Discovering Hanoi – a Great Surprise

I visited Hanoi last November as part of a larger itinerary in northern Vietnam. The itinerary included hikes in the countryside, and visits to national parks, waterfalls, iconic Ha Long Bay, and other historical and cultural sites. This focused exploring of northern Vietnam provided a broader set of experiences beyond the more common focus on the coast and south. One of the places in the itinerary was Hanoi. Discovering Hanoi would be a highlight of this trip!

The name “Hanoi” can evoke for Americans thoughts of that terrible war over 50 years ago. Wherever we went (mostly Americans in my group with Trekking for Kids), we were greeted warmly and with a smile that went beyond the smile. We felt very welcome. Hanoi was no exception.

This city by the Red River is immense in area and high in density. The energy and hustle-and-bustle of the city took me by surprise, and I am surprised it took me by surprise.

We stayed in the the Old Quarter which, though popular with visitors, retained all of the charm one who would hope for. While visitors gravitate to it, it is not just a tourist part of town: it is full of local life. I enjoyed walking its narrow and full-of-life streets.

Get Lost in Hanoi

I believe in getting lost in towns/cities and Hanoi was no different. Of course, it is important to know if there are any no-go zones due to crime, but Hanoi felt very safe all around.

In getting to the Air Force and Air Defense Museum, we opted to do the long walk to it from our hotel near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, short of a 4-mile walk. We meandered through neighborhoods and alleys where we believe we did not see another tourist. It was neat to see regular life outside of the Old Quarter.

What to do and see in Hanoi

If you want the entire list of all possible things, well, there are many travel guides out there that can provide the exhaustive list – not to mention AI… I am going to cite here things that I enjoyed.

• Hoàn Kiếm Lake: It is a charming and scenic spot in town. The lake has a couple of temples which make for a great photo opps from the shores. Doing a loop around it is just an easy 1.6 km / 1 mi. It is good to see it from all the angles as the backdrop changes. One can see locals doing a walk, others exercising, and others getting their special photos taken with one of the temples as the background to the photo.

• Old Quarter streets: Yes, there will be the standard souvenir shops (which are still good to have to get something for our loved ones back home!). But there is a lot of neat & old architecture and character to experience. If you meander away from the lake, you will get more and more ‘real’. It is worth noting that even in the area near to the lake, it is not just tourist-oriented businesses and feel.
• Food in the Old Quarter: So many local eateries around! Not talking restaurants but the small mom-and-pop eateries that pepper the streets of the Old Quarter. Banh mi’s from a local stand near our hotel were our favorite. But we also did a food tour with a local guide to be sure we discovered more food options than we may on our own. Doing a food our also helped us find potential places to return to on our own at another time. I have enjoyed doing this in places like Seoul and Bangkok and was glad we did one in Hanoi.

• Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum: I did not get to go inside the main structure as it was closed but visited the grounds. If you walk the area, you will see some neat architecture in an area not as dense as the Old Quarter. You will likely run into a number of foreign embassies in the area.

• Random walks: I would recommend doing this either as an activity of its own, or as part of getting to places you will visit. Take secondary streets vs. the bigger avenues. With GPS today, there is no getting lost!

• The train: Hanoi has one of those trains that cut through a dense alley that attracts tourists. This “train alley” has places to sit and watch the train go by. It is a pretty scene but not as exciting as the equivalent train I saw in the outskirts of Bangkok. Hanoi’s is fairly manicured, whereas the one in Bangkok is an active local market that has to clear out as the train approaches!

• Air Force and Air Defense Museum: Definitely off the beaten path and mostly probably ignored by Western tourists (if the day I went is anything to go by). But a fascinating collection of items from the war period. Not everything will make sense to a non-Vietnamese due either to language (signage had English but not throughout) or just by lack of deeper knowledge of topics or people presented in the museum. A highlight of the museum is the outdoor space around it. The yard is peppered with debris from American and Vietnamese aircraft or actual planes/helicopters from wars. Worth clarifying, it is not only about the U.S./French war with Vietnam but covers even more recent times. Recall that Vietnam was briefly invaded by China in 1979.

• Rooftop bars: Many hotels in the Old Quarter sport a rooftop bar. Make sure your hotel has one of those and enjoy looking at the city at any time of day, sunset or night time!

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The core of the city has enough sites to see to last a few days. Going further afield can make this part of Vietnam a destination for an entire trip. I highly recommend ensuring your Vietnam trip is not just focused on Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Ha Long Bay!

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