Hanoi... anyone been...

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Vietnam is great, but prefered Cambodia.

I went to Hanoi in 2008, would recomend a trip to the perfume pagoda, takes about an hour or so to get there, also quite a bit of hiking to get to the pagoda itself.
The war museum is very good, I was climbing up on the planes and tanks (not sure if we were allowed but we did) cameras are not allowed, but easy enough to sneak in.

Bia Hoi Corner is great for some cheap local beer (weak beer, but a great experience)

I took an overnight trip to Hai Long bay, stayed on a boat. was beautiful, booked via the hostel I was staying in. be careful though as the drinks are a bit over priced. they may also charge if you bring your own booze on board the boat.

Unfortunately I can't remember much more.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Thanks I am planning a trip to Vietnam Laos and Cambodia good tips.

Cambodia

Siem Reap I spent half time stoned or cheaping 0.5$ beer in $1 a night hostel (unfortunatly cant remember name of hostel) took about 5 days until I went to Ankor Wat.
Phnom Pehn, only spent a couple of days there, the Killing Fields and Genocide museum can be done in one day. If you stay Lakeside as apposed to riverside, there are some good small bars, but the one I liked was an outside one which basically consisted of a few highchairs facing the street, you can buy a joint for about $1.5 followed by a Chip Cheese and gravy sandwich, LUSH.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Hanoi is great; lots of Parisian-style tree-lined streets (ex-French colony, of course).
Better than Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
But better than both are Hue and Hoi An, half-way down the coast between the two cities (fly to Danang for either).

I go with this advice too. We were in Vietnam throughout last November and the best place we went to was Sapa; it's north of Hanoi near the Chinese border and up in the mountains so will be bloody cold this time of year. Terraced rice fields, lots of genuine ethnic monorities, good walking country - we caught an overnight sleeper train up from Hanoi.
Hanoi was interesting (not least crossing the road when there's 4.5 million motorbikes around), the colonial architecture, old city quarter and even the HCM morsoleum, although this is very Stalinesque and not what the man would have wanted. Halong Bay's worth a visit just for the scenery and I'd recommend getting one of the overnight boats and see one of the floating fishing villages. The US Base at Da Nang has been left as a "reminder" to some of the tourists but you can't get access.

 

[Bakero]

and even the HCM morsoleum, although this is very Stalinesque and not what the man would have wanted.

You're right there. He wanted to be cremated. He also didn't want to be on the money but they stuck his face on every note. The cult of HCM is central to the communist party's propaganda.

 

[kevtherev]

John Rambo has been there.

 

[Southstandfaithful]

Agree that Cambodia and Laos are better than Vietnam but I think that's because they are a bit behind in the tourist boom. When I went to Hanoi in 2000 it was a totally different place to when I went back in 2005, for a start in 2000 everyone had bicycles to get around in 2005 it was full of motorbikes which makes crossing the road interesting! ..... Both Siem reap and Luang Prabang are easily accessible from Hanoi ( 1 hour flight ) so if you have the time highly recommended. If you are just staying in Vietnam as another poster suggested Hue and Hoi An are lovely places to visit.

 

[Hanoi Seagull]

Hey, just spotted this thread. I live in Hanoi, and pretty much all that Bakero says is spot on. The weather won't be great in February but it won't be roasting hot and humid as it is in summer , which makes all outside activity pretty tricky. The BEST thing we've done in Vietnam was the train journey between Hue and Danang....stunning.

 

[Hockley Blues]

Amazing place, definitely see:
- The mausoleum
- beer corner
- go to little Hanoi restaurant
- enjoy the view from highlands coffee which overlooks the lake of the returned sword
- oh, and go and buy, and eat some fanny

 

[Bakero]

- oh, and go and buy, and eat some fanny

New Zealand ice cream's better

 

[Racing club]

I went to Hanoi about 12 years agao and I guess it must have changed a lot (when I went there were hardly any cars in the city, most people used bikes). I found Hanoi to be more traditional than Saigon. I enjoyed Saigon, but Hanoi had more individual character whereas Saigon reminded of other big commercial cities in South East Asia. As previous posters have noted the fresh beer is very refreshing and there is normally none left by mid-afternoon.

Hope you have a great time

 

[Hockley Blues]

New Zealand ice cream's better

You're not wrong there

 

[TheDuke]

Just a quick thank you to everyone who posted some great tips for Hanoi.... especially Bakero. Jetting orft tonight...can't wait but the bugger is I miss Burnley.

 

[Surf's Up]

In Cambodia as we speak, fantastic place, appalling recent history, friendliest people in the world, currently being eaten up by Chinese investment allied to a dodgy government but a true sense of optimism prevailing against the odds.

 

[Hockley Blues]

In Cambodia as we speak, fantastic place, appalling recent history, friendliest people in the world, currently being eaten up by Chinese investment allied to a dodgy government but a true sense of optimism prevailing against the odds.

Get yourself some lok lak and some morning glory