Day 1 - The Old Quarter
Walking around Hanoi is similar to walking around Bangkok – you don’t know where to look first. You need to have every sense working overtime to keep up with its pace. The noise of the traffic, the smells from the foodstalls and the constant view of people and moving frantically around you will do nothing else but astound you upon touching down for the very first time.
The best known area of the city among travellers is the city’s Old Quarter, an area divided up into 36 different streets. In the 13th Century when the area established, each street designated to one of the 36 trades practised in the city. Some of these streets include Bat Dan meaning wooden bowls, Gia Ngu which means fishermen, and Hang Trong which stands for drum. Today there are over 50 streets in the area.
The Old Quarter is where everything is situated – it is where the majority of hostels are, as well as a vast selection of cafés and restaurants serving tasty cheap food. Due to the high number of tourists which descend upon this area there are stalls selling anything and everything and all this comes together to make the Old Quarter a melting pot of life.
Walking around Hanoi is similar to walking around Bangkok – you don’t know where to look first. You need to have every sense working overtime to keep up with its pace. The noise of the traffic, the smells from the foodstalls and the constant view of people and moving frantically around you will do nothing else but astound you upon touching down for the very first time.
The best known area of the city among travellers is the city’s Old Quarter, an area divided up into 36 different streets. In the 13th Century when the area established, each street designated to one of the 36 trades practised in the city. Some of these streets include Bat Dan meaning wooden bowls, Gia Ngu which means fishermen, and Hang Trong which stands for drum. Today there are over 50 streets in the area.
The Old Quarter is where everything is situated – it is where the majority of hostels are, as well as a vast selection of cafés and restaurants serving tasty cheap food. Due to the high number of tourists which descend upon this area there are stalls selling anything and everything and all this comes together to make the Old Quarter a melting pot of life.
Day 2 - The city of lakes
There aren’t many cities in the world that have as many lakes as Hanoi does. Walking around the different parts of the city you find you are never far from one. Hoan Kiem Lake can be found right in the centre of the Old Quarter. There is something fascinating about walking from some of the busiest streets in South East Asia to stumble across a wide open lake.
West of the old city is possibly the city’s number one attraction (with Vietnamese tourists anyway), the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, just south of Ho Tay (West Lake). This chamber is where the body of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of the independent republic of North Vietnam, has been laid to rest. Seeing his body is, as you would expect a somewhat sombre experience but it is still quite unique and shouldn’t be missed when in the Vietnamese capital.
Built on a huge complex, beside the mausoleum is the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is dedicated to his life. There are wide open parks here also in this traffic free area making it that more pleasant to visit than other parts of the city.On the southern banks of the West Lake are some of the city’s top restaurants. This doesn’t mean that you will pay gastronomical prices. It just means you will get some top quality food at a price far, far cheaper than in the western world.
If you are the type of traveller who is always looking for new experiences that you will find nowhere else other than in the country you are visiting, try and visit Pho Nghi Tram. This street 10 kilometres north of the city centre has a strip of dog-meat restaurants, something which you don’t find every day.
Day 3 - Vietnam's ancient capital
While Hanoi has only been the capital of Vietnam since 1945, 95 kilometres south of the city is Hoa Lu. This ancient city was the capital of Vietnam from 968-980 under the Dinh dynasty and then until 1009 under the Le Dynasty.Hoa Lu’s two foremost points of interest are the two temples there – Dinh Tien Hoan and Le Dai Hanh.
Both are two commemorate the two dynasties which ruled there in the past. At the front of the first temple is a statue of Emperor Dinh Tien and the second is quite different with a collection of weapons, candles and more artefacts.
From Hoa Lu you are brought to Tam Coc. Meaning ‘Three Caves’, the scenery around here is awe inspiring and it is how it became known as ‘Halong Bay without the water’. You can watch the locals row their boats down the river here before visiting the caves.Organised tours visiting these sites depart from Hanoi around 7.30am on most mornings and return at 5.30pm that evening.
A type of puppetry which originated in Northern Vietnam is water puppetry. Hanoi is the best place to see this ancient art is in the Municipal Water Puppet Theatre in the Old Quarter. Two performances take place in this theatre on the north eastern shores of Hoan Kiem Lake and is an absolute must for any visit to Hanoi, the city where the artform originated.
There aren’t many cities in the world that have as many lakes as Hanoi does. Walking around the different parts of the city you find you are never far from one. Hoan Kiem Lake can be found right in the centre of the Old Quarter. There is something fascinating about walking from some of the busiest streets in South East Asia to stumble across a wide open lake.
West of the old city is possibly the city’s number one attraction (with Vietnamese tourists anyway), the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, just south of Ho Tay (West Lake). This chamber is where the body of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of the independent republic of North Vietnam, has been laid to rest. Seeing his body is, as you would expect a somewhat sombre experience but it is still quite unique and shouldn’t be missed when in the Vietnamese capital.
Built on a huge complex, beside the mausoleum is the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is dedicated to his life. There are wide open parks here also in this traffic free area making it that more pleasant to visit than other parts of the city.On the southern banks of the West Lake are some of the city’s top restaurants. This doesn’t mean that you will pay gastronomical prices. It just means you will get some top quality food at a price far, far cheaper than in the western world.
If you are the type of traveller who is always looking for new experiences that you will find nowhere else other than in the country you are visiting, try and visit Pho Nghi Tram. This street 10 kilometres north of the city centre has a strip of dog-meat restaurants, something which you don’t find every day.
Day 3 - Vietnam's ancient capital
While Hanoi has only been the capital of Vietnam since 1945, 95 kilometres south of the city is Hoa Lu. This ancient city was the capital of Vietnam from 968-980 under the Dinh dynasty and then until 1009 under the Le Dynasty.Hoa Lu’s two foremost points of interest are the two temples there – Dinh Tien Hoan and Le Dai Hanh.
Both are two commemorate the two dynasties which ruled there in the past. At the front of the first temple is a statue of Emperor Dinh Tien and the second is quite different with a collection of weapons, candles and more artefacts.
From Hoa Lu you are brought to Tam Coc. Meaning ‘Three Caves’, the scenery around here is awe inspiring and it is how it became known as ‘Halong Bay without the water’. You can watch the locals row their boats down the river here before visiting the caves.Organised tours visiting these sites depart from Hanoi around 7.30am on most mornings and return at 5.30pm that evening.
A type of puppetry which originated in Northern Vietnam is water puppetry. Hanoi is the best place to see this ancient art is in the Municipal Water Puppet Theatre in the Old Quarter. Two performances take place in this theatre on the north eastern shores of Hoan Kiem Lake and is an absolute must for any visit to Hanoi, the city where the artform originated.
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