Arrived at Ben Xe My Dinh bus terminal at about 8:30am after a nine hours journey from Vinh.Do avoid drinking too much water before travelling at night as there won't be any toilet break unless someone in the bus requested and you have to do it beside the roadside.
The long distance bus stopped inside a depot just across the terminal which is opposite Toyota My Dinh Showroom.
There are four long-distance bus stations in Hanoi, all located a few kilometres from the centre of the city.
Giap Bat bus station, on Giai Phong to the south of town, serves most places to the south, while Gia Lam bus station, to the southeast of the centre, serves destinations to the northeast such as Ha Long City, Haiphong and Lang Son.
Luong Yen bus station, just southeast of the city centre, serves routes north to Ha Giang and Cao Bang, as well as Cat Ba Island on the edge of Ha Long Bay.
Finally, the newest is My Dinh, located about 10kms west of the centre, which also serves several destinations in the north.
While the majority of new arrivals in Hanoi choose to do so by plane, landing at Noi Bai Airport about 35km north of the city, it is also worth considering arriving by train, as in this way you can get a good look at the surrounding countryside of the Red River Valley as you pull in to the city.
Ben Xe Khach My Dinh bus terminal is located at Pham Hung Road.
This is a very new and modern transport hub located quite near to Vietnam National University.(about 4km).
Outside the terminal were lots of xe om (pronounced as "say om") or motor taxi but Vietnamese meaning means "hug the driver"
Trying to catch a local Hanoi bus is quite problematic at this main terminal during rush hour because the moment the buses arrived,loads of passengers will be scrambling into the bus and was packed within minutes.
Feeling undecided while hanging around here for quite sometime,I thereby approached a Vietnamese student for direction but was told that Hanoi is a very big city and quite tedious to walk .
She offered me a mint candy sweet and was very kind in her hospitality greeting me with 'Welcome to Hanoi'.
This really brightens up my day. It was about 9:30am when a xe om rider came zooming on me and offered a ride for 70,000 Dong compared to a local bus ride that cost 3,500Dong.
Feeling exhausted due to lack of sleep from overnight travel,I did not make any bargain but just followed him with a helmet on.
Bus Routes from Ben Xe Kach My Dinh to:
Yen Bai :every half hour from 06:30 - 17:00hr
Forestry and farming are the main economic activities of Yen Bai.
Located in the northern part of Vietnam. Railway line passing through here acts as the main freight corridor to China.
Located about 183km from Hanoi.
Phu Tho :every half hour from 06:00 - 16:30hr 80km from Hanoi in North eastern region with Viet Tri city as the provincial capital.
The birthplace of the Vietnamese race and famous for the Hung Pagoda Festival.
Da Chong : 06:30,07:00,08:30,10:00,12:00 and 15:00
Lao Cai and Sapa : 04:30 and 05:00hr
The most famous mountain peak of Vietnam located at an altitude of 3,143m above sea-level. Next door is China's Yunnan Province.Amazing mountains rich in flora and fauna with the various ethnic communities.
Ha Giang : 04:00,04:30,05:00 and 05:45hr The poorest province of Vietnam in the northeastern part.
Plums,peaches,persimmons and tea cultivation are the main livelihood of the people.
Lang Son :every half hour from 06:00 till 16:30hr
Bordering Cao Bang Province in the North,Sung Ta Province (China) in the northeast,Bac Giang Province in the south,Quang Ninh Province to the east,Bak Kan Province to the west and Thai Nguyen Province to the southwest. Two International Border Gates: Dong Dang and Huu Nghi.
Dien Bien :04:00 and 05:00hr. Province in northwestern Vietnam,Dien means solid while Bien means frontiers.
Bai Chay Beach and Halong Bay :every half hour from 07:00 till 17:00hr
Halong Bay is a magnifient scenic spot in the Quang Ninh Province.Bai Tu Long and Cat Ba Islands are two UNESCO World Heritage sites and one of the world's 7 Natural Wonders.
Hoa Binh :every half hour from 07:00 till 17:00hr Rich natural and cultural heritage famous for ecotourism,only 82km from Hanoi. There are more than 50 ethnic tourism hamlets within Hoa Binh.
Ninh Binh :09:40hr Located at the southern end of the Red River Delta.95km from Hanoi.November to April dry season best time to visit.A very great place to visit for culural explorers. Very attractive sites with many palaces,pagodas,tombs of past dynasties and beautiful karsts mountains.
Sometimes xe om rider don't even know guesthouses names and to find Luong Ngoc Quyen he also has problem figuring out the exact location.
Initially he brought me to the five star Hotel Metropole,an elegant French colonial building which is along Ngo Quyen.
That's beyond my budget as a backpacker. After asking around from his fellow friends,he managed to turn into this side road and Hanoi Youth Hostel signboard caught my attention.
What a relief after circling all over the Old Quarters area trying to locate the guesthouse.
This is a eight person mixed dormitory with aircondition for USD5 per night.
Shower with hotwater bathroom outside. Individual locker corresponding to bed number given.
Checking in the early part of the day has many beds available but not later in the afternoon.
My new found roomates included two Chinese students from mainland China who were attending private colleges and a Japanese boy from Tokyo all of whom were long stay guest.
Veteran traveller Larry Egan from Canada who was here nearly a week occupied adjacent lower bed.
Larry despite his age was very adventurous having travelled nearly half of the globe alone.
Map of Old Quarters in Hanoi. Why is this part of Hanoi called Old Quarters?
In the early days this area was very swampy with lots of snakes and alligators.
No wonder there were so many lakes like Ho Hoan Kiem,Ho Tay(West Lake),Thien Hung near train terminal,Thien Quang lake and Bay Mau lake in Hai Ba Trung District and many others.
The Song River(Red River) that flows through the city has the Long Bien Bridge with railway lines connecting to the other side of the districts.
Underneath Long Bien Bridge were cluster of villages made up of houses on stilts, and was unified by Chinese administrators who built ramparts around their headquarters.
The area was named "Dominated Annam" or "Protected South" by the Chinese. “Old Quarter” or “36 Old Streets” (as consisting of 36 member streets) has specialized type of businesses so they were named after that particular nature of business like Pho Hang Bun (Vermicelli), Pho Hang Ma (Paper Product), Pho Hang Bac (Silver), etc. are examples of the streets carrying the name of the products sold there.
“Phố” means a street or a place for merchants to gather to do business, while “Phường”, a district or a guild of artisans specializing in a particular trade (phuong cheo, phuong tho, etc.).
Hang Gai Street offers silk clothing ready-made and tailored, embroidery, and silver products.
Hang Quat, the street that formerly sold silk and feather fans, now stuns the visitor by its brilliantly colored funeral and festival flags and religious objects and clothing.
To Tich Street connects the above two and is still the wood turner's street.
Hang Ma glimmers with shiny paper products, such as gift wrappings, wedding decorations and miniature paper objects to burn for the dead.
Lan Ong Street is a sensual delight of textures and smells emanating from the sacks of herbal medicinal products: leaves, roots, barks, and powders, etc.
Coming here, you may feel as if you were in a classical-styled area in terms of both architecture and product types!
Although many of the streets no longer sell the products after which they were named, some still do.
Today, the Old Quarter has become the unique classical feature of Hanoi, and the inspiration of numerous writers, poets, and painters, and one of the desired tourist destinations in Hanoi.
Inside a modern and dynamic city, there appears an antique quarter, the Hanoi’s Old Quarter – the represented eternal soul of the city.
These days, most Vietnamese and Westerners are familiar with the phrase “Hà Nội – Ba mươi sáu phố phường” (translated as “Ha Noi – 36 districts” or “Hanoi – 36 Old Streets”), or “Phố cổ Hà Nội” (translated as “Hanoi’s Old Quarter”).
Thanh Long-the City of Ascending Dragons.
It would be a big surprise should you know that Hanoi's Old Quarter came into being at the time King Ly Thai To selected Thang Long as the country’s capital in 1010, that is, the streets have a nearly 1,000-year old history and became crowded and lively in the 15th century.
What makes them unique is that many of them remain in their very ancient architecture of the 15th century. Up to now, it has been the oldest continuously developed area of Vietnam.
Entrance arch to one Chinese Guild Association.
Bach Ma Chinese Temple along Hang Buom Street at the corner road junction.
Hang Buom Street runs east-west and cuts with Hang Duong and Ma May at two ends.
Hang Buom means Store of Sails,the street used to sell mattress and bags made from hemp whose materials were delivered by Chinese boats passing by.
There still remain a few shops on the left from the temple that were doing wholesale while further up on the right were shops dealing with confectionaries.
Nice cosy restaurant in a Chinese settings.
Tuoi Tho food outlet popular among the Hanoians during lunch hour.
Colonial style residential house.
Bus stop at the mainroad (Tran Quang Khai) near guesthouse. Bus number and the respective routes were displayed.
BX stands for Ben Xe or bus terminal.
Confidently I should say that if you're a newbie in Hanoi and wish to head for Old Quarters area,just hop into any of the noted buses without fear so long as you get ready with the 5,000 Dong fares for travel within city area.
Bus Routes:
03: BX Giap Bat - BX Gia Lam
11: Cu Thong Nhat - DH Nong Ngep 1
18: Kim Ma - Long Bien - Kim Ma
23: Nguyen Cong Tru -Van Ho - Nguyen Cong Tru
34: BX My Dinh -BX Gia Lam
40: Cu Thong Nhat - Nhu Quynt
14: Co Nhue - Bo Ho
22: Vien 103 -BX
Gia Lam Hanoi local buses have three main colours namely red,white stripes and yellow. Bus number is red in a white circle.
The price of ticket varies depending on distances possibly between 5,000 to 10,000 Dong. Bus #09 to Hoan Khiem Lake Bus #33 or #02 to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
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