My Vietnam and Hanoi Guide
I started working in Vietnam
in 1999 and first lived in Hanoi
in 2001 while I was on a Fulbright. I lived there again for five months in
2002, 2003, and 2005 (while avoiding Pennsylvania
winters). When not living there, I visit several times a year to work with
colleagues at the Institute of Sociology and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
Several friends have visited me while I was living there, and several more have
visited Hanoi without me and have asked for suggestions on things to see and
do—so here are my recommendations. Keep in mind that things change quickly in Hanoi, so something
suggested below may no longer be there.
Resources Before You Go
- Get
your visa before arrival. It is very easy. You can print out the form from
the Vietnam Embassy web
site and then fill it out and FedEx the necessary materials to them.
Include a prepaid FedEx slip for them to send it back to you (that way you
will always be able to go on-line and track where your passport and visa
are) within a week.
- I have
a strong preference for Rough
Guides Vietnam guide (currently in its 5th edition) over Lonely
Planet. Another neat little guide for HCMC and Hanoi
is from an Asian company and is called Luxe City Guides based in Hong Kong. Their guides are short and to the point
and very well researched. They come out with a new edition every 6 months
so their suggestions are very current and focus on what is trendy. This
guide is not for those not watching their wallet. National Geographic
Traveler also came out with a Vietnam guidebook in Oct.
2006.
- For
general travel information on Vietnam
go to Vietnam Adventures,
also good is the Indochine Regional
Travel Guide, which includes Vietnam.
- If you
need a travel agent, I have used Exotissimo
Travel Services in Hanoi for several
years for travel in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia
and they are wonderful; fantastic services and great prices. Buffalo Tours is
also good for soft adventure travel, but I think overpriced. I also used EAisa Travel once and they
organized a terrific 4-day kayaking trip in Halong Bay
for a group of us.
- Travelers
checks are a hassle. Banks charge about 4% to cash them and hotels give
you a bad exchange rate. Credit cards are widely accepted in most shops
and restaurants and ATMs are plentiful in cities.
- The
New York Times travel section is enamored with Vietnam,
and come up with a new Vietnam
based article at least every 6 months. You can find all their articles on
their web site. Some good articles include: Past Lingers in Changing
Vietnam(8/28/2005), Going
to Ho Chi Minh City (4/24/2005), In Hanoi, Traffic and History
Hum (3/7/2004), At Ease in Vietnam, Asias New Culinary Star
(8/27/2003), Looking Up an Old Love on the Streets of Vietnam (8/13/2003),
On
Hanoi Menus, Spring Rolls and Profiteroles (4/28/2002), Hanoi,
Dining Evolution (2/5/2006), Hanoi:
Hanoi Hilton Opera (2/26/2006), Boomtown,
Vietnam (11/19/2006), The
Awakening of Hanoi (2/17/06), and 36
Hours in Ho Chi Minh City (12/21/08).
- Other
travel articles: Good
Afternoon Vietnam in Conde Nast Traveler April 2005; Return
to Da Lat in Smithsonian Magazine August 2005; Silk
Robes and Cell Phones in Smithsonian Magazine January 2002; Vietnam
Now in Smithsonian Magazine January 1996; Good
Morning, Vietnam in USA Today (12/19/2004), 48
Hours in Hanoi, the Best of a City in 2 Days in National Geographic
Traveler, The
Best of Vietnam from Travel and Leisure Feb. 2003, The
Flip Side of Vietnam in Travel and Leisure July 1998.
- If you
would like to do some reading before you arrive or during the long flight,
try: Andrew X Pham- Catfish and mandala: A two-wheeled voyage through the
landscape and memory of Vietnam, Duong Van Mai Elliott- The sacred willow:
Four generations in the life of a Vietnamese family; Robert Templer-
Shadows and wind: A view of modern Vietnam; Dana Sachs- A house on dream
street: Memoir of an American woman in Vietnam; Graham Greene- The quiet
American; Thu Huong Duong-Paradise of the blind: A novel.
When You Arrive
- Pick
up a copy of The Guide, a monthly publication with event listings. Most
upscale hotels will provide a copy in the room. Mainly covers HCMC and Hanoi.
- Make
an appointment for a massage at Qi
Salon and Spa (27 Ly Thuong Kiet; 824-4703), located close to the city
center. There is nothing like 20 min. in the steam room and an hour
massage to get you feeling relaxed after that long plane flight. Hanoi Spa (41 Tran Quoc Toan;
943-9789) is another central city option, and near West
Lake, very close to the Sheraton, is Zen Spa.
- Crossing
the street can be daunting. Just walk in and keep a steady pace and the
traffic will move around you. DO NOT suddenly dart for it. Keep a steady
pace.
- Hanoi is consistently ranked among the safest cities
in Asia. Use common sense and you wont
have any problem.
Places To Stay
- Do not
stay in West Lake (Tay Ho) but rather right in the heart of Hanoi, otherwise you
will spend too much time in a taxi and see the ever increasing traffic
problems.
- If
money is not a concern, go for the Sofitel
Metropole Hanoi as your first choice (wonderful historic hotel with a
fantastic location). Another good choice for the over $100 a night range
is the Hilton
Hanoi Opera (see review from New York Times above). At about $75 a
night, is the wonderful boutique Zephyr
Hotel just steps from Hoan
Kiem Lake.
At about $65 a night, the DeSyloia
is charming and has a very good restaurant. At about $45 a night the Church Hotel is a great value.
This is a very clean, comfortable hotel, high speed internet access in
your room, and a great location. Although they are very nice hotels, I
would avoid the Dawoo, Sheraton, and Sofitel West
Lake hotels due to
their out of the city location.
Places To Eat
- Vietnam
has terrific food and the restaurant scene has changed tremendously in the
past decade. There are great dining options from less than $1 to U.S. prices (See New York Times articles on
dining in Hanoi).
- If you
are visiting the Temple
of Literature, plan
to have lunch across the street at KOTO (Know One Teach One, 61 Van
Mieu), a wonderful little place that takes in street children and provides
them job training and education. Lunch is about $4 and includes Western
and Asian offerings. Their savory crepe filled with seafood and veggies in
my favorite.
- Another
good cause to spend your money on for either lunch or dinner is Hoa Sua. They take children from
highly disadvantaged backgrounds and teach them English and French and
train them for jobs in the restaurant and hotel tourist trade. Both
Vietnamese and French food is available. I like the snapper steamed in
banana leaves, and for dessert the profiteroles (pastry filled with
vanilla ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce) are outstanding. Your
waiter/waitress is a student, they are very eager but depending on what
point in their training they are in, not always good. Please be kind and
patient and repeat things slowly.
- Pho Ga (32 Le Van
Huu)- Famous for very good Hanoi
pho (chicken noodle soup), a bowl costs $0.43 and is a filling breakfast
or lunch. There are air conditioned rooms upstairs.
- Tandoor
(24 Hang Be) has good Indian food and their sister vegetarian restaurant
Dakshin (94 Hang Trong) are both very good. Excellent mango lassis. At
Tandoor I like their shrimp vindaloo and at Dakshin their dosas,
especially the masala dosa.
- For
upscale eating that combines terrific food with beautiful settings go to
Emperor (185 Le Thanh Tong), or Wild Rice (6 Ngo Thi Nham),
or Wild
Lotus (55A Nguyen Du) —good food and great settings in old French
villas. For the Emperor,
if the weather is not too cold or hot ask for a table on the second floor
patio overlooking the courtyard. At Wild Lotus I highly recommend starting
with the peanut encrusted shrimp with green mango salad or the tuna rolls
with wasabi sauce. The steamed Nha Trang sea bass is outstanding and for
dessert try the Vietnamese sticky rice with Thai custard and vanilla ice
cream. Another good choice is Nam Phuong (19 Phan Chu
Trinh). Restaurant Bobby Chin (1 Ba
Trieu) right across the street from Hoan Kiem lake is also good (more
fusion Asian than Asian) but does not have the atmosphere or Emperor or
Wild Lotus. My favorite used to be the Emperor, but now its Wild Lotus.
All these restaurants have been written up in the New York Times travel
section, and therefore are very popular with tour groups. Make a
reservation to avoid disappointment.
- Cafe
Moca (16 Nha Tho) has good inexpensive food and a more extensive coffee
list than Starbucks. Across the street the Paris Deli is very good and has
a nice balcony on the second floor with outdoor tables that makes a very
pleasant place to have a chocolate eclair and a lemon juice in nice
weather, especially if you have been shopping on the street below. Schools let out around 4:30 and this
little street will be filled with parents on motorbikes to pick up their
kids. The Paris Deli balcony gives
a great view of the scene below.
- Little
Hanoi (21
Hang Gai) is a good place for breakfast (excellent French toast) and
sandwiches.
Shopping
- The
fashionable place to shop in Hanoi
is Nha Tho street (Church
Street in English). This little street has
some really nice shops, including Mosaique (housewares), Song (resort
wear), Co (for tailoring), Marie Linh (high end womens fashions mainly in
linen) and LaCasa (housewares). The other major shopping street is Hang
Gai in the old quarter. On Hang Gai, I frequent Duc Loi (76 & 93 Hang
Gai) because they have always given me great service and good prices. They
have quick turn around when you want things made and its of high quality.
For childrens clothes, and bed and table linens, Tan My is very nice
(linens are upstairs).
- CoCoon
(30 Nha Chung)- clothes for both men and women, great designs that feature
very bold colors. One of my favorites and right around the corner from Nha
Tho St (when facing St. Josephs cathedral, turn left). Also on Nha Chung a
few doors down from CoCoon is Oriental House. For gifts to take home (silk
scarves, bags, ethnic minority products) the Wonder Shop (11 Nha Chung) is
good.
- Khai
Silk (several branches including one on Hang Gai- for both men and
women, high end silks, designs are more conservative than CoCoon.
- Vietnamese
House (92 Hang Bac)- absolutely beautiful stone carved boxes and vases
that are not like anything else you will see around Hanoi.
Great workmanship.
- Nguyen
Bao Nguyen (47 Hang Ngang)- Mr. Nguyen is a lovely gentleman who does
death portraits in pencil. He has branched out to other subjects now and
does amazing work. He did death portraits during the war as well, and
right outside his studio is a crawl space under the sidewalk for hiding
when the bombing started.
- Craftlink (43 Van Mieu)-
great place to spend your money on things to bring back. This is a
not-for-profit organization that provides new markets for traditional
craftspeople. All the profits are channeled back to villages. Right across
from the Temple
of Literature and a
few doors down from KOTO.
Things to Do
- Visit
the Temple
of Literature (Van
Mieu).
- Take a
walk around the old quarter and Hoan
Kiem Lake.
- Visit
the Vietnam Museum of
Ethnology- wonderful museum and definitely a must see if you will be
going to Sapa or other areas with ethnic minority groups (closed Mondays).
- Many
American tourists want to see the small lake in Hanoi that still has the American
aircraft sticking out of it from the war. This is located in a residential
section through a maze of narrow streets and is hard to find if you do not
speak Vietnamese. If you are intent on seeing this, hire a guide.
- If you
are an early riser take a walk around Hoan Kiem or Bay Mau lakes in the
morning to see how locals start their mornings. Badminton, tai chi and
stretching are everywhere.
- Water
puppetry is an ancient art form and its well worth a visit to Municipal
Water Puppet Theater (57B Dinh Tien Hoang) for a performance. Avoid the
first three rows so you will not get wet from the stagnant water.
- The
Opera House is a beautiful building build in 1911 with performances listed
in The Guide and Vietnam News (English newspaper).
- Definitely
go and see Uncle Ho (he travels to Russia in October and November
for retouching). For me, the value
of this is not to see Ho Chi Minh per se, but to view the reactions and
emotions of the Vietnamese around you as they see Uncle Ho. Watching a 70 year old woman and a 16
year old boy weep at the sight of him speaks volumes as to the place he
occupies in the hearts of the Vietnamese.
Outside Hanoi
- Outside
of Hanoi
there are several craft villages that are fun to visit. The most popular
is Bat Trang (pottery village). Van Phuc, about 12km southwest of Hanoi is a silk
weaving village since the 18th century, you will hear the
clatter of looms as soon as you approach. There are lots of shops and you
pay less here than waiting for the products to make it to Hang Gai street.
The small family factory will be in the back. Dong Ky
is a wood carving village.
- The
most popular side trips outside Hanoi
are to Sapa and Ha Long Bay. Both are well worth it. For Halong, stay
overnight on the boat to get the true experience. Hoang Hai is a company
that has tradition wooden junks that have been converted to luxury cabins,
two beds and a bathroom (6-8 cabins per boat). Fantastic seafood is served
for lunch and dinner while cruising the bay (contact Exotissimo to arrange
if you are interested). If you go in nice weather, take your swim suit.
When the boat drops anchor in a quiet cove for the evening, taking a swim
before dinner is very refreshing. There is a new company called Emeraude that has recreated a
paddle wheel ship that used to cruise the bay during French times (39
cabins). I have never gone with this company but they get good reviews.
- If you
are in Hanoi
soon after Tet (Vietnamese New Year), take a day trip to the Perfume
Pagoda. After about a 3 hour drive
from Hanoi
you will get into a small boat and be rowed down river to the base of the
mountain, with pagodas scattered throughout. The main pagoda is at the top. The beautiful scenery of the river, rice
paddies, and limestone outcroppings is worth the trip alone. Add to that the thousands of pilgrims
that flock to the site after Tet and it is definitely a sight to
behold. Any tour company in Hanoi can arrange a
trip; again, I recommend Exotissimo.
- For
the Sapa area, there is a new ecolodge that is really nice, Topas Ecolodge. The same
company (Danish and Vietnamese partnership) can arrange for trekking or
hiking trips in the area or visits to local markets. One of their rooms
was featured in Conde Nast Travelers Room with a View. The Victoria Hotel
is an upscale option in Sapa, and they have private train cars once used
on the Orient Express to get you there in style. For more on Sapa, see the article called
Village Life in Go World Travel.
- Hoi An
is also a great place to visit, about 30 min. south of DaNang, which is
about a 45 min plane flight from Hanoi. This ancient town, a UNESCO
cultural heritage site, is very well preserved. Stay about 5km out of town
and you can get a hotel right on the beach. Both Palm Gardens Beach Resort and
Victoria Hoi An are
beautiful 4 star beach properties. We thought the Palm Gardens
was fantastic-- large rooms with balconies (some with a great sea view),
wonderful staff, and for a resort, the food and beverages were fairly
priced (for ex., $1.50 for draft beer, $6 for a seafood pizza, $7 for
grilled snapper). Hoi An
Riverside Hotel is also nice- beautiful rooms on the 2nd
floor overlooking the river are spacious, well appointed and tranquil.
Rice and corn fields surround the river and sitting on the balcony and
watching the river and the villagers going to and from the fields is a
wonderful way to relax. A room from this hotel, overlooking the river and
fields, was featured in A Room with a View section of Conde Nast Traveler.
For those wanting more of a spa experience, or as they call it a wellness
resort, that is feng shui designed and offers tai chi, meditation, etc.
the Life Resort gets
raves (I have not stayed there). A nice half-day trip from Hoi An is to
visit the ancient Cham complex of My Son.
- In
DaNang, the Furuma Resort is
beautiful and right on what Americans refer to as China Beach.
Pay extra for a beach view (rather than garden view) room, its well worth
the money. Unfortunately, the restaurant food is really overpriced and
nothing great. Make the effort to walk down the beach to a local place
where you will get wonderful fresh seafood and your entire meal will cost
about what you would pay for a beer at Furuma. While in DaNang, the Cham Museum is well worth the visit.