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Hanoi Holidays, Hotels & Travel Guide
Travel guide to hotels & holidays in Hanoi
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Hanoi Holidays Overview
A guide to holidays in Hanoi - Vietnam's small and pleasant capital lies at the
heart of the northern Red River Delta, and is a city of lakes,
leafy boulevards and open parks with a French colonial
feel.
Hanoi was founded in 1010, and became the
centre of government for the Indochina Union under French rule in
1888. In 1954 it became the official capital of independent
Vietnam. Today ancient crumbling buildings dating from the 11th
century lie scattered among grand French colonial residences, while
shrines and monuments to Vietnam's first president, Ho Chi Minh,
sit in the shadow of modern high-rise buildings. The streets of the
Old Quarter preserve age-old customs, where trade takes one back
half a century, and temples, pagodas and monuments reflect the
historic character of Vietnam. Although a city
of historical importance, and the social and cultural centre of
Vietnam, it is a surprisingly modest and charming place, far slower
and less developed than Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Hanoi has
retained its appealing sense of the old world, despite the onset of
a brisk tourism trade in 1993, absorbing the boom of hotels,
travellers' hangouts and Internet cafes, and the gradual
infiltration of western-style food and fashions into the once
inaccessible city. As the early morning mist
rises from the serene Hoan Kiem Lake, tracksuit-clad elders perform
the slow movements of tai chi, like park statues coming to life.
Streets become filled with activity, mopeds and bicycles weave
among pedestrians, while cyclo drivers (three-wheeled bicycle
taxis) clamour for attention, and postcard vendors cluster around
tourists like bees sensing an open honey pot.
Hanoi is fast becoming one of the most enticing and
interesting cities in Asia. As a cultural centre there are
traditional water puppet shows, and music and dance performances.
It is also a good base for excursions to the beautiful Halong Bay,
or into the Hoang Lien Mountains inhabited by several hill
tribes.
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Hanoi
holidays - Top Places To Go
1. Old Quarter
Hoan Kiem District
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What is it? The ancient meandering streets of the Old
Quarter are each named after the crafts and speciality trades
traditionally practised by the original artisan's guilds in the
13th century. Each guild was grouped around a temple, or dinh,
dedicated to the particular beliefs of the village from where the
guild originated, and many of these temples are open to the public
today. The early merchant's quarter affords an intriguing glimpse
into life centuries ago with covered markets, and the ancient
narrow buildings that still line the streets, known as tube or
tunnel houses that contained shops. Businesses were taxed according
to the width of their storefront and resulted in shops only seven
foot (two metres) wide with a series of storerooms, workshops and
living quarters extending behind to a length of up to 197ft (60m).
Many streets are still devoted to a predominant trade such as
silks, religious objects or textiles, silver jewellery, antiques,
and there are numerous art galleries and craft stores, as well as
cafes and pavement restaurants lining the narrow
streets.
Hours of Operation:
Phone: |
2. Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
Hung Vuong and Le Hong Phong Streets, Ba Dinh
Square
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What is it? Ba Dinh Square was where, in 1945, Ho Chi
Minh read out the Declaration of Independence and where
independence is celebrated each year. Dominating the west side is
the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where the embalmed body of the 'father of
the modern state', 'liberator of the Vietnamese people' and beloved
public figure is displayed. The body of Ho Chi Min is enclosed in a
glass case, the traditional way to honour famous communist leaders.
Security is tight, there is a strict dress code and it is
imperative to maintain a respectful demeanour while inside. Nearby
is the Ho Chi Minh Museum that commemorates his life, housing a
collection of military orders, correspondence, manifestos and
photographs that illustrates the crucial role he had in the
country's history.
Hours of Operation: Open from Tuesday to Thursday between 7.30am and
10.30am (8am to 11am in winter), and weekends from 7.30am to 11am
(8am to 11.30am in winter); closed on Mondays and Fridays. The
mausoleum is closed for two months of the year, usually October and
November, when Ho Chi Minh's body goes to Russia for
maintenance
Phone:(04) 845 5128 |
3. One Pillar Pagoda
Ong Ich Kiem Street, Ba Dinh District
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What is it? One Pillar Pagoda was constructed to
celebrate the tale of the heirless Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who dreamt
about receiving a son from the Buddhist goddess of mercy and
compassion, seated on a lotus flower. He married shortly after and
bore a son, and the pagoda was built to honour the event. It is the
most interesting of the city's numerous pagodas, and beneath the
ornate curved roof people come to pray for fertility and wellbeing,
with allegedly miraculous effects. The unique wooden structure was
designed to resemble a lotus flower, the Buddhist representation of
enlightenment, emerging out of the water, with the single stone
pillar its symbolic stalk.
Hours of Operation:
Phone: |
Hanoi
holidays - Top Events
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