TOP ATTRACTIONS IN THE
CAPITAL Hanoi proved to be a great
first stop in Vietnam. Prior to traveling there, at least for this hack,
Vietnam still evoked ominous memories of the war, but now, after traveling
from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, I feel her people are simply trying to get on
with their lives, making ends meet and catering to a growing tourism industry. History
is still a part of Hanoi though, and several attractions reference the struggle,
but there is so much more to Hanoi. Thankfully many are free or are very cheap.
We arrived in Hanoi in
time for their Reunification Day, April 30th, the anniversary of the
final fall of Saigon in 1975, but apart from appropriately festive displays of the
Vietnamese flag hanging everywhere, from lampposts and buildings and stores,
people were enjoying a 5-day holiday. There were no thunderous Communist rallies
trumpeting their glorious win nearly 50 years ago.
Everything is cheap in
Vietnam. Currently one Dong will cost you $00.000039 USD. That translates to a
Bia Hoi or draft beer costing about 10,000 VND or less than $.50. Bia Hoi is a
draft beer made daily and served by any number of street vendors or restaurants
in the Old Quarter along or near Ta Hien Street, aka Beer Street. Other popular
beers in Hanoi are 333, Tiger, Hanoi Bia and Saigon, but be prepared to spend 40,000
VND in a restaurant for them. Do the math, it’s still cheap. Your Dong or VND
will go a long way in Vietnam. The difficulty is keeping track of the zeros on
the paper money.
WHO WANTS TO BE A
MILLIONAIRE?
Speaking of zeros, in
Vietnam there’s a lot of them. Standard amounts offered for withdrawals at an
ATM are around 1 to 2 MILLION VND. The bills come out in 500,000 notes, which
equals to less than $20 USD.
So, there’s not really
a worry about spending a lot of money, is there? Our 5-star hotel in the French
Quarter, the appropriately named May De Ville Trendy Hotel, was clean and
comfortable with a free, expansive breakfast and cost less than $75.00 per
night. While there we also got massages that together cost us 450,000 VND. That
rubbed me the right way.
Still, there’s plenty
to do and see for free. Here’s a quick listing of what we experienced in Hanoi.
HOAN KIEM LAKE
 |
| Hoan Kiem Lake |
Perhaps the most
popular activity for locals and tourists alike is Hoan Kiem Lake, a quiet place
in the middle of a busy Hanoi city. Edged by both the historical French and Old
Quarters, the lake offers a peaceful escape. On weekends the surrounding
streets are closed off to vehicular traffic and people enjoy the quiet.
Families and tourists flock here and in the early morning before the weather
heats up, it is a popular place for runners. In fact, the whole area is filled
with people exercising, or doing line dancing, or ballroom dancing or something
called laughing yoga. One morning, around 6 a.m., your hearty and hale travelers
ventured out and immersed and sweated with the locals who gleefully embraced our
appearance.
You don’t have to
exercise, but a visit to the lake is worth a visit. There is a tree lined walking
path and plenty of cafes. It is a chance to experience Hanoi culture for free.
At the north end of
Hoan Kiem Lake there is the Ngoc Son Buddhist Temple situated on an island.
There is a nominal fee to cross over the red Huc Bridge (The Morning Sunlight
Bridge) to visit the temple. Women need to have their shoulders covered and wraps
are provided for no charge.
On a small island at
the southern end of the lake is the Turtle Tower, a small pagoda. According to
legend the holy Hoan Kiem turtle gave Le Loi, a Vietnamese rebel leader, a magical
sword that gave him the power to gather his troops to fight against the Ming
dynasty and defeat them. After his success he returned the sword to the Hoan
Kiem turtle. There is a statue of Le Loi across the street from the lake.
Old Quarter and French Quarter
Exploring the chaotic Old
Quarter or the comparatively sedate French Quarter costs nothing, except for
the street food and beers you buy along the way. The Old Quarter consists of 36
streets north of Hoan Kiem Lake. Several of these streets specialize in certain
crafts, as in Ta Hien Street, where there are plenty of restaurants and beer and
food vendors. Some of the savory dishes waiting for you to try are spring rolls,
Pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup, or Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich in a baguette.
Other crafts found in
the Old Quarter include Hang Bac Street, specializing in gold and silver jewelry,
and Hang Bong Street, where quilts and blankets are sold.
The streets of the French
Quarter in Hanoi are wider, with plenty of 5-star hotels, like ours, the May De
Ville Trendy Hotel, expensive restaurants and coffee shops. Many buildings in
the quarter are from the French Colonial period and many are painted a butter-yellow,
or more precisely an Imperial yellow. Meant to symbolize royalty and superiority
reflecting the power of France throughout Indochina.
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| Presidential Palace Hanoi |
Several buildings of
note that are painted in this regal yellow are the Hanoi Opera House, the
Presidential Palace and fittingly the notorious Ha Lao Prison that was built in
the 1896. Now called the Maison Centrale and a tourist attraction brimming with
propaganda the prison was dubbed the Hanoi Hilton by the American POWs who were
held there.
The late Senator John
McCain was shot down while on a mission in 1967 and was a POW at the Hilton until
1973. There is a memorial to McCain on a somewhat busy road that skirts West
Lake where he was shot down. Our tour bus stopped so we could pay our respects. JOHN McCAIN MEMORIAL HANOI
The costs of the other
venues mentioned earlier are much cheaper. The Presidential Palace is on the
grounds of the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, both of which have a separate entry cost
for foreigners (approximately 40,000 VND). Ticket costs for the Opera vary
depending on the show and the Maison Centrale is 30,000 VND.
NOT EVERYTHING IS
FREE
It’s sad to say that
you will need to loosen your grip on your Dong at some point in your visit to
Hanoi. Here are a couple of things we did that did cost us some of our hard-earned
Dong:
The Women’s Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet –
cost: 30,000 VND
Houses a collection of
artifacts, traditional clothing, tools and crafts focusing on the woman’s role
in Vietnamese society. Especially riveting was the display about women combatants
during the “American War”.
Rose Kitchen cooking
class ROSE KITCHEN HANOI - cost $45.00 USD pp
We took this delightful
class our first full day in Hanoi. A van picks you up at the hotel and gathers
other participants before stopping at a local market to help buy the
ingredients. The cooking instructor/chef gave us VND and told us what to ask
for in Vietnamese thereby throwing us right into the culture. At the kitchen we
learned how to make banana flower salad, spring rolls and Pho. It was a
wonderful way to start our trip.
Water Puppet Theater – 57B Pr. Dinh Tien Hoang
– cost: $5.00 USD
This traditional artform
was started over 1,000 years ago in the Red River Delta and depicts different
aspects of Vietnamese village life. The whimsical scenes depicted include fishing,
unicorns, and a kid riding his water buffalo. The Thang Long Water Puppet
Theater is not far from Hoan Kiem Lake, but as part of our tour group we attended
a show at the puppeteer’s home in a small theater and got to see his craftsmanship
in creating the puppets up close.
Railroad Street
You don’t need to book
a tour to see this oddly perverse tourist attraction. One can simply show up to
the tracks that pass within inches of area establishments and watch massive
trains fill the narrow route, but we chose to go with an add-on tour with our Tour
company, Overseas Adventure Travel. For $70.00 pp we rode around Hanoi on Soviet-era
refurbished motorcycles that were driven by students hired for this excursion.
We drove through both quarters, passed Uncle Ho’s resting place, caromed along
dirt roads in the forests on the outskirts of Hanoi and barreled crazily
through dark alleyways before stopping at a café on Railroad Street. |
| Railroad Street Hanoi |
After the reunification
of the country Vietnam decided to reunite both halves by building a railroad
connecting the two. The tracks go right through neighborhoods and the trains
pass within inches of patrons willing to sit right at the edge. We had heard of
Railroad Street before we arrived in Vietnam, and it was a number one priority
for us. Going on the tour made it easier. All we had to was place a drink order…and
not stretch out our legs when the train approached.
Dinner was included
with this tour package.
The train is not just a
gimmick and one can ride the rails from Hanoi south. Here’s the website to book
your passage.
TRAIN TICKETS VIETNAM
Hanoi was a pleasant
surprise. My listing is just a very small list of activities available. Here’s
a list of attractions in the city:
HANOI ATTRACTIONS
Thanks for reading,
Love Janet and greg
© 2024 by Gregory Dunaj
