Eating in Hanoi and Hanoi street food - Beijing Kitchen. Date of travel: Nov 2007
My husband and I used to live in Hanoi, Vietnam and we just got back from a nostalgia tour. The weather in November is perfect and Hanoi comes off at its most charming, with the tree lined streets, beautiful lakes and colonial architecture. We also ate 20 meals a day! The Hanoians love to eat and do it all day. There are an infinite number of street snacks that you can find all times of day. My favourite noodle dishes are Bun Cha and Bun Rieu. I also love to go to Ton Duy Tan and have fresh seafood and crispy grilled chicken (with lots of skin) on Ly Van Phuc. There is a great website called Savour Asia that is a guide to food, eating, restaurants and cooking classes in Hanoi. It's easy to use and makes it easy to try things on the street. The site also has travel resources like ready to use itineraries and cool maps, and it says it will expand to include cities like Beijing and Bangkok soon.

Hanoi - Ekidna. Date of travel: May 2007
Have been back a few days from 3 amazing weeks in Vietnam but hit the ground running work wise so this is the first time I have had a chance to sit down and consider in detail all the wonderful adventures my daughter and I had in an amazing country. First of all - thanks to all those people who gave advice or asked questions that were answered by others on this forum. It was so helpful. So pleased I discovered this forum before we went in spite of some of the silly things that go on. Have even made some new friends. It has been great! It was my 21 year old (22 today!) daughter's first trip overseas and she chose Vietnam as our destination as her bosses had holidayed there two years ago and are still raving about it. I have traveled in Asia only twice before (and once when I was 21!) so we were not particularly experienced travelers. Consequently I pre organised most of our trip through Tonkin who were very helpful, patient and flexible. After 2 days in Kuala Lumpur and a 3 hour delay at the airport we were very pleased to arrive at the airport in Hanoi at about 4pm enjoying the scenery as we flew over the countryside. We could already feel was it going to be exciting. It was raining when we arrived but by the time we walked out of the airport it had stopped and so began our incredible run of luck with the weather! Even the car ride into Hanoi was exciting especially when our driver almost ran into a cow which was standing very nonchalantly in the middle of the very busy main road. We soon learned to accept this sight as quite ordinary. In Hanoi we stayed at Hong Ngnoc 1 in Hang Manh Street - partly on Erica's bosses recommendation and partly on Tonkin's. It was a good location in the old quarter - not too noisy but close enough to easily walk to everything. That evening we learnt to cross the road (thanks for the advice on this site - it is certainly an initial shock!) and found Green Tangerine - a restaurant recommended by a friend for the setting as well as the food. Both were beautiful plus were were treated to a free cocktail.

Hanoi - Ekidna. Date of travel: May 2007
Our first full day was spent "doing" the usual city sights in Hanoi. I was equally fascinated by the rudeness of the officials at Ho Chi Min's Mausoleum as I was by the reverence of the people as we filed around. A bit of extra excitement when one young man (Vietnamese) walking beside us whipped out his mobile phone to take a photo and was soon taken aside by guards. At the One Pillar Pagoda we got talking to some lovely girls (all in their green and white ao dai) who were studying at a tourism college or university and were on an excursion. As a teacher I was also interested in another group of about 100 upper primary aged children who were touring with some teachers even though it was school holidays. The student/teacher ratio was interesting! I could only make out about two teachers although I am sure there must have been more. We loved the Museum of Ethnology as much for the incidentals as the excellent exhibits. Saw three couples having their wedding photos taken (my what a business - and I thought many Australian couples went over the top with wedding photos) and watched a video being made - a traditional folk story. The Temple of Literature was a beautiful place where I took so many photos and we thoroughly enjoyed the water puppet show later in the afternoon - although glad we had pre booked tickets as many people were standing outside unable to get a seat. We lunched at KOTO - something we were keen to do because Erica is an apprentice chef and was interested in the concept and because one of my colleagues had heard someone from KOTO speak at a training conference she went to in Brisbane last year so she was keen for me to check it out. We loved it - well looked after and beautiful food. For dinner we went to the other similar training establishment - Hoa Sua. The young people were incredibly nervous as it was an "exam" night and they were being assessed. Again our food and service were wonderful. The next day our morning was spent at Highway 4 Cooking School which started with walk around the market and then a great session for just the two of us with two chefs and an assistant! They soon cottoned on that Erica knew what she was doing and I didn't! The chefs really made the session special for Erica once they knew she was one of them and although I am not sure I would recommend this school over others (not sure that I would ever use most of the recipes at home) we had a great time with the people. We had time to have a lovely conversation with one of the chefs about his life story and also the Vietnamese language and how many Vietnamese families choose their children's names. I tried to write most of it down so I could share it with my class. On to Sapa that night - but I better do that in another report - I am way to long winded!

Do not book room and tours at hotel directly - Hashools. Date of travel: Mar 2007
Such a nice city, many things to do like food, drinks, attractions...but traffic is terrible. You can see very useful information on the website recommended by many hotels and tour guides: www.howtotravelvietnam.net for the crucial information for tourist, such a nice and useful website.

David Wegener. Date of travel: Feb 2005
Vietnam is an amazing country full of traditional history and culture. Not as modern as Bangkok, KL and Singapore, one should visit this unique city before it becomes a characterless, modern metropolis. Try these when you are there: 1) Say Hi to Uncle Ho Ho Chi Min is still deeply respected among the Vietnamese and anyone interested in Vietnamese history should pay a visit to this great man of Vietnam. See him in-person (but not alive) at his mausoleum. Photography and bags are not allowed and the queue is fairly long, but there is a thrill in getting so close to such an important historical personality. 2) Visit the Museum of Ethnography This museum is about a half an hour’s taxi ride from the central area, but is one of the best museums in Hanoi. Don’t miss the outdoor exhibits, which are ethnic houses built to represent the different ethnic groups. Each house even has a resident to “live� there and introduce the house to visitors. (The only problem is that most of these residents only speak Vietnamese). 3) Eat a bowl of Pho Vietnam has some of the most affordable and appetizing food in the region. For breakfast, you can try the famous Pho, or beef noodles, which usually costs about S$1.00 or for the most western alternative, a crusty loaf or bread and a banana 4) Stay in a mini-hotel in the Old Quarter Many mini-hotels are situated smack in the middle of action in the cramped Old Quarter. You get a feel of the real Vietnam as well as save a bundle here. Mini-hotels prices go from $8 to $30 a night. 5) Watch a water puppet show Only performed in lakes and in villages in the past as celebration for good harvests, now Hanoi boasts dedicated water puppet theatres. These amusing water puppets float on water and are manipulated with rods by master puppeteers behind a screen, who are waist-deep in water throughout the performance. Note that if you are keen to visit museums, start off early in the morning. They close for about 2 hours for lunch from 12 to 2pm and often close about 5pm. There's no need to hunt high and low for a bank to change currency, as the hotel rates are just as good. You don't need to wait for the traffic to stop to cross a road, just walk slowly and confidently at a consistent pace and watch the motorcycles, bicycles, and cars weave around you. Metered taxis are the quickest and safest way to get around Hanoi. If you are daring, motorcycles are fast, but you should have a strong heart. For safety reasons, twowomen can actually ride on the same motorcycle. A cyclo ride is fun and gives a new perspective on the city, but agree on a price before you step in. Drivers are known to take you for a ride (a very long one!) and charge you an exorbitant sum of money for it. Avoid at night. Tour Operator: independent

Martha Cook. Date of travel: Sep 2003
Go and see a performance of the water puppets in Hanoi. It is a puppet show where the puppets are moved over the surface of water by means of underwater poles and strings. The puppeteers stand waist deep in the water behind a screen. The show is usually accompanied by poetry, fireworks and haunting Vietnamese music to tell the traditional fables and legends. It is part of the traditional Vietnamese culture and is a fabulous evening out for visitors.