On the final day of our family's trip to Hanoi, I realized I had come unprepared, without any expectations or prior research about this beautiful country. In hindsight, I should have taken a page from SP’s flipped learning approach and done some homework about Hanoi, Sapa, and Halong Bay. That way, I could have made better use of my time here and perhaps connected more with the locals. Who says what we learn in school cannot be applied in real life?
Fortunately, this Hanoi holiday is one of those rare trips where my parents engaged a tour agency. Despite not doing any "homework," I learned a lot about the culture and covered a lot of ground over the past week, thanks to our fantastic guides, Ms. Ying, Mr. Vincento, and Mr. Quan Pham, who showed incredible passion for their jobs as tour guides. I mooched off a lot of the information about the different attractions from them!
My overall observation of Hanoi is that it's a big place with many friendly and hardworking people. They have embraced tourism and collectively strive to make visitors like us feel welcome. While there are places with trash, the majority have been quite clean. Most public toilets I visited were incredibly clean, and during my visits to Trang An Grottoes and Halong Bay, I did not spot a single plastic bottle in the sea! Keeping these attractions clean adds to their allure and invites visitors to return.
Regarding accommodations, we stayed mainly in 4-star hotels and above. The review might be biased, but in terms of comfort and convenience, I'll let the photos of Hotel Rex (below) speak for themselves.
Wondering why I'm showcasing Hotel Rex so much? Perhaps it's because this quaint 4-star hotel symbolizes our trip in a nutshell. Instead of the usual Airbnb, my parents opted for comfort and convenience. While it's not the most expensive hotel, it's clean, safe, comfortable, has great customer service, and is conveniently located near amenities like cafes, pharmacies, eateries, and laundry shops (tip: use these inexpensive laundry shops so you don’t lug home a suitcase full of dirty clothes), etc. You pay for what you get, and Hotel Rex is in the sweet spot balancing cost and convenience.
My family paid a slight premium for good accommodation and dedicated guides to plan all our trips and meals. This not only saved time but also prevented arguments over what to do, where to go, and what to eat. Especially grateful for what this tour package did for my grandma, i.e. having alternative plans in places that were too difficult for her to navigate.
Thanks to this recent experience, my perspective on guided tours has changed; they're not so bad after all. It's money well spent when you factor in all the time saved, added safety, and convenience. Now, an internship with an overseas travel agency sounds kinda interesting… let's see what I can muster up… till my next holiday, see ya!
Chia Howie 16 December 2024
TLDR
If you are visiting Hanoi first time, don't understand the culture, don't speak their language, have either elderly or young kids, or just want a stress-free experience, please choose a recommended tour package.
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