Hanoi,
the capital of Vietnam, is also its second largest city. Unlike its larger cousin, Ho Chi Minh City,
Hanoi seems to be more in touch with its roots and exhibits a more intimate
appeal. Amidst its cultural and historic
background, Hanoi seems to be slowly and grudgingly modernizing. The streets hum, with drones of motorcycles
whizzing through, while between them the buildings still show the historic past
of colonization; a charming blend of East and West.
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| Flag tower in the Imperial City |
Hanoi’s
city center, known as Hoan Kiem District, is the focus of tourism in this
fascinating city. It is here that the
majority of hotels and hostels, tour agencies, and night life happen. The area is easily referenced by the lake it
draws its name from, Hoan Kiem Lake; which lies between the endlessly diverting
streets of the Old Quarter to its north, and the fig tree lined streets of the
French Quarter to its south. To the
west, just over the railroad tracks, are the imposing monuments and temples
that make up the area around the old Imperial City.
What to Do
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| Dong Xuan Market in the Old Quarter |
Planning
for your first day in Hanoi can be challenging.
Hanoi is best known for its Old Quarter, with its bustling streets and
night life, but you also have the museums of the French Quarter and all of the
monuments, temples, and museums coupled around Ba Dinh Square to the west. Add all of this together and it’s easy to see
how tricky your planning can be. Out
side of all of this there are also the many day trips and excursions you can
take out of Hanoi.
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| A couple of guys playing badminton on the sidewalk of Hanoi |
Hanoi
is one of my favorite cities in Vietnam, so I recommend spending a day or two
there at least. That being said, you can
easily see most of everything in a day (albeit a busy day). Here is my itinerary for one day of
sightseeing in Hanoi.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
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| Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum |
Sightseeing
on your first day in Hanoi should start with a visit to see Ho Chi Minh
himself. After his death, and apparently
against his wishes for a simple burial, he was preserved and entombed in an
imposing mausoleum. Once you make it
through the line it is a quick walk through the mausoleum, past his body, and
out the other side. There are no
pictures allowed inside so you will be asked to check any camera gear at the
guard house. There is also no talking,
stopping, wearing of hats, or putting your hands in your pockets while
inside. The mausoleum has guards who
strictly enforce the rules. The
Mausoleum is open only in the mornings, from 7:30 to 10:30 in the Summer and
8:00 to 11:00 in the Winter. There is often a large crowd and the line can seem
endless (we had to walk around the block till we found the end of the line), so
arrive early. There is no entry fee for
this.
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| President's Palace |
You
will exit into Ba Dinh Square where you see, but cannot enter, the Presidential
Palace. You can also enter to see Ho Chi
Minh’s house behind the Palace (this is 40,000 VND/1.77 USD).
One Pillar Pagoda
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| One Pillar Pagoda |
Behind
the Mausoleum, or near the exit from Ho Chi Minh’s house, is the One Pillar
Pagoda. Known as one of Vietnam’s most
Iconic temples, it stands upon one stone pillar and was built to look like a lotus
flower blooming from a square pond. It was
first built in 1049 by Emperor Ly Thai Tong. It was later destroyed during the retreat of
the French in 1954 and rebuilt by the new government.
Imperial City
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| Southern gate of the Imperial City |
Just 1.5
blocks from Ba Dinh Square is the Imperial City. Once the home of the king’s palace, it now rests
as a view into part of Vietnam’s ancient and modern history. Now saved as a UNESCO World Heritage site,
visitors can tour the grounds for only 30,000 VND/1.32 USD. While inside you can tour the flag tower,
southern gate, princess’ palace, a museum exhibiting artifacts from an ongoing archeological
dig on the premises, and a museum within the Vietnam War Era command center and
tunnels.
Hoa Lo Prison Museum
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| Hoa Lo Prison |
From
the Imperial City it is only about a 20-minute walk to the French Quarter where
you can visit the Hoa Lo Museum. The prison
was used first used by the French to house Vietnamese political prisoners. These prisoners would later become future
leading figures in the Vietnamese Communist Party. During the Vietnam War, the prison was used
to house American prisoners of war; most notably, John McCain. The entrance fee to the prison is 30,000
VND/1.32 USD.
Old Quarter Tour
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| One of the many restaurants in the Old Quarter that have rice beer |
Once
you have finished with the Prison Museum, it is now time to make your way back
to the Old Quarter just a few blocks away.
Once there you can either make your way through the different streets
yourself our follow the path laid out below.
In olden days each street in this quarter sold a different type of item
(i.e. silk, jewelry, flowers, ext.) as attested by the current street
names. Today, many of these same streets
have not changed much in their merchandise and you can easily walk down each of
them and view their wares. While you are
at it, there are some great sites to view along the way, like St. Joseph’s Cathedral,
the eastern gateway, and Đồng Xuân Market (where you can find some great food
and some of the best rice beer in town).
Water Puppet Show
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| Water Puppet Show |
Ending your tour of the Old
Quarter drops you off at Hoan Kiem Lake; right where you need to be for the next
stop on this Hanoi tour. At the northeastern
end of the lake you can find the theater for the Water Puppet Show. The entrance fee is only 100,000 VND/4.38 USD
and it’s worth seeing once. Although I
can’t say that it is an amazing show, it is worth seeing to take in a little
bit of the culture.
Blind Massage
After a long day of walking
around town and seeing the sights there is nothing better than getting a
massage to loosen the strain of the day.
For this I can think of no better place in Hanoi than the blind massages
at Omamori Spa. Located at the northern
edge of the Old Quarter, about 20 minutes north of Hoan Kiem Lake, it well
worth the time to get there. Omamori
provides employment and training for the blind and visually impaired in the
area. The masseuse there know what they
are doing and find all of those spots you didn’t even know were hurting,
leaving you a renewed person. They offer
a few different options, but I recommend the Omamori massage (250,000 VND/10.96
USD).
Night Life in the Old Quarter
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| Beef Pho on the streets of the Old Quarter |
Now
that you have relaxed your muscles from the days travels, it’s time to take a
load off back in the Old Quarter. The
Old Quarter is the hub for hotels and hostels in Hanoi and there is no other
place in town with a nightlife scene like it.
As night falls over the quarter, stalls pop up along the streets sides
selling both food and drink. It is here
that you can also try Vietnam’s infamous rice beer. Many of the vendors, hotels, and hostels
along these windy roads sell this cold brew for a ridiculously low price.
How to Get Around
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| Streets of the Old Quarter |
Hanoi
is a fairly compact town and the sights above can easily be walked between with
no more than a 20-minute walk at the longest.
If walking isn’t your thing, or you don’t have the time for it, you can
always take a taxi, motorcycle taxi, rent a motorcycle, or take the public
bus.
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| My Dinh bus station |
The
first two of course can be found on the street.
There is also Grab in Hanoi (the cheaper version of Uber) so you can
always download their app and take one of them.
It should be noted that, unlike Uber, Grab service is usually paid for
with cash. If you are brave enough to
rent a moto for the crazy streets of Hanoi, then your hotel/hostel should be
able to set that up for you. The best
and by far the cheapest of these options is the public bus. The bus system is fast and very reliable in
Hanoi. I suggest downloading the Tim Buýt App for the public bus system. It’s a great
App and also allows you to track how far your bus is from you (note: it only
works for buses in the Hanoi Provence).
How to Get There
Hanoi
remains less popular than Ho Chi Minh City as a starting point for touring
Vietnam, even though the north has a lot of great tourist sites to offer travelers. If you decide to make Hanoi your starting
point or are flying in domestically, I suggest using the Skyscanner widget
below to book yourself a cheap ticket.
If you
are like the majority of tourists that start in the south and work your way up,
then there are many other options available to you. The buses are by far the cheapest
option. You could book a ticket with one
of the many sleeper bus companies that make this route. The sleeper bus is basically a bus with bunk-bed chairs that lay down into beds for you to sleep. They are very comfortable and usually also
have wifi. There is also a hop on hop
off bus that you can book, which allows you to book a bus for the number of
stops you want to make along the way (the price varies according to the number
of stops). Or if you are like me, you
can easily peace together your trip with local and sleeper buses as you make
your way across the country.
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| Inside of a sleeper bus |
Another
option is to take the train. Although sometimes
referred to as the Reunification Express, there is nothing express about
it. The whole trip from Ho Chi Minh to
Hanoi takes approximately 38 hours. You
have the option of reserving a bunk-bed sleeper car (which you share with 3 – 5 other
people), a soft seat (a normal bus seat that reclines), or a hard seat (just a
spot on a wooden bench) and attendants come by regularly with carts of food and
drinks for you to buy at a reasonable cost.
Something to note: all of the seats in each car face the center, so if
you start the trip traveling backwards, at some point the train switches
tracks and you will then be traveling forwards.
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| 'Reunification Express' train |
Are
you planning a trip to Hanoi? Did you
find this post helpful? Let me know what
you think and what you did in the comment section below.
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