I have been asked to go and sort out issues with our off-shore development team and this means spending anything up to 3 months in Hanoi.
I did have to laugh to myself when in the meeting as ‘oh shit, what about my training’ was the first thing that sprang to mind. Not the missus or the cats.
Anyway, not even sure where I will be staying as yet, so might get lucky with a decent hotel with pool/gym. If that doesn’t happen, I am going to have to find a way of keeping running and swimming at least.
Anyone have any experience in this part of the world?
I’ve spent a bit of time there. Many of the big hotels have good pools & gyms. If you aren’t staying at one of these most of them also sell guest memberships by the day, week or month. Depending on where you end up there is some good running (all very flat). Around Hoa Kiem and West lake’s are great places to run early. Along the river is another great place to run.
If you’re taking a bike, there’s excellent riding around Sapa, including some decent climbs. Its a longish train trip from Hanoi though, so best for a long weekend.
I am hoping that I can convince them to pay to ship at least the mountain bike over there. I am not sure I would take the race bike, but something would be better than nothing.
You can buy a so-so MTB for very cheap in Hanoi. There are lots of shops in the area around Hoa Kiem lake that sell bikes. Bring your own helmet, shoes & peddles.
You can ride on the levee roads along the river, head out of town and the small villages along the river are pretty awesome.
i was there jan 1971-jan 1972 with the 1st/327th infantry 101st airborne…swam at eagle beach a few times and china beach in danang once…didn’t do any biking…ran from rocket and mortar shelling…walked a hell of a lot…hot and humid…monsoon season really sucked…
We were there the same time. I was at Phu Bai with the 138th Avn Radio Research Grp (Army Security Agency). Didn’t you just love the sound of incoming rockets and don’t even get me started about the great Army chow.
i remember phu bai…right outside of camp eagle…spent my time patrolling the rocket belt outside of hue and firing mortars…firebases birmingham, bastogne, the eagles nest…pulled security on a firebase (forgot the name) by the ashau valley during lam song 719…what a cluster f#@* for the arvn’s…worst time was when chinook went down coming back from danang in nov. '71…over 30 killed…think about that occasionally as i was assigned to Alpha company for a while and knew some of the guys killed…training for tri’s much easier than a year in viet nam even at our “advanced” age!!
wow, interesting. All you guise were there in the early 70s. That’s when I got drafted too. Unusual nobody there in the 60s. The thing about the early 70s, there’d been a big draw down. Same number of casualties but much fewer troops. I’m skeered we’re gonna go that route in Afghanistan.
But anyway, back to the OP.
Vietnam is still a communist country and very different from anywhere else. I go to SEA an average of once a year. I’ve never been to Hanoi par se, but I know it’s very up and coming. Fashionistas go there etc. Airfare is cheap. You can fly to Laos for a weekend of Mountain Biking for a relative song.
There are no or almost no, traffic lights. Motor scooters in town fill the roads. Running or cycling during rush hour might be more dangerous than combat BITD. I went to Phu Quoc (island) and that’s another story. The cars are so dilapitated they can’t do over 5 mph.
That said, getting up at the crack of dawn and going for a run there, is a nearly magical experience. Only the shopkeepers and the farmers will be up. It will be quiet and peaceful. You can have a great workout. Know how to deal with dogs before running anywhere in Asia.
Edit: So should also consult the Lonely Planet Travel Forum for any travel realted beta
I was in Ho Chi Mihn city for about a week. Very different from north Vietnam. People are awesome and love Americans.
Regarding training, not sure how you like heat and humidity but VN is the most god aweful weather I’ve ever experienced. I live in Texas and its just plain miserable over there.
I’m too young. I missed that one. My war was in the early 90s. A buddy of mine was there at the same time you guys were. He did several tours. Huey crew chief. He had fun from what I can tell. He was on Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253.
