Body of water: There’s nothing quite like relaxing by a lake to take the edge off a tough week. Photo courtesy of Andrew King, @an_kingphoto

By Alex Reeves - @afreeves23

After successive articles picking at facets of the ‘expat’ existence which, while amusing, are ultimately frustrating (I’m looking at you, new apartment hunt), I thought I’d take a week off. Not completely, of course. The column must go on, and “I need a break” will not exactly cut it with my editor. All things considered, nothing has particularly bothered me these last couple of weeks and I’m as happy as ever to call Hà Nội my home.

With that sentiment in mind, I began to wonder how exactly one does relax in a city under constant construction, a place that combines night-time antics with early risers amidst never-ending congestion. How do I even relax, for that matter? If I don’t have an easy answer in my thirties, is that a problem? The very thought was ruining my mood. I needed to take it easy, so I headed to the bia hơi and ruminated on the topic over a few cold ones. Ah.

Now, I can’t speak for everyone, but most would surely agree that Việt Nam’s bigger cities are lively places to be. There are always things to do should you be willing to go out and look for them. More specifically though, I settled on four regular antidotes that help me to forget about the pressures of work, the weight of the human condition, and the impending realities of late-stage capitalism: reading, eating, riding, and socialising.

Hà Nội is a city of a thousand cafes; you could make a list, visit a new one every day, and by the time you crossed off the last, a fresh batch would have opened. Sometimes a gamble pays off and you end up somewhere that wouldn’t look out of place in Melbourne or Paris. My current favourites are Kosmos and Tranquil. Perfect for grabbing a book and getting lost in it; males of the performative variety will find much to love here.

The city is also jam-packed with bars and restaurants. I have enough on my review list to keep me busy for a month of Sundays. With new ventures opening every week and different cuisines being explored, there’s no excuse to keep eating at the same old place. Eating out here is an affordable luxury, for now. Embrace it, these new businesses won’t succeed without your patronage.

If all else fails, take my usual advice and get out of town. Take a hike. Or, if like me that sounds like purgatory, a simple ride out of the city and into the countryside will do. If you don’t ride, find a lake. The city is full of them, and I’m yet to be convinced that any of life’s problems can’t be eased by pitching up next to a body of water with a few friends and putting the world to rights. Put down your work, your boss will understand. And if they don’t, send them this article and blame it on me. Cheers.