We had one warm day in Hanoi, then the cloud and drizzle arrived.

We arrived in Hanoi very early one morning at the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. As it was dead quiet, we got a super-cheap Grab to our hostel (which had a 24 hour reception). On the way we passed a lake near our accommodation where there were many people exercising in the cool before dawn.

It’s usually good to get up early if you want to escape the heat. However, we needn’t have worried, as after one sweltering day of sheltering from the sun (between museums) it disappeared for a week.

While the rain was a bit annoying, it was a refreshing change to have temperatures below 20C. It meant less worrying about staying cool or getting burned.

The dark cloud and mild drizzle reminded us of home, which is ironic as the UK was having an unseasonably mild February. I hope that record-breaking weather becoming routine isn’t an indication of the looming climate meltdown.

There are currently three climates in Vietnam, as it is such a long country. In the South they have two seasons, hot and hotter. In the central region they have a wet and dry season, whereas in the North they have four seasons and we are still coming out of winter into spring.

It can get quite cold in the North in winter, so pack warm clothes. While 20C at home is taps aff beach weather, in Vietnam it’s time to get the down jackets out.

Little Matters

Another little downer was our hostel (Little Charm). This was perfectly pleasant and the facilities were excellent but their business model appears to work on high volume and getting you on the extras.

For example, drinking water is provided free at breakfast but you are not allowed to take this away or fill a bottle and have to buy one from them. So simply go to a restaurant in the area that offers free filtered water, which cuts down on plastic waste too.

We also booked some excursions through the hostel, which were oddly priced in USD (this should have been a red flag). After a $50 discount that I’m sure they offer everyone, they tried to screw us over on the exchange rate. Then lots of little things weren’t as expected and needed to be refunded after querying them.

On their own each of these could have been an honest mistake but put together it felt a bit dishonest. I prefer my deals to be transparent. Just reduce the discount and be open about the costs.