"Hanoi - You will Love it!" a Hanoi Travel Page by myspices

It was not my intention to do Hanoi in 2005. I did HCMCity in 2003. I was supposed to be doing Nepal/Tibet in 2005 but had to cancel it because my travelmates were uncomfortable with the political unrest in Nepal/Tibet. Well, here i am in Hanoi - but definately no regrets!

Details of Travel :- 15/10/05 to 29/10/05 (15days)
Places to Cover :- Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Babe, DongHoi, PhoungNga, Hue, Danang, Hoi-An
Travelmates : SP, Carrie, Harry and I

Itinerary of Travel
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Oct 15(Sat) - Arrival Hanoi NoiBai airport. Cab to OldQuarters for lodge. O/nite in Hanoi
Oct 16(Sun) - Depart for Halong Bay . O/nite in Halong.
Oct 17(Mon) - Halong Bay. Depart back to Hanoi. Night train to Sapa
Oct 18(Tue) - Sapa - Trekking to CatCat village. O/nite in Sapa
Oct 19(Wed) - Sapa - Trekking to Lao Chai/Ta Van village. Night train back to Hanoi.
Oct 20(Thu) - Babe. O/nite at Babe
Oct 21(Fri) - Babe. Back to Hanoi. O/nite in Hanoi
Oct 22(Sat) - Hanoi . Old Quarters walk. Night train to DongHoi
Oct 23(Sun) - Dong Hoi, Phuong Nga. O/nite in DongHoi
Oct 24(Mon) - Hue O/nite in Hue
Oct 25(Tue) - Hoi-An. O/nite in Hoi-An
Oct 26(Wed) - Hoi-an, Danang 15hours train ride back to Hanoi
Oct 27(Thu) - Hanoi. O/nite in Hanoi
Oct 28(Fri) - City Tour in Hanoi. O/nite in Hanoi
Oct 29(Sat) - Shopping in Hanoi. Flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

Must Do in Hanoi
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1. Old Quarters - be amazed at the various wares/trades in the maze of the quarters.
2. Hoan Kiem Lake (NgocSan temple) - serene place to be. See some daily activities around the lake.
3. City tour to cover Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, HCM Stilt house and Presidential Palace, HCM Museum, One Pillar Pagoda and Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - full of cultures of Vietnam's ethnic minorities and history
4. Watch a water puppets show - fun and entertaining.
5. Hang out in one of the coffee-shops - enjoy Vietnamese coffee and watch people along the streets.
6. Shop for art works, souveniers and fake watches - great bargains
5. Sample Vietnamese specialities :-
a) Beef noodles - hot soup with finely cut rice noodles and pieces of tender beef served with lots of fresh vegetables.. hmmmm...
b) Vietnamese rolls - rice paper wrapped with arrays of vegetables. Goes well with sourish sauce
c) Street foods like Nem Cua Be (spring rolls), Banh Cuon Nong (rice rolls with chopped dried radish).

Hope you will find Hanoi as lovely as you go through my Hanoi trip as much as i did :)

Walk around Old Quarters and you will find so many talented artists. Beautiful art pieces, whether it's an original or a copy - you will get a good bargain out of it. The orangish artpiece(at bottom right) with frame you see in my pic, costs USD20/- . Without frame - not much of a difference. Usually customers will get the framed ones as frames back home are quite costly. The only trouble with framed artpieces is when you check into the airport there is the danger of getting it damaged. You can then choose to unframed the artpiece , roll it up, carry as hand luggage.

As you travel along, be mindful of your surroundings. Look out for locals hanging out at a particular stall. Stopped just there. Pull a stool and have a seat. Eat among the locals. You will definately enjoy it. Don't worry about not speaking the lingo. Just point to the dishes that you see the locals are enjoying. Tell them the portion you want and you will be served. Watch how the locals eat the goodies and do likewise. Hmmm..... very delicious!