Pheng
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North's victory in the Vietnam War.

We were not exactly sure what to expect of Hanoi until we visited the city, we found it was a quaint, chaotic and full of life city with such an enthralling street.  Although Hanoi doesn’t have the nightlife of Bangkok, or the trend culture of Tokyo, it has a distinct flavour and energy of it’s own, it has the atmospheric charm of French colony. The cluttered streets of the Old Quarter are filled with swarms of motorbikes and on every corner there’s boiling pots of street food and vendors selling Vietnamese drip coffee. Lots to see, lots to do, and lots to eat.

Itinerary

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Date TimePlace
Oct 3 (Fri) - Day 11:00 PMArrive at Noi Bai Intl Airport
1:30 PMWaiting for minibus to depart
2:30 PMCheckin at Hanoi City Hostel
3:00 PM - 4:00 PMLunch near hotel
4:00 PM - 6:00 PMHanoi City Tour:
Old Quarter
Don Xuan Market
Hoan Kiem Lake
Ngoc Son Temple
6:00 PMDinner
6:30 PMWater Puppetry Theater
7:30 PM - 9:00 PMNight Market
9:00 PMHome Sweet Home
Oct 4 (Sat) - Day 26:30 AMBreakfast and Checkout, leave things at hotel
7:15 AMTaxi to Ho Chi Minh Museum
7:20 AM - 2:30 PMHanoi City Tour 2:
Ho Chi Minh Museum
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Ho Chi Minh house
Presidential Palace
Flag Tower of Hanoi
Vietnam Military History Museum
Lenin Statue & Park
Temple of Literature
Hoa Lo Prison
St Joseph Cathedral
Turtle tower
Trang Tien Plaza
3:30 PM - 4:00 PMRest at Hotel
5:00 PMEarly Dinner then back to hotel
7:30 PMHotel Pickup to Sapa Bus Terminal
8:00 PMBus Departs for Sapa
Oct 5 (Sun) - Day 35:00AMPickup from Sapa Bus Terminal
6:00 AMCheckin at Grand View Sapa Hotel
7:00 AMBreakfast
7:30 AM - 8:30 AMDrive to Lao Cai bus terminal to pickup other passengers
8:30 AM - 10:00 AMProceed to Bac Ha Market which is only open on sundays.
10:30 AM - 12:30 PMBac Ha Market tour (On our own)
12:30 PM - 1:30 PMLunch
1:30 PM - 2:00 PMTour at Hmong houses
2:00 PM - 4:00 PMDrive to Lao Cai Chinese Border and take photos
4:00 PM - 4:30 PMDrive to Lao Cai Bus Terminal to drop other passengers going to Hanoi
4:30 PM - 6:00 PMBack to hotel
7:00 PMDinner
Oct 6 (Mon) - Day 47:00 AMBreakfast
9:00 AM - 11:30 AMTrek with Black Hmong to Lao Cai Village
11:30 AM - 12:30 PMLunch with villagers
12:30 PM - 1:30 PMTour around Lao Cai Village
1:30 PM - 2:00 PMTa Van Village
2:00 PM - 3:30 PMVan to hotel
4:00 PM - 5:30 PMSapa City Tour (on our own)
6:30 PMDinner
7:00 PMAt Lao Cai Bus terminal to Hanoi
Oct 7 (Tues) - Day 54:00 AMArrive Hanoi
8:30 AMHotel Pickup
12:30 PMArrive Halong Port and transfer to Lemon Cruise
1:00 PMCheck-in and lunch
2:00 PM - 6:00 PMSuprising Cave, Beach Swimming, Kayak
7:00 PM onwardsSpring Roll Making, Dinner, Squid Fishing, Karaoke
Oct 8 (Wed) - Day 67:30 AMBreakfast, cruising to Pearl Farm
9:00 AMPearl Farm
11:00 AMCheckout and lunch
12:30 PMBack at Halong Port
5:00 PMBack to Hanoi City Hostel
6:00 PMDinner at 69 Café
7:00 PM OnwardsSouvenir Shopping
Oct 9 (Thurs) - Day 78:00 AMWalk to Airport Shuttle Terminal
10:00 AMArrive at Airport
11:00 AMCheckin to fly back to Singapore

Transport

Airport minibus - cost 5 USD per head from airport to your hotel in Hanoi city

Vietnam airline minibus - costs 2 USD per head from airport to Vietnam Airline minibus terminal in hanoi city, you may need to walk from here to find your hotel

Stay

Few months before our travel date, we search thru Agoda for hotels in Hanoi and contacted them via email to inquire about tour packages. 

Among them we found Hanoi City Hostel offers the best travel package and excellent service. We stayed here for our first and last night, the rooms were great and most of all the service is excellent no wonder it tops 2014 Trip Advisor list. They helped us arranged for tours to Sapa and Halong Bay and we frequently seek their advise on going around the city. A room costs from 14 to 18 USD.

See
Old Quarter

Old Quarter – If you only do one thing while in Hanoi, take your time to wander the busy, hectic and utterly charming old quarter. The maze of streets are filled with tiny shops, each street dedicated to a single type of merchant, it’s utterly riveting walking around all day and felt relatively safe to do on your own (although, as usual, keep your wits about you and be careful of vehicles).

Don Xuan Market
Don Xuan Market -  is a market in the center district Hoan Kiem of Hanoi, Vietnam. Originally built by the French administration in 1889, it has been renovated several times with the latest in 1994 after a fire which almost destroyed the market. Nowadays, it is the largest covered market of Hanoi where the wholesale traders sell everything from clothes, household goods to foodstuffs. If you like markets and haven’t been to any others in Vietnam yet, definitely go. But for souvenir shopping, there are better places elsewhere.

Overview of Hoan Kiem Lake
Hoan Kiem Lake – (Vietnamese: Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, meaning "Lake of the Returned Sword" or "Lake of the Restored Sword", also known as Hồ Gươm - Sword Lake) is a lake in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life.

Ngoc San Temple
Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge

Ngoc Son Temple - or  The Temple of the Jade Mountain, is located on Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi, Vietnam. From the shore, the Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge (Cầu Thê Húc) leads to the island. Buildings of the temple include the Pen Tower (Thap But), the ink-slab (Dai Nghien), the Moon Contemplation Pavilion (Dac Nguyet) and the Pavilion against Waves (Đình Trấn Ba), all of which have symbolic meaning.

The temple is a popular spot for visitors to Hoan Kiem Lake.


Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) - also called Tortoise Tower is a small tower in the middle of Sword Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam

Water Puppet Show
Thang Long Water Puppetry Theater - water puppetry art is a special traditional art of Vietnam which is performed by artist of this theater in 57b Dinh Tien Hoang. The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are normally hidden behind a screen, to control them. Thus the puppets appear to be moving over the water. When the rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. Ticket priced at 60000 VND

Night Market

Night Market - Since it was a Friday, there was a large night market right on the street in the quarter. It is setup on the very street vehicles passed through on busy days. For the night market, this street was blocked off to motor traffic (a very good idea), and the market flowed for several blocks up to the Dong Xuan market building. The market was mainly made up of vendors selling under a line of tents pitched in the center of the street. On both sides, vendors were also there and stores were selling their stuff, making for a very lively scene.

Ho Chi Minh Museum
Ho Chi Minh Museum - It is a museum dedicated to the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam's revolutionary struggle against foreign powers. It was constructed in the 1990s. The museum is often regarded by some as a propaganda tool of the Vietnamese Communist regime, used to whitewash both the Communist Party and Ho Chi Minh's legacy and historical image. It is conveniently located in the Ho Chi Minh complex. It can be combined in your day trip to visit Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, One-pillar Pagoda, Ba Dinh square and the War Memorial. Admission is 25000 VND.


Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - The building is dedicated to house Ho Chi Minh’s preserved body and a place where visitors can express their admiration and gratitude towards the national hero. It is closed on fridays and mondays.
Ho Chi Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace Area
Ho Chi Minh House

Ho Chi Minh house - For most of his tenure as President of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh lived in a modest stilt house behind the grandiose Presidential Palace in Hanoi. It sits along a tiny lake in the wooded park. He lived and worked here in incredible simplicity from 1958 to 1969. Built of tek, the little house is an architectural gem, and many of his personal things remain on display. Admission fee is 25000 VND


Presidential Palace- is a three-storey structure located on the north of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Presidential Palace stands as a memento of French contribution to the architectural splendor in Indochina. This mustard-yellow palace was built from 1900 to 1906 to function as the living and operational bases of the governors-general of Indo-China. Located on Hung Vuong Street and Hoang Van Thu Street, the designs of this palace were conceived by Auguste Henri Vildieu, the French architect officially appointed for Vietnam.


Flag Tower of Hanoi (Cột cờ Hà Nội) -  is a tower in Hanoi, which is one of the symbols of the city and part of the Hanoi Citadel, a World Heritage Site. Its height is 33.4 m (41 m with the flag).This place was built between 1805 and 1812 under King Gia Long and is over 2 centuries old. It resembles an old stone fortress and has steps leading to the top where one can get a good view of the city. There are old cannon sitting at the base of the place at grand level.


Vietnam Military History Museum

Vietnam Military History Museum - This repository of Vietnam's military history includes rooms full of war propganda, photographs and documents from wars against China, France, and the United States. The grounds feature several captured aircraft as well as a central structure build from the wreckage of French and American planes. Visitors may climb the flag tower, with great views from the top. Admission is 40000 VND

Lenin Statue (Behind)

Lenin Statue & Park - located at Dien Bien Phu St, across from the Army Museum. One can always feel the diversity and liveliness of Hanoi there.

Temple of Literature

Temple of Literature -was founded in 1070 and established as the country's first university six years later. The courtyard features numerous stone tablets, each mounted on the back of a tortoise, with the names of graduates over the centuries. On the bottom right of the photo is Jon's photo bombing graduates photo session. Admission is 20000 VND

Hoa Lo Prison


Hoa Lo Prison - First built by French Colonialists to house political dissidents and then used during the Vietnam war to hold captured American POW’s, this prison has a chequered past. A museum has been built in what was the gatehouse and it’s an interesting insight into the history of the place and the city itself. The seemingly happy coverage of the POW’s while in prison (note all the smiling American servicemen) seems to be at odds with accounts I have read elsewhere, but see what you think when you go.

St Joseph's Cathedral

St Joseph's Cathedral - this beautiful neo-Gothic building is the centre of Catholicism in Hanoi. Built in the early days of the colony at the expense of a revered pagoda that was demolished in the name of France's mission civilisatrice, St Joseph’s opened its doors to worshippers in 1886. Many of the buildings in and around the area were built in the service of the cathedral in the late 19th century.

Trang Tien Plaza (Behind)
Trang Tien Plaza - is a shopping center located in the downtown of Hanoi, Vietnam. The complex's construction began on April 30, 2000 when Vietnamese people celebrated 25th anniversary of The liberation of the south of Vietnam. The complex was finished after 18 months of construction.


Eat and Drink

The streets of Hanoi are full of sidewalk food stalls, and mind you it is not limited to Pho and Spring rolls. Here are some food we've tried in Hanoi (FYI: names of dish from Vietnamese friends as some don't have menu, i hope they are right)

135000 VND

Pho - Vietnamese noodle soup
Bánh bột lọc -  Vietnamese clear shrimp & pork dumpling
Bánh bèo - Vietnamese Savory Steamed Rice Cake 
Bánh Ít Trần - Vietnamese sticky rice dumplings
Location: Opposite Vietnam Airlines airport minibus terminal

Bánh Xèo Tôm Thịt (Nam Bộ)
Bánh Xèo Tôm Thịt (Nam Bộ) - Fried Rice Pancake with Shrimp & Pork - 45000 VND


Chả Giò Tôm Thịt
Chả Giò Tôm Thịt - Deep Fried Spring Roll - 12000 VND/piece


Bún bò Nam Bộ

Bún bò Nam Bộ - Sauteed Beef & Onion served with rice noodle - 50000 VND

Bún chả Ha noi
Bún chả Ha noi - Specially marinated pork pieces BBQ over coals and served with fresh herbs, rice vermicelli and grilled pork - 119000 VND @ 69 Cafe

Che Ha Noi
Che Ha noi - Hanoi sweet soup. In hanoi streets you can buy a glass of Che (ingredients of your choice) for 15000 VND. Common ingredients are: beans, glass jelly, red beans, sweet corn, coconut, sweet pea, and etc.

Bánh cốm and Bánh Đậu Xanh (170000 VND)

Bánh cốm - Vietnamese dessert made from rice and mung bean. It is made by wrapping pounded and then green-coloured glutinous rice around sugary green-bean paste. - 5000 VND/piece

Bánh Đậu Xanh - (mung bean cake) is a type of Vietnamese cuisine banh. It is a specialty of the Hải Dương Province

For Sapa Blog


http://thevastlife.blogspot.sg/2014/02/camsur-watersports-complex-hacienda-de.html





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