Vietnam Travel & Tourism

Each foreign tourist arrives in Hanoi and when they return to their home, they all have an individual impression. Hanoi is ancient and peaceful; Hanoi bustles and is full of vitality; Hanoi has precise and unique gastronomy; Hanoi is brilliant with colours; and Hanoi is passionate and charming.

Common impressions for tourist to easily recognize are the friendly, enthusiastic and hospitable people of Hanoi. Living in California, US, Dr Gish chooses Hanoi capital as the tourism destination for his family. He said that his family had visited many famous landscapes, enjoyed traditional delicious dishes in Hanoi and contacted many people. However, the most memorable impression for his family was the vibrant vitality of Hanoi’s traditional culture.

Sword Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam

“Hanoi leaves good impressions for me because the city has preserved its cultural heritages, for example, Tortoise Tower in Sword Lake, daily life and business activities of inhabitants in the Old Quarter. I think that Hanoi is trying to preserve its essential cultural values of previous years and be determined to develop a modern city at the same time,” Dr Gish said.

Sharing these thoughts with Dr Gish, Mr. George Saxton also loves to visit historical sites in Hanoi. For him, these are memorable places during his visit. “I’m sure to remember [...Read more]

Hanoi December 13 – December 24, 2010

Volunteer project: International and local volunteers will organize Christmas and New Year festival for extremely poor children living in the Fisher village at the Red River and for the patients of the National Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi. The volunteers will make nice gifts for the children such as light stars.

In the fisher village, in collaboration with the local volunteers and the children, the international participants will organize a big party on the bank of the Red River (theatre, dance, BBQ, etc.). In the Hospital, the volunteers will visit the children in their rooms, dressed as Santa Claus, and will hand out candies and small gifts.

The smile of poor kids

Between the parties, the volunteers will cook for the children attending the Street children school, and will organize leisure activities for them after school. [...Read more]

If any city in the world has had a crowded 1000 years of history, it is Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. This place is an intense collision of crumbling French facades, communist bunker-style concrete edifices and ancient temples and pagodas, woven together by leafy boulevards, lakes and over three million industrious locals. Chinese, French and American history has clashed here in a big way over the last millennium, each era leaving its indelible mark on the city.

Whether it’s the rusty remains of a B-52 bomber jutting out of a small lake on the city’s fringe, the brutal Hon Lo gaol constructed by the French in the late 19th century, the vibrant Old Quarter with its myriad of shopping streets and cafes, or the ancient Ngoc Son Temple that sits peacefully on an island in Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi engulfs an incredible cross section of human history.
[...Read more]

October 31, 2010
By Judy McEuen
Travel Writer – Troy Media

It is easy to feel overwhelmed and lost amidst the Hanoi’s bustling streets and the countless mopeds and bicycles moving around.

But don’t get discouraged, even if you want to immediately hop on the nearest van and set off to the more tranquil and eerily beautiful Halong Bay. While not at first glance obvious, Hanoi has several attractions that are worth seeing and its charm will grow on you if you give it a chance. So, rather than escape the hubbub straight away, don’t be afraid to get lost in the city for a while: I guarantee you will enjoy what it has to offer. [...Read more]

In 2001, Mark Rapoport and his family left New York to settle in Hanoi. The long-time expat and his Vietnamese partner run 54 Traditions, a gallery that sells handicrafts produced by ethnic minorities from all over the country. Almost every year, Rapaport’s two sons visit their parents and travel throughout the city.

“Over the last nine years, my wife, Alison, and I (with some help from our two children Robert and Jane Hughes) have put together a list of 101 reasons why we love living in Hanoi,” Rapaport said. “We presented it as a book, entitled 101 reasons to love living in Hanoi, which we published last July to celebrate the 1,000th year anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.” [...Read more]

Imagine a city where the exotic chic of old Asia blends with the dynamic face of new Asia. Where the medieval and modern co-exist. A city with a blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace, an architectural museum piece evolving in harmony with its history, rather than bulldozing through like many of the region’s capitals. Hanoi is where imagination becomes reality.

A mass of motorbikes swarms through the tangled web of streets that is the Old Quarter, a cauldron of commerce for almost 1000 years and still the best place to check the pulse of this resurgent city. Hawkers in conical hats ply their wares, locals sip coffee and bia hoi (beer) watching life (and plenty of tourists) pass them by.

Witness synchronised t’ai chi at dawn on the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake while goateed grandfathers tug at their wisps over the next chess move. See the bold and beautiful dine at designer restaurants and cut the latest moves on the dance floor. [...Read more]