Hanoi Travel Journal
14 Apr 2024
Hello there ๐ ! I just came back from a short holiday to Hanoi and have been taking some time to sketch in my travel journal. It has been awhile since I last travelled (the last time was back in 2018 right before Covid hit), this trip was something that I looked forward to as since this was my first time visiting Vietnam. Iโve always wanted to start a travel journal and decided to buy a simple book to start my journaling this holiday.
My sketchbook spreads
I am using the Traveler's notebook (Watercolour Paper), and mostly used markers/highlighters + colour pencils for drawing. I was contemplating which sketchbook to buy and decided to get this instead. The papers are thick (great for heavy ink work) and I like the fact that there are only 24 pages in this book (which does not sound too intimidating for people who are fairly new to sketchbooking).
I brought my travel journal along with me during the trip but the truth is I did not manage to draw /sketch while I was there ๐คญ. I ended spending the next 2 weeks after coming back from my holiday to finish drawing what I did during my trip while browsing my photo gallery for references.
Anyway here are some photos from my trip (taken from my phone and film camera):
One thing that stood out to me when in Vietnam was their busy streets/roads ๐ธ. Crossing the road has never been such a challenge for me, but somehow I overcame that by watching how the locals do it ๐.
Day 1: Streets of Hanoi
People watching is something that Iโve enjoys doing whenever I am out and about. For me, I do find it nice to relive/revisit those moments again while looking back at the photos Iโve taken while working in my journal too.
Day 2 & 3: Trip to Sapa + Fansipan
The trip from Hanoi to Sapa took around 6 hours by bus, it was a long ride so I spent most of my time napping and looking at the views. The weather in Sapa was cooling and nice as itโs located closer up to the mountains.
Fortunately it wasnโt raining when we reached Sapa, we decided to head up to Fansipan (by cable car) to look at the view of the mountains. The weather here can be quite unpredictable during this period, thankfully the sky was quite clear when we reached and I managed to get some nice photos of the views.
Day 4 & 5: Day trip to Trang An & Mua Cave + Back to Hanoi
We planned a day trip out from Hanoi to visit Ninh Binh, Trang An & Mua Cave. Taking the boat ride in Trang An was probably the highlight of the trip for me, it is a scenic area filled with limestone mountains, valleys and caves.
Come to think of it, I did not take a lot of photos of the food I ate in Hanoi. The only proper photo of my meal I had was this Banh Mi that I ate at Banh Mi 25 on the last day of my trip.
Overall this was a lovely trip and I would definitely be back Vietnam again to explore more of their landscapes and nature! It was also nice to finish drawing on my very first travel sketchbook which serves as a great memento for me. :)