It’s official, I have a love affair with Vietnam. We first met here in Ho Chi Minh , but I fell passionately in love in Hanoi and Sapa over Christmas and New Year.
Dust of your sneakers or flip flops and get walking. The best of Hanoi can be experienced on foot – soak up the street activity, stop for a coffee or a restorative bite to eat, duck into random alleyways… You never know what you’ll find! We stayed for five days and Hanoi got better and better.
One of the most interesting streets we stumbled upon was dedicated entirely to motor spare parts. Each store seemed to specialize in one particular part – seatbelts, mirrors, suspension…
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| Headstone engraving by hand |
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| Cyclos ready and waiting |
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| Soliders taking time out |
One of the most interesting streets we stumbled upon was dedicated entirely to motor spare parts. Each store seemed to specialize in one particular part – seatbelts, mirrors, suspension…
Do
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Palace and Museum Complex
To get into the Mausoleum line up two-by-two: no hands in pockets, no arms crossed, no talking, no hats, no smiling and no stopping. Ho is heavily guarded by four armed guards and a thick layer of bullet proof glass. Honestly, he looks like a tiny wax doll, probably due to the embalming and maintenance process. Walk through the grounds of the palace (you can’t go inside) and head to the museum. The lower level of the museum is dedicated to the history of Ho, and the upper level is an odd combination of cubist art (think cars half sticking out of walls at eye level) and historical conceptual installations from Vietnamese students and artists. You’ll shuffle passed the One-Pillar Pagoda - don’t expect much.
Dedicated to the minority tribes of Vietnam, the museum is a reasonable hike out of Hanoi center (~45 mins by car), but is well worth the effort. Employ a guide for inside the museum (we had so many questions) and don’t let them rush you through. Then spend some time wandering through the grounds, which are fabulous. The museum invited each of the minority tribes to build their traditional buildings in the grounds and you can wander through/up/down/in and out as a brilliant complement to the displays inside the museum. The most impressive for me was the rong communial house – built 20 meters high so it is easily found in the forest.
Many of these minority tribes are in danger of dying out completely and as Vietnam becomes more urban the language, customs, traditional dress and much more are slowing fading.
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| Communal 'rong' building |
The museum looked so deserted that we thought it had permanently shut down (they were having an extended lunch). The signposting here is terrible, so make sure your driver/taxi knows exactly where he’s going. Don’t look at a single exhibit until you’ve seen the amazing display presentation upstairs. It takes you through the history of the war and highlights trails/regions on a room-length installation dotted with LEDs right in front of you. Armed with this fresh perspective, you can better appreciate the museum.
Old Quarter
Spend hours wandering around the streets of the Old Quarter. The people-watching is incredible and I challenge you to try to count the various things you’ll see being transported by bicycle or motorbike. Here’s my (by no means exhaustive) list: five dining chairs, a full length mirror, crates of Hanoi beer, four 44-gallon drums, gas cylinders, kitchen cabinets, 2m tall purple tree, a family of five. Hiring a motorbike is not really that scary though, just use a scarf to cover your mouth and nose.
If you have a bit more time up your sleeve head towards the river (you’ll need to cross the main road) into a decidedly non-touristy area. Twist and turn amongst the alleyways, keep your eyes and ears peeled for motorbikes and peak through open doors to glimpse briefly into Vietnamese family life.
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| Street barber |
Built in 1076, the Temple of Literature is a Confucian sanctuary of calm in the middle of buzzing Hanoi. As it houses Vietnam’s first university, it’s considered one of Hanoi’s most significant cultural sites and is incredibly peaceful. Definitely worth a visit.
Eat
Vietnamese food would have a good nudge at poll position in the race for my favourite food. I love the freshness, the vegetables, the sauces – there’s a lot to love and Vietnamese food loves your hips as well (by and large).
For a full account of my Vietnamese culinary adventure, read my post on Vietnamese Street Food (here). I created it separately because I honestly didn’t think I could do justice to my favourite topic in a short space as part of this post, but couldn’t bring myself to cut certain things out – it would be like trying to choose your favourite child.
For a full account of my Vietnamese culinary adventure, read my post on Vietnamese Street Food (here). I created it separately because I honestly didn’t think I could do justice to my favourite topic in a short space as part of this post, but couldn’t bring myself to cut certain things out – it would be like trying to choose your favourite child.
But, I will say it again, do your stomach a favour and skip the hotel breakfasts. Lower your butt street-side onto those rickety-looking plastic stools and get slurping, chomping and sipping.
Stay
Anywhere you stay in Hanoi you will need earplugs – seriously, don’t forget them. Hanoi wakes up early!
HongNgoc 1 – Dong and his team are brilliant, rooms are large and clean, hot showers have good pressure. Be prepared to walk up the stairs though, there aren’t any elevators.
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