Hanoi Off The Beaten Path Tips by bpacker Top 5 Page for this destination

Hanoi:Temple of Literature Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

Look out for the 82 stone plaques placed on tortoise shells if you're in the Temple of Literature. Some of these structures are more than 500 years old and they bear the names of some really smart people who managed to scrape through the Emperor's gruelling examinations. Yes, you'll find the names of 1,306 PHD students written in classical Chinese there..

Ever notice each tortoise bears different 'facial' features?

Hanoi:Temple of Literature Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

Ever wondered why you see cranes on the back of the tortoises in Vietnamese temples? Well, these animals carry a silent message as the tortoise is believed to live ten thousand years, and the crane one thousand years; and they're seen mostly in temples dedicated to Confucius, emperors and local spirits.

Two animals mouth a silent message: May you be remembered for one thousand years, and may your cult endure for ten thousand years.

Where:Nguyen Thai Hoc

Hanoi:Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology houses an excellent outdoor reconstruction of ethnic houses.

Ever noticed the blatant sexual figures on the Tai funenary house?

Where:Nguyen v.Huyen Road 191/20/10 Nghia Do, Can Ciay Hanoi,

Hanoi:Museum of Ethnology, Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has an excellent outdoor section where ethnic tribal houses can be seen and explored. Take note of some kooky details if you're there.

Yin and Yang staircases at the foot of the Tay Longhouse.

Where: Nguyen v.Huyen Road, 191/20/10 Nghia Do, Can Ciay

Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

Down in Ba Dinh square, where Ho Chi Minh used to chair national meetings lies a massive Mausoleum housing the dead body of Vietnam's most beloved leader and cadres of soldiers.

Goose-stepping soldiers clad in green march across the immaculate lawns of the Mausoleum

Where:Ba Dinh square

Hanoi: One Pillar Pagoda Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

All over the world, you'll find a pair of stone lions guarding the entrance of any Chinese temple.

A stone lion stands, busy preventing the entry of evil but unable to prevent a flock of devotees from crowding the temple

Where:Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District

Strange Menus in Hanoi Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

Take a double-look at the menus in local restaurants in Hanoi. You'll find choices that are simply out of this world but normal to a Hanoian.

Fried Snake Pie or Beef Testicles Stewed with Duck? Baffling Choices on a Menu.

Where:216 Pho Tran Quang Khai, HoanKiem District

Ha Long Bay: Ratten Boats Out of Hanoi-Halong Bay Review

You'll see countless of these little ratten boats once you're in halong bay. Lightweight and strangely sea-worthy, this boats can carry up to three locals at once.

A man paddles on a boat woven like a basket, slowly and silently across the green waters

Where:Somewhere in the depths of Ha Long Bay

Hanoi, Old Quarters: Traditional Bamboo Masks Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

The Vietnamese make their masks out of traditional materials like bamboo and coconut leaves. Used in the local traditional theatre, each mask express a different character and emotion.

Every kind of emotion can be found on the faces of traditional theatre.

Where:Hang Can Street

Hanoi : Shops, Old Quarters Miscellaneous in Hanoi Review

Note:Go to Hanoi while you can, modernization is creeping in, slowly but surely, even in the Old Quarters.

Sex sells everything.

Where: Old Quarters, Hang Ca