Rating seem to show now we just need edits sorted and then we can all spend hours editing our old re...
Rating seem to show now we just need edits sorted and then we can all spend hours editing our old reviews so they look okay! Thanks Ciao
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Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam and is situated in the North of the country. We did a tour of Vietnam from North to south summer 2007 with a company I found on the internet. www.selectiveasia.com and I dealt with a man called Nick who was extremely helpful all along the decision making and booking process.
I organized my own flights to Bangkok then from Bangkok to Hanoi with an Asian airline again on the internet www.airasia.com but there may be others, it is worth searching around.
We arrived late in Hanoi and we met by our guide Thuy (pronounced two ee) who was a delightful young man about 24 years old. His parents were teachers and had lived through the Vietnam War, Thuy was too young to remember, he said. It was great to have a guide just for us as we were able to ask all kinds of quite personal questions which Thuy was very willing to answer We asked all kinds of questions about life since the war and how Vietnamese people feel about everything
that happened. They were amazingly philosophical about it all - it happened, it's over and now we need to move forward. Surprisingly the Northern Vietnamese were much more forward looking than those in the South who did mention the war quite a lot.
In Hanoi we stayed at the Melia Hotel (www.meliahanoi.com) which was very central and comfortable - excellent breakfasts (which is how my husband Kev measures hotel standards!) There was a swimming pool, sauna and steam room and a fitness centre but we did not use these as there was so much in the city to see and do.
We had a tour of the city and visited Ho Chi Minhs' house which is behind the Presidential Palace in Hanoi and is built in the traditional Vietnamese village style. It also has lots of grapefruit trees which were gifts from various dignitaries as Ho Chi Minh apparently loved grapefruit.
We saw but did not go into Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum as it was closed on the day we went. The queues to see it when open are extremely long and can be very hot as there is no shade, so be warned. The Temple of literature was built in 1070 and dedicated to Confucious. It was a place for higher learning in the Mandarin tradition literature famous men. It housed Vietnam's 1st University in 1076. It is a peaceful spot in the middle of busy Hanoi. It has an unusual way of displaying previous student's achievements on 82 stone diplomas on tortoises show the names and birthplaces of 1,306 students achieved their degrees here. It opens daily from 8am to 5pm and admission is 5000VND and an English guide is 3000VND.
A cyclo ride through old Hanoi is a must as you swerve in and out between cars, bikes and motor cycles. I admit I closed my eyes on as couple of occasions. It is important to negotiate your price before you start but remember how big we are and how hot it is when you say your price!! Around the Old Quarter it is usual to pay the cyclo driver around $2 to $3. They will accept US dollar or the Dong . The Old Quarter is a maze of about 36 streets, each named for the goods sold on it, shoes, silks, herbs & spices etc. Whilst in this area visit one of the "pho" (noodle) houses as the "pho" is extremely tasty, full of fresh veg and herbs - like no other Asian noodles in flavour. We decided to try "pho" at Little Hanoi (21 Hang Gai Street) in the old quarter recommended by SelectiveAsia.
In Old Hanoi we went to a wonderful Water puppet show at the Mua Roi Nuoc theatre at the northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake - a true delight. This website explains more of the history and details about the water puppet tradition. http://www.angelfire.com/co/hongnam/waterpuppet.html As part of our tour we were also treated to a lovely lunch at the Au Lac restaurant - An old French building with stunning food beautifully presented. http://www.vietnamtourism.com.vn/restaurant/Au_Lac_Restaurant The food in Vietnam is very special and we tried a lot. Thuy recommended the Wild lotus restaurant one evening which was very luxurious, beautiful surroundings and excellent meal. Again this site tells you more detail http://vietnamesegod.blogspot.com/2005/07/all-new-and-great.html
The traffic in Hanoi does take a little getting used to - looks like total chaos with bicycles, motorbikes and cars weaving between pedestrians but it seems to work most of the time!! The trick is to melt through the traffic making no sudden moves and certainly not stopping. We found one trick was to find a few locals and melt across with them!! I certainly would not want to drive in this city - still haven't worked out their rules about roundabouts, definitely not the same as ours.
Not sure whether I would go here as a family holiday but great for back packers and adults. Not sure about disabled facilities but they are very friendly and helpful generally and no many high rise buildings so probably okay. Can't say much about the night life as we didn't go to any club type places but the restaurants are excellent.
Pictures of Hanoi (Vietnam)
Ho Chi Minh's house.
In contrast to the elegant French colonial buildings around this is built in traditional village style.
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Aug 10th, 2008
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