We saw a temple, visited a local fabric market, tried egg coffee in a local coffee 'house' (made with egg white and oh em gee was divine) and tried 'Bun Cha'. Later that afternoon we went to the women's museum with a few people we met on the tour, it was 30k (£1) then we headed back to the hostel for an afternoon nap!

Drinks prices in Vietnam are so much cheaper than Thailand but I think that meant we didn't really watch what we were spending as much #budgetlifefail. Like if a drinks a £1 and I have 15 drinks that's our daily budget LOL. In the hostel (which is actually more pricey than other bars) it was 70k (£2.30) for a cocktail and 40k (£1.30) for a spirit and mixer. The day our friends arrived we went HARD so we did spend quite a lot in Hanoi. However nights in the hostel were SO much fun and really good value for accommodation. They had something different on every night (and drink deals) - my personal fave was quiz night, they need stronger wifi for it though.

Food in Hanoi was pretty cheap if you ate local - street food was between 25-40k (£1.00 ish). The hostel food is a little more pricey but their nachos are SO good. There is also a place called 'New Day' by the hostel for good, affordable food where you could sit with locals. The chicken kebab stall just outside the Vietnam backpackers was 30k (£1.00) for a kebab - SO SO good and just what you need to soak up the alcohol at the end of the night. If you want a great travel snap I would also say The Lantern lounge - the food was pretty well priced here and the upstairs is beautiful!

The second half of our stay in Hanoi we stayed in the Vietnam backpackers private rooms. They were much more expensive than dorms, understandably - around £35.00 a night. But you do get your own room, bathroom (which is massive and pretty sick), any breakfast menu option, I vote the hangover the pancakes are INSANE, towels, nicer linen, toiletries, water - this sounds so basic but it is below basic at most places. It's also on the 7th floor so you hear no noise from downstairs. Plus if you get #whitegirlwasted you can pass out next to the toilet. Speaking on behalf of a mate.