Hai Phong
(In the Best Way)
Real talk from November 2024 · 6 days · ~$540 · infinite mistakes
📋 Jump to ... or just scroll, I don't judge
How I ended up in Hai Phong
Honestly? I only came 'cause I found a $65 round-trip from Kuala Lumpur to Cat Bi airport on some sketchy airline I swore I'd never fly again. November in Vietnam – I didn't even pack right. I thought I'd hate it. Hai Phong? I barely knew it existed. Everyone does Hanoi, HCMC, maybe Da Nang. But a friend's cousin (who's a bartender in Hai Phong, weirdly) said, “you wanna see real northern Vietnam? skip the tourist trail, come here.” So I did.
Stepped out of Cat Bi at 9:47pm. First thing: the humidity doesn't care it's autumn. It hit me like a wet blanket. But the smell – not the diesel you expect – it smelled like the sea, but also like someone was grilling lemongrass pork just outside the terminal. And this crazy quiet. Cat Bi is tiny. No chaos like Noi Bai. I stood there for 5 minutes watching a woman sweep leaves with a bamboo broom. I was like, okay, this is different.
Anyway. The ride from the airport – we took the Nguyen Binh Khiem bridge, and I saw the lights of cargo ships gliding on the Cam River, totally silent. That's when something clicked. This city isn't trying to impress you. It's just... itself. My hotel was on Lach Tray street, and at 11pm there were still old men playing Chinese chess on the curb under a flickering fluorescent light. I knew I'd screw up a lot this trip. But I was also pretty sure I'd love it.
The neighborhoods: real talk
📍 FAVORITE: HOANG VAN THU – I could write a whole dang novel about this street. It's not in any guidebook. It's this long, winding artery near the city center, and at 8am it's all women with conical hats selling mangosteens and dragon fruit from baskets on bicycles. At 8pm it transforms: little plastic stools everywhere, bia hơi joints, and this one lady who only sells grilled squid with this insane tamarind-chili dip. I went there three nights in a row. Also there's a tiny café, number 43, no sign, run by a 70-year-old guy who roasts his own robusta in a cast-iron pan out back. He doesn't speak English. I pointed, he nodded, I got the best egg coffee of my life. Cost: 15,000 VND. I almost cried.
Le Chan district – the area around Tam Bac Lake. I mean, it's fine. Sorta residential, a bit sleepy. But the lake at 4:30pm? The light turns everything honey-gold, and there's this one graffiti tag – a blue phoenix – that I kept seeing everywhere, like a weird omen. I walked from the lake to the old market, and that's where I got scammed (more later). But there's a killer bún chả place on Pham Ngu Lao that made up for it.
Cau Rao area – right by the train tracks. This is where I stumbled upon at 11pm 'cause I got lost. Honestly magical. Narrow alleys, everyone eating chè (sweet soup) out of styrofoam bowls, motorbikes somehow weaving through. The vibe at 8pm vs 8am is completely opposite: mornings it's all hurried coffee and banh mi wraps; nights it's slow, loud, laughter. There's a lady there – Ms. Huong – who sells chè bưởi (pomelo sweet soup) for 10k. I became addicted. She called me “con gái” after the third visit. Yeah, I teared up a little.
Food That Made Me Emotional
Okay. I'm not a food blogger, I just eat a lot. But Hai Phong ruined me for phở elsewhere.
🔥 BÁNH ĐA CUA at Quán Bà Lùn, 116 Dinh Tien Hoang. I still think about this soup. It's not photogenic – it's this murky, brick-red broth with crab, fatty pork, and those thick, chewy red noodles (bánh đa). I slurped it at 7am in a light drizzle, sitting on a stool so small my knees were at chin level. The old lady across from me – she was eating the same thing, with a raw egg cracked in. I pointed, she smiled toothlessly, and the owner just did it. 35,000 dong. The broth tasted like the sea and the swamp and 50 years of refinement. I texted my mom: “I think I found my last meal.”
The disappointing meal. I had heard about “seafood on Cat Ba” obviously. But the tourist strip there? I paid 450k for a grilled squid that was chewy and a crab that was oversteamed. Should have gone to the local market instead. Look, maybe it was just a bad day, but I felt like such a mark.
Hangover cure? Didn't drink much, but one night I overdid the bia hơi on Hoang Van Thu. Next morning I crawled to a street cart on Tran Phu, got a bowl of cháo trai (rice porridge with baby clams). It was warm, gingery, with those little chewy clams. Added a sprinkle of quẩy (fried dough). 20k. Fixed me in 10 minutes.
Local thing I was scared of: tiết canh (blood pudding). Saw a guy eating it at a market. He offered me a spoon. I panicked and said “Ớt? ớt?” and he laughed. I didn't try it. Maybe next time. Or never. I'm weak.
💰 Expensive mistake: I walked into a “garden restaurant” near Do Son because it looked pretty. Tourist menu, no prices. I had a mediocre fish and a beer. Bill: 780k. That's like, 5 days of street food budget. Ugh.
Tourist Stuff vs. What Actually Ruled
Opera House: It's pretty. It's French. I took a photo. You don't need more than 10 minutes.
Queen of the Rosary Cathedral: Okay, this one got me. I walked in during evening mass (accidentally, I just liked the light). The stained glass, the old pews, and the smell of incense mixed with street food from outside. Sat there for 30 mins, didn't understand a word but felt something. Not religious but. Yeah.
Hang Kenh Carpentry Village: This is legit. Old men carving wood with tools older than my grandparents. I bought a tiny wooden turtle for 80k. Probably overpaid but the guy spent 15 minutes showing me his technique. I didn't have the heart to bargain.
What my Airbnb host recommended: “Take the ferry to Cat Ba but don't stay in the town. Rent a motorbike, go to Viet Hai village.” Best advice. I didn't even know Viet Hai existed. It's this remote commune in the middle of Cat Ba National Park. I rode there thru the jungle, no cell service, and ate lunch at a local homestay – grilled fish with lemongrass, and these wild greens I still can't identify. 75k. Absolute highlight.
FOUND BY ACCIDENT Tam Bac Lake at 5:47pm. I was walking to a bus stop, got turned around, and the sunset turned the water into liquid amber. This old guy was fishing with a bamboo pole. No tourists. Just the sound of his line and distant motorbikes. That beat every “attraction”.
Getting around: What Google Maps won't tell you
So, the bus system. It exists. But the numbers mean nothing? I swear. I waited at a stop on Cau Dat for Bus 7, which Google said goes to the ferry terminal. Three buses passed, all with the number 7, all went different directions. I flagged one, driver shook his head, waved me off. Eventually a local lady (bless her) gestured that I needed the “blue 7” not the “green 7”. SAME NUMBER. I gave up and took a Grab. 78k.
Ticket machine that ate my money – at the Cat Ba ferry terminal. Not even a machine, a lady with a tablet. I handed her 200k for two tickets (should be 160k). She gave me back 10k and started talking to the next person. I was too shy to argue. I just paid the 40k “confused tourist tax”.
Hack I learned day 4: Xe ôm (motorbike taxis) on Grab are cheap, but if you hail one on the street, they'll try to quote 3x. Just say “em biết giá rồi” (I know the price) and name your price. I got a 5km ride for 25k after the guy started at 70k.
Walking is better, but ... sidewalks are basically parking lots. You walk in the street, with the motorbikes. It's chaos but you get used to it. I actually loved it after a while.
Where I Stayed: The Good, Bad, and Weird
Mango Homestay, 45/12 Lach Tray. Booked it kinda randomly on Agoda for $22/night. The photos made it look sterile but it was the opposite: old colonial tile floors, a tiny balcony overlooking a banyan tree, and this persistent smell of jasmine incense.
THE SHOWER – glorified hand-held bidet over a drain. Water pressure was a suggestion. But it got hot, which in November's damp chill was all I needed.
THE NOISE – OMG. Lach Tray is busy. From 6am, motorbikes and that specific Vietnamese tinny loudspeaker from a shop selling... something. I didn't sleep past 6:30 any day. But also, that forced me out of bed and into the coffee shops. So. Trade-off.
THE WEIRD – my host, Mr. Lợi, had a pet tortoise that just roamed the courtyard. His name was Binh. Binh ate hibiscus flowers. I fed him one. Mr. Lợi laughed so hard he almost fell over. “Binh like you,” he said. That made my whole stay.
Price I paid: $132 for 6 nights. Worth it? Absolutely. The balcony, the tortoise, the neighborhood. I'd stay there again even if the shower was sad.
The Thing That Surprised Me
How quiet the mornings are. I know, I just complained about noise. But there's this hour – 5am to 6am – when the city is foggy and the boats on the Cam River just... drift. No horns. No engines. I sat on a concrete block near the canal and watched a family load water spinach onto a boat. Nobody spoke. It felt like a secret.
Also: I expected to feel like an outsider (I mean, I am). But people weren't trying to sell me something every two seconds. In Hanoi, I always felt like a walking ATM. Here, I was just ... some weird foreigner walking slowly. The lady at the bánh đa cua stall didn't treat me special. She yelled at me for not eating fast enough. I loved that.
And the graffiti phoenix? I saw it again on the last day, on a shutter in the old quarter. I took it as a sign that I'd be back.
Money: What I Actually Spent
Look, I tracked every single đồng because I'm paranoid. Here's the real breakdown – no rounding, no vague ranges.
I definitely could have spent less if I didn't get scammed twice. But also, I splurged on that 450k seafood disappointment and a massage I didn't need. Savings? Drink bia hơi instead of bottled beer – 8k vs 25k. And eat where the plastic stools are.
Mistakes I Made So You Don't Have To
- I packed a heavy jacket. November in Hai Phong is 24°C and humid. I brought a denim jacket I never wore. It took half my suitcase. You just need a light long-sleeve for the ferry wind.
- Thought I could use credit card everywhere. Ha. The museum tried but the machine was “broken”. The carpentry village? Cash only. I had to run to an ATM and paid $4 fee. Bring at least 2 million dong in cash.
- Cat Ba on Saturday. HUGE mistake. The ferry lines were insane, everyone from Hanoi weekend-tripping. I waited 90 minutes. GO ON A WEEKDAY.
- I didn't learn enough Vietnamese. I knew “xin chào” and “cảm ơn”. By day 3 I learned “ngon quá!” (so delicious!) and it changed everything. Vendors smiled, gave me extra herbs. Even “tôi muốn mua” – I want to buy – helped me not get ripped off.
How It Actually Went: Day by Day
Monday: Landed late, overpaid taxi, passed out. That's it.
Tuesday: Meant to go to Do Son beach (🤮) but slept through alarm – woke up at 10am. So instead I wandered Hoang Van Thu, discovered bánh đa cua lady, ate twice. Afternoon: opera house, got scammed by cyclo. Evening: Mr. Lợi showed me how to feed Binh the tortoise. Felt blessed.
Wednesday: Originally planned Navy Museum. Instead, took a random bus (#7 green? blue? still not sure) and ended up in Hang Kenh. Watched woodcarvers. Bought turtle. Ate chè bưởi from Ms. Huong. She called me “con”. I almost cried.
Thursday – Cat Ba disaster/revelation: Woke up at 5am to catch early ferry. Got to Ben Binh at 6:30. Lines already long. Waited. On ferry, realized I forgot my power bank. On Cat Ba, rented motorbike from a guy named Tony – 150k/day, no deposit, just a photo of my passport. Rode to Viet Hai, got lost, ended up on a dirt road through the jungle. No phone signal. Saw a macaque. Ate at a homestay run by a grandma who didn't speak, just fed me. I stayed 3 hours. Missed the last ferry back? Actually I didn't miss it, I just didn't wanna leave. Stayed overnight on Cat Ba (last minute homestay, 350k).
Friday: Exhausted, hungover from bia hơi, took it slow. Ate cháo trai, napped, walked Tam Bac Lake at golden hour. That graffiti phoenix.
Saturday: Ferry back to Hai Phong. Ate nem cua bể with the lady who yelled at me (affectionate). Bought coffee beans from the old roaster. Packed. Sat on balcony listening to traffic. Didn't want to leave.
Practical Stuff (Without the Boring Lists)
That almost-scam I avoided: Day 2, a guy on a motorbike near the night market said “museum closed, I take you to nice pagoda, special price.” I remembered a blog that warned about the “temple scam” – they take you to some cooperative where they pressure you to buy overpriced incense. I said “không, cảm ơn” and walked into a convenience store. He waited 2 minutes then left.
Health thing: I have a sensitive stomach. I was terrified of getting sick. Ate street food every day, no issues. But I drank only bottled water, and peeled fruit. Also brought electrolyte powder – saved me after that sweaty Cat Ba ride.
What song was playing everywhere? There was this one Vietnamese pop song – I Shazamed it, “Không Thể Say” by H’Bơng? It was on every taxi radio, every coffee shop. Now I hear it and I'm instantly back on Lach Tray. Weird how that works.
What I wish I'd packed: Earplugs (for the 6am speakers), a second cotton dress (humidity, y'all), and a smaller power bank. Also more room in my stomach.
INSIDE JOKE: My friend Jen texted me “did you eat something with a face?” I sent her a photo of Binh the tortoise. She said “that's a pet, not food”. I told Mr. Lợi. He laughed for a week.
Anyway. I didn't plan to write this much. I just – Hai Phong got under my skin. It's not perfect, it's not polished, it's not trying to be your favorite city. But it kinda became mine.
Still have questions? or just wanna talk about crab soup?
Drop a comment below – I read every single one and I'll try to help if I can. Even if you just need Binh the tortoise's fan club info.
Last updated: November 2024 · Spotted a typo? there are definitely typos, but it adds character.
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