"In Hanoi with a Hanoian" a Hanoi Travel Page by airasia

Beginners to Vietnam as I know a few will plan to stop in Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh to get an overview of this beautiful country.

Hanoi lies in the north and HCN lies in the south. My first step in Vietnam is in the ground of French inspired Thang Long and also known as Hanoi.

I arrived in the late evening via Vietnam airlines. And my 1st scene was the notorious motorbikes whisking here & there while our shuttle van makes his way to the hotel via small lanes.

Hanoi population is less as compare to its southern counterpart and is more cultural. It is a great place to explore on foot as there is quite a bit to see and do here. Just too bad the 2nd day of our trip, we were taken away early in the morning to head to Halong Bay.

Hanoi is somewhat slow paced city and not as vibrant as HCM but it has its own charm . It has an abundance of French architecture in the streets which is not given a facelift due to modernisation.

Hanoi is on the rise of changing and like some other developing nation this good & old fashioned city will be transformed in line with Indochina growth in order to survived, the least to say. Let’s hope it remembers to retain Hanoi image as some of us has seen before.