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 Hanoi, Vietnam travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
and Phan Thiet city guide.
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| D Mason |
01 August 2005 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Highlights of the trip, for me, were: the Water Puppet Theatre - just incredible; the Museum of the Revolution (a couple of minutes from the hotel) and the Museum of Ethnology. I was very touched by the people who I found very warm and helpful. I learnt to speak a few words of Vietnamese - the most important being 'thank you'. As in most countries people really appreciate it when you try to speak some of the language. And for visitors from wealthy countries don't moan if you (and it's very occasional - much worse in most western countries) get overcharged by the odd taxi driver. It will probably cost you a dollar. The average weekly wage is not high so tip generously.
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| G Siew kek |
28 July 2005 |
Stayed at Lucky Star Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Halong bay is a must to go in Hanoi. Those not prepared to climb and sun under the hot sun, please do not go to Perfume Pagoda. No safety measures for the sampan ride to the Perfume Pagoda. Plenty of local tour agencies. No problem to move around.
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| F Hau |
03 July 2005 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Recommended restaurants: Pho Thin - excellent pho bo; Pho 24 - good pho bo in a cleaner location; Cha Ca La Vong - fried fish in turmeric spiced oil with fresh mint, dill and spring onion; Fanny - for home made french ice cream;
Bobby Chin and Wild Rice - if you are looking for chic restaurants. Food does not beat what you get on the street though. Coffee shops in Hang Hanh - excellent local coffee.
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| D Watz |
27 June 2005 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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As recommended in Lonely Planet, we went to the Old Quarter to find "Hanspan" at 116 Hang Bac, we didn't pay enough attention and found out later that AZ Queen Cafe Tour is there at that address. We found out talking to other people on the two tours we booked that we paid about double than they did (I guess we looked richer and dumber). The Perfume Pagoda Tour should be avoided. A 2-hour van ride brings you to a river, there are flat-bottom boats with lady rowers are waiting. Four people per boat squat on 8 inch high, hard wood benches. For a cramped hour, you are rowed along the pretty river. You reach a dock and sellers of water, and everything else descend on you (same as when you got out of the van). It was very hot and we decided to only go to the lower pagoda, which was very nice. Others decided to go all the way and our guide said it was 2, then 4, then 4-5 kilometers up the hill and back.
The people that went to the "Perfume Pagoda" said it didn't smell so nice and was not worth the effort. The worst part was our rower who shadowed us and continuosly told us "I have boat". On the row back she said "you give tip money, I'm very tired' over and over. At the dock she said my tip "not enough". To top it off the guide, who was lousy by the way, told the group that we would all be dropped at the centrally located lake near the "Old Quarter", not our hotels. My back still hurts and is was one of the most unpleasant days we have spent. In contrast, our tour to Hai Long Bay was very good, with a good guide. One bad defect was the cabin on the junk we were to sleep in had an air conditioner that we had to pay $10 US to get turned on. The actual tour was given by APT Tours at 37 Dao Duy Tu Street in the Old Quarter. They seem OK. The "Hanoi Hilton", which is actually Hoa Lo Prison, should be visited, just take a cab. (Our 1/2 day Hanoi tour skipped it.) The Hoan Kiem Lake is very pleasant and there is a pagoda right on the lake. We also had great tasting Vietnamese ice coffee and hot coffee at Hapro cafe on the lake. (I'm spoiled now and the coffee back home tastes like water). If you want cheap eyeglasses or knockoff watches there are clusters of stores for that. Crossing streets without traffic lights is a little scary. Tons of motor bikes and guys trying to get you on their cyclo and you weave through the traffic. We would advise crossing with the natives at first to get the idea. Then pray.
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| J Robinson |
17 June 2005 |
Stayed at Lucky Star Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We stayed in the Lucky Star Hotel in the old quarter and it was very easy to get around from here. I highly recommend going to see the water puppet show which is in the theatre by Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. The shows are on early evening. The Presidential Palace, One Pillar Pagoda are worth a visit and also St. Joseph's Cathedral which is fantastic. One of the highlights for me was Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. It is only open to visitors in the morning so best to get there early. I would also recommend just walking around the little side streets, there is always something interesting to be found. It's also nice to sit outside a coffee shop around the old quarter and just watch all the activity going on around you. Hanoi seemed a very safe place with lovely friendly smiley people. I can't wait to go back and explore some more.
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| A Randall |
01 June 2005 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi can be quite confusing, I found it hard to get my bearings thus would recommend at least a City Tour to familarise yourself once you arrive. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Friday-my cyclo driver was unaware of this-also negotiate the price for the cyclo drivers before you depart-it might end up cheaper just taking a taxi-and you won't get wet. I found the Old Quarter to be very busy and confusing to negotiate-I ended up booking a day tour with Sinh Tours-13 US for the day-Hanoi doesnt seem to be set up for Western tourists-there were few signs in English-and restaurants were hard to find-ended up eating in the hotel mostly. I travelled by myself-and found it a bit of a culture shock to be honest-if I went again, i would go in winter to avoid the oppressive heat-and consider a tour-i have travelled to Thailand/Laos/Cambodia-this was the least tourist friendly place that I have visited.
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| K Tantiansu |
20 May 2005 |
Stayed at Fortuna Hotel Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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I recommend Seasons of Hanoi restaurant in Hanoi--very nice ambience, good food, friendly staff. It was recommended to us by the receptionist at the Galaxy Hotel (when we couldn't find the restaurant originally recommended to us by our hotel's receptionist).
Our shopping experience in the Old Quarter was also very interesting. We found Vietnamese silk clothing at reasonable prices, and the stores we went to (one, I think, was called Tha Anh) had friendly and helpful staff. Although they speak barely understandable English, they also speak French.
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| D Rea |
06 May 2005 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We stayed at the DeSyloia upon arriving in Hanoi, between trips to Halong Bay and Sa Pa, and prior to our departure from the country. Both Halong Bay and Sa Pa are highly recommended, though we caution travelers that the many tour operators based in Hanoi don't always deliver on their promised services. For example, the tour operator we chose, Sinh Travel, neglected to inform us that our Halong Bay tour would entail switching boats -- at 5 am! Also beware of 'helpers' at the Hanoi train station who will try to rip you off blind. Otherwise, our stay in Vietnam was most pleasant and the food was generally lovely -- we recommend the Nam Phuong Restaurant (close to the DeSyloia) in particular.
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| I Schubert |
29 April 2005 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Be prepared that the boat rowers at Tam Coc try to sell you t-shirts and table clothes whilst you are "trapped" in the rowing boat. This can be a bit annoying.
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| M Pinto |
10 April 2005 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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A must-do is the tour to Halong Bay with Handspan Travel - the 3 days/2 nights is recommended. We managed only 1 night as the above was fully booked. They have the best boat on the Bay called the Dragon's Pearl and the 8-course meals they served on board were amazing.
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